I’m not going to start this analysis by trying to sound interesting. Did I like it?, did I not like it?… I absolutely loved the game and it is, for me, the best arcade racing game I’ve ever played, and I’ve got plenty of gray hairs.
After more than 100 hours of driving (Xbox sent us a code a month ago, let’s be honest), I waited until I was clear on what the game is and what it’s trying to do. That’s why I’m now ready to talk in depth about Playground Games’ title.
Japan as you’d never seen it before: behind the wheel
The digital recreation of Japan in Forza Horizon 6 is, without a doubt, the most detailed and impressive world in the franchise to date. And Japan fits this series of journeys around the world perfectly, with its unique car culture, a huge network of highways, and gorgeous landscapes that blur into a wash of color outside the window.
Forza Horizon 6 also features the biggest and most complex urban environment in the franchise: Tokyo. This vast concrete labyrinth is made up of neon lights and a tangled network of elevated expressways, alleyways, streets, roads, and shortcuts.
Tearing through it at full speed feels different from any other part of the enormous map, which includes a condensed digital recreation —a sort of “best of”— of Tokyo and the rest of Japan, including snowy mountains, cherry blossoms, and green farmland.
Real life Japanese locations you can visit in Forza Horizon 6
There’s a total of 75 landmarks to discover in the game pic.twitter.com/1Pppxc9xEk
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) June 25, 2026
At one point, during a race that unlocks at the end of the game, you drive across all of Japan. It took me more than 20 minutes, and the variety of landscapes was incredible. I felt as if I had really crossed an entire country. And every time my journey took me to Tokyo or its surroundings, I was also impressed by the sheer scale of the place.
It’s a shame, then, that Forza Horizon 6 doesn’t make more use of Tokyo. I would’ve liked there to be more races, events, and moments in the city, but at launch it feels a little empty. Some areas feel like ghost towns because of the lack of pedestrians in Horizon 6 and the total absence of traffic.
This is an example of how the game puts fun ahead of reality, which is understandable, but it would’ve been interesting to drive in rush hour and get a clearer sense of Tokyo’s population density. But that wouldn’t be as fun as speeding through the city streets. And Horizon 6 is a game that seems terrified of you getting bored. So no traffic jams.
What cars do you want to drive? All of them, obviously
When you first arrive in Japan, they give you a few pretty ordinary cars (although my ’90s Toyota Celica is a beauty I’ll never trade away), very little money, and you have to earn your way into the Horizon Festival.
Unlike previous entries, you’re no longer a motorsport legend when you show up. Instead, you’re just some nobody trying to make a name for yourself with the help of a few local friends.
I really liked this idea. It avoided one of my biggest problems with the Horizon games: the way they instantly flood you with cars, money, rewards, and bonuses. I was hoping that this time I’d have to work hard and give it everything I had to get cooler, faster cars beyond the opening hours.
There are even some delivery jobs you can take on to earn a little extra money. They’re simple timed missions where players are asked to drive across Tokyo behind the wheel of a delivery van. They’re quite different from supercar races and stunt jumps, but, unfortunately, doing them quickly becomes a waste of time.
Forza Horizon 6 | First Gameplay Details:
▫️ Japan is the largest map in the series to date
▫️ Tokyo City is 5x larger than any previous Horizon City, featuring multiple districts inspired by real life locations
▫️ Over 550 cars at launch
▫️ Engine audio has been overhauled
▫️… pic.twitter.com/tJD3csOaL3
— KAMI (@Okami13_) January 22, 2026
But three hours after starting the game, I was already driving a supercar, had more than a million credits in my bank account, and was a full-fledged Horizon Festival driver that the various DJs you can hear on the game’s radio stations were already talking about. I never did another delivery job again. That’s why I would’ve liked Forza Horizon 6 to stretch out that feeling of scraping by and pushing yourself to the limit to become a famous and rich racing driver.
Unfortunately for me, this isn’t a franchise that likes to delay or deny gratification. It prefers handing out cool, insanely fast cars as soon as possible, instead of making you earn them and feel a sense of progression. It’s a missed opportunity, but one I forgot about pretty quickly, since the game offers an almost endless amount of races and fun activities to complete.
Driving is still the best thing about the game after 6 entries
The most important part of any racing game is the feeling of hitting the gas. And fortunately, the driving in Forza Horizon 6 is still as good as it has always been in the franchise. That’s largely because, behind the colorful arcade-style open world, the heart of Forza Motorsport’s driving and physics simulation engine is still beating, the best in its class.
You can open the customization screen and tweak every last detail of your car for hours and hours. All of that is still there. But you’ll almost never have to do it if you don’t want to. Even fans of casual driving (like me, really) benefit from all the work that has gone into making every car feel incredible and different. Going from a supercar to an old roadster can be tricky, since you have to relearn how each one handles.
Or maybe not, because Forza Horizon 6 includes a huge number of options that let you make the game’s driving much, much easier or, if you prefer, much, much harder. This time, you can even mark a point on the map and have your car drive there on its own while you enjoy the scenery. Horizon 6 is a true driving game designed for everyone, even, apparently, for people who don’t want to drive too much.
Horizon 6’s open world, music, and exploration will probably be what many players praise, but that’s only because the driving is so good that you almost don’t even notice it anymore. It’s all thanks to the impeccable driving system working quietly in the background. That’s the real reason why Forza Horizon 6 works.
Forza Horizon 6 full map revealed pic.twitter.com/GAf8hNM3E6
— Pirat_Nation 🔴 (@Pirat_Nation) April 8, 2026
Conclusion: a perfect game for people who love driving, having fun, and traveling
If you like Japan, if you like cars, if you like gorgeous landscapes, if you like going on road trips on the weekends, if you like sightseeing, if you like driving, if you like music… Forza Horizon 6 is made for practically every player out there today, because everything it does, it does well, and even your friend who doesn’t have a driver’s license will enjoy spending hours getting into a Subaru Impreza and drifting along the mountain roads on the outskirts of Tokyo.
Forza Horizon 6 is available on Xbox Series, PC, and PlayStation 5, so you have no excuse not to buy it right now and spend the whole summer burning rubber across Japan in your favorite car. And here’s a tip: this game is much more enjoyable with friends to compete with and laugh together at every turn. Playground Games has nailed it again.
