Forza Horizon 6 Review: One of the Best-Looking Racing Games Ever

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I’ve been playing the Forza Horizon games for years, and honestly, they’re one of the most reliable franchises out there. It started with the first Forza Horizon on the Xbox 360 back in 2012, and every game since has given us these huge, beautiful open worlds packed with stuff to do – races, challenges, and tons of things to smash for extra points. Forza Horizon 6 takes all that and brings it to Japan, and it’s more of what I love about the series. It doesn’t try to be super innovative, but it’s another really polished and fun open-world racing game.

Some players might be hoping for a big change in Forza Horizon 6, but I think sticking with what works is a good thing. After a thrilling opening race, the game lets you explore a beautiful open-world Japan, ranging from the vibrant city of Tokyo to peaceful rural areas and challenging mountains. The map is massive and packed with things to do – you’ll find something fun around almost every turn.

Forza Horizon 6 is Full of Worthwhile Content

Most players of Forza Horizon 6 will probably spend a lot of time participating in the Horizon Festival events – these divide the game world into areas for classic races, and they’re all really enjoyable. But there are also plenty of other things to do, like finding jumps, testing your speed with traps, and mastering drifting challenges. Completing these smaller events earns you points, which unlock new wristbands, giving you access to even more content. If you succeed in enough of these, you’ll unlock the spectacular Showcase events, which this time even include a race against a mech inspired by Gundam.

You’ll lose track of time enjoying the main events in Forza Horizon 6, but that’s just the beginning. Beyond the festival, you can hunt for classic cars hidden around the world, compete with other players online, and team up with friends in Stunt Parties to earn high scores. There’s a ton to do, and it might feel like a lot, but the constant rewards make it all worthwhile.

In Forza Horizon 6, you can collect over 600 cars by earning in-game money or winning them through challenges and a lucky spin. You can also personalize your experience with tons of customization options, like unique horns (even the classic Windows XP shutdown sound!) and clothing for your avatar.

We couldn’t fully test the multiplayer features before launch, but Forza Horizon 6 should play much like previous games in the series. Players can expect popular modes like Eliminator – a battle royale-style experience – alongside a variety of cooperative and player-versus-player options.

Honestly, the rewards in Forza Horizon 6 are super addictive – they always give you something to chase! But even if there weren’t any, I’d still be playing. Just driving around the open world of Japan is amazing, and trying to pull off those crazy, high-scoring combos while wrecking everything I can find is just… fun! I finished all the races and challenges, but I still found myself launching the game just to cruise around and enjoy the scenery. It’s that good!

Built specifically for the Xbox Series X/S, Forza Horizon 6 is a truly beautiful game. From the realistic way light reflects on puddles to breathtaking sunrises over snowy mountains and impressive weather effects, it’s easily one of the best-looking racing games available. The cars and world are incredibly detailed, and the game runs flawlessly even during fast-paced, chaotic moments. I didn’t encounter any performance issues, even while speeding through a forest at almost 200 mph and demolishing trees. Like previous Forza Horizon games, this installment is a technical masterpiece.

Forza Horizon 6 Isn’t Quite Perfect

While generally polished, Forza Horizon 6 isn’t without its flaws. I encountered a few glitches during gameplay, including one where the Skill Song logo remained stuck on the screen, obscuring important information and requiring a game restart. I also had issues with some story missions: I’d complete them successfully, and the game would even register my progress, but the missions wouldn’t actually finish. This happened several times while I was trying to complete the story, but thankfully the rewind feature helped minimize the frustration.

The story missions in Forza Horizon 6 are the weakest part of the game. They feel uninspired and repetitive compared to the exciting Horizon Festival events. These missions often involve simple tasks like taking photos or following other cars, and they lack any real challenge or excitement. The characters aren’t memorable, and the stories aren’t very engaging. Unlike the rest of the game, the story missions feel like chores – things you do just to complete them, rather than because they’re actually fun.

While Forza Horizon 6 is a solid game, it doesn’t introduce a truly groundbreaking new feature that sets it apart from previous installments. Some dedicated fans might find this makes it feel too similar to what’s come before. Although a winning formula doesn’t always need major changes, it’s a bit of a letdown that there isn’t something truly innovative to elevate the game. The new Horizon Rush events are enjoyable, but don’t offer a significantly different experience from regular races, and features like customizing your estate, while nice, likely won’t keep players engaged for very long.

Forza Horizon 6 doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but that’s okay – the original formula was already one of the best open-world racing experiences around. Players can easily spend countless hours driving around Japan, completing the game’s campaigns and competing with others. It’s a great value even at launch, and likely to get even better with future updates. If you enjoy racing games, Forza Horizon 6 is a solid purchase, and it might even win over those who don’t usually play the genre.

Forza Horizon 6 will be available on PC and Xbox Series X/S starting May 19th. A version for PlayStation 5 is also being created. We at Game Rant received a code for Xbox Series X/S to review the game.

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2026-05-14 15:06