The Forza Horizon series is one of the most consistent. From the original Forza Horizon Each entry released on the Xbox 360 in 2012 gave racing fans vast open worlds to explore, filled with exciting events to conquer and objects to destroy in the name of pulling off combos. Forza Horizon 6 brings established Forza Horizon formula to Japan and, unsurprisingly, it keeps the franchise's hot streak going. Forza Horizon 6 doesn't reinvent the wheel, but delivers another high-quality open-world racing experience.
Some may be disappointed by this Forza Horizon 6 doesn't stray too far from the franchise's proven formula, but I believe if it ain't broke, don't fix it. After an exciting and explosive opening race typical of the series, Forza Horizon 6 allows players to unleash his vision of the open world of Japan, from the brightly lit streets of Tokyo to beautiful landscapes to dangerous mountain peaks. Forza Horizon 6The map is huge but dense and absolutely overflowing with things worth doing. Here it is something entertainment at almost every corner.
Forza Horizon 6 is full of valuable content
Most Forza Horizon 6 players will likely be busy with the Horizon Festival events, which separate chunks of the map for more traditional racing competitions, and it's all a lot of fun, but there are also jumps, speed traps and drifting challenges. Completing these lower-level events earns you points that unlock new bracelets, giving players access to even more events and challenges. Defeating enough of them will grant players access to premium Showcase events that even include a race against Gundam– Stylish moss this time.
The hours will fly by as you make your way through Forza Horizon 6main content, but it's only the tip of the iceberg. When not actively competing in Horizon Festival events, players will be searching for hidden treasure cars and barn finds, racing in multiplayer competitions, and joining stunt parties that challenge players to work together to score as many points as possible. There is so much to the game that it can be overwhelming at times, but the constant flow of rewards makes it all worth it.
Forza Horizon 6 has over 600 cars to collect (including loyalty reward vehicles earned by playing previous entries), which players can purchase directly with in-game currency or win by spinning wheels and reaching certain thresholds in various challenges. There are also plenty of customization options to unlock, from specialized horns (including Windows XP's shutdown sound) to avatar clothing.
Most of the multiplayer features were not properly testable during the period under review, but Forza Horizon 6 should offer an experience similar to past games, with the return of fan-favorite modes such as the battle royale-style Eliminator among the various co-op and PvP options available.
The reward is a carrot on a stick, which makes it particularly difficult to put down Forza Horizon 6 down, but even if that wasn't a factor, the sheer joy of driving around Japan's open world, performing ridiculously high combos and crashing into every breakable object in sight is enough to keep you glued to the controller for hours. Even after I had my fill of all the organized racing action, I still found myself launching the game to take a drive and see the sights.
As the first game in the series to be built from the ground up specifically with Xbox Series X/S hardware in mind, Forza Horizon 6 is nothing short of stunning. From little things like realistic reflections in a puddle, to the view of the sunrise behind a snowy mountain, to the game's impressive set of weather effects, Forza Horizon 6 is one of the best looking racing games on the market. The cars look incredible, the world looks amazing, and even at top speed and maximum destruction, it never misses a beat. I experienced zero performance hiccups, even as I flew through a blooming forest and hit dozens of trees in seconds at nearly 200 mph. Like its predecessors, Forza Horizon 6 is a technical marvel.
Forza Horizon 6 is not Quite Perfect
But that doesn't mean it's completely free of any rough edges. Forza Horizon 6 it has a few notable glitches that I experienced during my playtime with the game, like one issue where the Skill Song logo wouldn't leave the screen even after completion, blocking important information and forcing a reset. And then there were a couple of story missions where I successfully completed the objectives and the game acknowledged and recognized it, but still the missions didn't complete properly. This annoying problem came up several times during my attempt to complete Forza Horizon 6's story missions, but thankfully thanks to the nifty rewind feature it wasn't too frustrating.
Forza Horizon 6The story missions are the overall weak point of the pack. In addition to completion errors, Forza Horizon 6The story missions are boring compared to the Horizon Festival content. They consist of stakeless pilot missions where players have to do things like take a picture of a certain car in a specific location or follow their friends to see the sights. The characters are all generic with zero depth and the stories themselves are rarely particularly interesting. It's the only content in the game that feels like a busy job checking things off a list, as opposed to something you actually want to do because it's fun.
Forza Horizon 6 it also lacks one big defining new feature that helps set it apart from its predecessors, so some longtime fans of the series may feel like the game is “more of the same.” As I said before, I'm confident that the successful formula doesn't need much tinkering, but it's still a little disappointing that there isn't one big new feature Forza Horizon 6 to the next level. The new Horizon Rush events are obstacle courses that are fun enough, but no different from standard racing events, and things like Estate customization, while appreciated, won't hold most players' attention for long.
Forza Horizon 6 it's more of the same, but when the “same” is some of the best open world racing ever made, it's hard to be mad at it. Fans of racing games can easily lose tens, if not hundreds, of hours of exploration Forza Horizon 6Japan's open world and competes in many campaigns and multiplayer events, and while what's here at launch is worth the price of admission on its own, there's likely to be some fantastic post-launch support to make the game even better. Simply put, Forza Horizon 6 is a safe investment for racing game enthusiasts and even those who don't usually enjoy the genre.
- Released
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May 19, 2026
- ESRB
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Everyone / Mild texts, user interactions, in-game purchases
- Publishers
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Xbox Game Studios
- A beautiful, massive open world that is a joy to explore
- Full of challenging and exciting racing events and other challenges
- Tons of valuable content to unlock
- The story content is disappointing compared to the rest of the pack
Forza Horizon 6 releases May 19 for PC and Xbox Series X/S. A PlayStation 5 version is also in development. Game Rant was provided with an Xbox Series X/S code for this review.
