The 'Horizon Festival' has finally arrived in Japan, a location fans have long dreamed of. As the first entry in the series to feature an Asian setting, 'Forza Horizon 6' captures almost everything needed for that signature 'fun racing' atmosphere, using Japan—a place synonymous with street racing—as its backdrop.
Players begin the game as a tourist visiting Japan for the Horizon Festival. While you get to enjoy various types of racing and soak in the sights, the tutorial ends with you failing to qualify for the festival itself. Your primary goal is to build a reputation by exploring every corner of Tokyo with a local friend and passing the qualifiers to earn your spot in the Horizon Festival.
Japan is finally the stage—welcome to the 'Horizon Festival'
The game is structured around two tracks: the 'Horizon Festival' and 'Discover Japan.' Each has its own tier-based collectibles—wristbands and stamps, respectively—and you must stay busy traveling across Japan to collect the highest-tier items.
To advance to the next tier in the Horizon Festival, you must participate in an event called 'Horizon Rush.' By enjoying various races and field content (speed traps, drag races, smashing signs, etc.) to build your reputation, you naturally earn the right to enter the Horizon Rush. Winning these events earns you the next tier of wristband.
'Horizon Rush' differs in concept from the standard racing you encounter on public roads. You might have to perform 'Carkour' (a challenge involving parkour with cars) by climbing winding, maze-like structures, race against a light aircraft, or even compete against a giant robot. With the festival's hype-man announcer and upbeat radio music, racing through these events feels like a great way to blow off steam.
'Discover Japan,' separate from the festival, consists of content focused on exploring the Japanese setting. You can take day trips to various regions or hunt for cars to enter into the festival alongside Yuji, a vehicle tuning expert. There are also elements that let you roam freely, such as helping a photographer capture landmarks across Japan, allowing you to escape the pressure of competition.
Tokyo Drift, and the romance of the car enthusiast
What stands out most in the Tokyo exploration is, of course, 'drifting.' Like that song you think of when you hear 'Initial D' (Déjà Vu!), Tokyo and drifting are inseparable. Just as the Lancer Evolution and Nissan GT-R are icons of cool, the influence of Japan's automotive industry on car enthusiasts worldwide is immense.
From 1:1 races on winding mountain passes to meetups where car enthusiasts from around the world gather in highway parking lots, Playground Games has packed every fantasy that car lovers associate with 'Japan' into 'Forza Horizon 6.'
And that’s not all. This meticulous attention to detail even extends to the radio. The 'Gacha City Radio' added in this latest release is themed after a Japanese radio broadcast, with a playlist consisting entirely of music from Japanese subculture. It features tracks from artists who have gained popularity in Korea, such as YOASOBI and ZUTOMAYO, as well as songs by Ado, one of the hottest artists today.
'Forza Horizon' has already reached its sixth title, and this global festival of cars has only become more solidified. From street racing and circuit racing to off-road, rally, and cross-country, almost every activity you can do with a car takes place right here in Tokyo.
That different vehicles and race types offer unique driving sensations will be obvious to anyone who has played previous entries. 'Forza Horizon 6' is no different. The feel of a car gliding over smooth pavement in a standard race is vivid, while the rally stages, where you kick up dust on unpaved roads, will keep your hands sweating on the controller.
Even equipped with FSD(?), Horizon is accessible for beginners
'Forza Horizon 6' goes a step further by offering various assist features for beginners. Options like steering assist and braking assist alleviate the stress of cornering, which is where genre newcomers struggle most. If you turn on all the assist systems, you can technically finish a course without ever taking your finger off the accelerator.
Furthermore, 'Forza Horizon 6' provides content for beginners who aren't familiar with car upgrades and tuning. The NPC 'Yuji,' mentioned earlier, is the guide here. As you enjoy the car maintenance story with him, he briefly explains the effects of each tuning option. You can remember these tips to fine-tune your own cars for specific races, or simply download tunes created by other players.
That's not all. The game even features an autonomous driving function. When you need to travel long distances between races on the map, you can ask your AI assistant, ANNA, to take the wheel—and this can even be used during races.
When you turn on autonomous driving during a race, the car follows the racing line perfectly, driving for you. While it's hard to overtake because it brakes honestly for every corner, if you use a bit of 'body-checking' at the start to secure first place, it becomes incredibly easy to finish in the lead using the auto-drive feature.
This FSD—or rather, autonomous driving system—is bound to be divisive. While it is entirely optional, its presence means that the many races on the map can quickly become mere 'grind fodder' for reaching the next tier. This plays a significant role in the shortcomings I will discuss later.
Theoretically the ultimate form, so why does it lose steam
The previous title, 'Forza Horizon 5,' showed the near-perfect form of an open-world racing (+sandbox) game in almost every aspect. If one had to find a flaw, perhaps it was that the setting of Mexico was just a bit too vast. Fans hoped to race through a city filled with skyscrapers, and Playground Games granted that wish in this title.
If so, shouldn't 'Forza Horizon 6' be the 'ultimate form' that gamers could hope for in the racing genre? It has solidified its unique position in the 'open-world racing' genre over six main titles, and this game features gameplay worthy of that reputation. Yet, why does it feel harder to pick up the controller as you reach the later stages.
In my personal opinion, the reason lies in a 'weak motivation.' While there is a basic goal of raising your rank to get a gold wristband—which is clearer than in the previous game—it essentially just involves repetitive racing to build reputation. No new regions open up; it's just a matter of unlocking new races in existing areas.
When you first start roaming Tokyo, every race is a fun and lighthearted experience, but by the time you get the purple wristband, your feelings start to change. 'Do I have to do another few laps?' This eventually leads to the result of asking the AI to drive for you just to earn points.
It's not a narrative-heavy game, but I wonder what it would have been like to have at least one rival. Like Ash Ketchum had Gary Oak in Pokémon. If the game could have instilled the sense that 'I am having the race of my life against someone for this wristband,' wouldn't all the races I've cleared have felt more meaningful.
Instead, 'Forza Horizon 6' continues to emphasize only the 'festival.' Attend, drive hundreds of cool cars, and explore Japan. If you keep driving, the wristband color changes on its own. You don't need to obsess over winning, but if you want, you can designate one of the other players as a rival and fight it out.
It might be a dream world for racing game enthusiasts, but if you drive the same roads over and over, you eventually get tired. With the addition of autonomous driving, which lets you legally take your hands off the controller, it's perhaps a natural structural outcome that the game loses steam in the later stages.
Still, it's a near-perfect stage for racing fans
Taking that into account, 'Forza Horizon 6' is a near-perfect game for racing fans. With driving assists and even autonomous driving, it's perfect for beginners. You can find almost everything you need for a fun race—the surface you want, the car you want—in this game. Of course, that includes sandbox and battle royale modes as well.
Furthermore, the public roads (open world) have been upgraded with various elements for community play. There are more activities that trigger automatically when you get close, without needing to start a race manually, and there's even a system that rewards you with more points for causing chaos on the road with other players.
Where else could armchair racers find a better option than this.
- A Japan-themed festival that fulfills fans' wishes
- Map design that perfectly captures the local feel
- Driving assist system perfect for beginners
- Korean voice support from launch
- Loses steam in the later stages
- A flashy case of 'standing still' created by a perfect formula
Review Platform: PC (Review Build)
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