'Forza Horizon 6' Review: All Gas, No Brakes

Despite it not being my favorite genre, I've reviewed no shortage of racing games over the years from long-running series like Gran Turismo and Need for Speed to single entries like ModNation Racers or Split/Second. By far, my favorite racing titles have come from the Forza franchise-for the uninitiated, Forza Motorsport, developed by Turn 10 Studios, is more simulation-based while Forza Horizon, from developer Playground Games, has an open-world, arcade feel.

It's been over four years since Playground dropped Forza Horizon 5 to nearly universal acclaim, and its follow-up, Forza Horizon 6, shows the developer hasn't been idle. The newest entry moves the series entirely into the current generation of hardware, and it also moves the game itself to a highly anticipated all-new location, Japan.

Let's get this out of the way: Forza Horizon 6 is one of the best-looking games I've ever played. The amount of detail seemingly packed into every inch of the world is incredible, allowing you to get up close and personal with hundreds of different cars (inside and out) and drive them freely through a beautifully crafted world.

While it's a condensed version of Japan, the level of care that's gone into crafting it is obvious, whether you're tearing through Tokyo's sprawling streets or cruising the countryside, driving through bamboo forests or snowy mountains. The different biomes are all just beautiful, to the point that as I write this dozens of moments where I've wanted to stop and just take in the various elements working in concert are flashing through my head-rain pouring down, multicolored wind socks flapping in the breeze, water beading on the camera-and the return of seasons gives even more reasons to revisit areas to see how they've changed.

Pictures can't even do the game justice. You must see it in action. Running on an Xbox Series X, I never experienced any drops in the frame rate even as dozens of cars raced through detail-rich environments at high speeds. I can only imagine what a high-end PC can conjure up. Suffice to say, this is an absolute visual showpiece for your system of choice.

The audio side is impressive as well, recreating the standard array of engines roaring and wheels squealing with a nice amount of variation for a wide assortment of vehicle types. I wasn't overly engaged with the game's soundtrack, though that isn't a huge surprise since I am not a regular consumer of car culture. It's also not easy to read what DJs are saying when you need to focus on not falling behind or crashing into other cars.

Driving your cars feels intuitive and strikes a nice balance between being approachable and rewarding more skilled execution. Focusing in on the former, Forza Horizon 6 truly comes across as a game that wants to give everyone a chance to enjoy it. There are loads of different options and adjustments you can make to the difficulty, braking, steering, and other tweaks to help novice drivers. You're free to go the other way as well, cranking up the challenge and disabling the various assists.

At the top of the assistance food chain is the ability to rewind. This can be done while driving around the world or in the heat of a race, allowing you to jump back at set intervals to erase a critical mistake that would've otherwise had dire consequences. I love this. It's implemented well, is easy to use, and is a godsend for those who don't want one bad decision to undo minutes of strong racing. Again, it can be disabled, but it's there if you're someone who just wants to enjoy the game relatively stress-free.

There is a campaign, such as it is, where you and a friend have joined another friend in Japan on short notice and are looking to qualify for the Horizon Festival. This is one of several leveling systems found within Forza Horizon 6 where you must earn points to unlock different-colored wristbands that grant access to more advanced race circuits. It serves to provide a central focus, but you can also choose to just drive around and participate in whatever event you'd like.

This is another area where the game absolutely shines. There is an incredible amount of content, and every time you look at the map, you're sure to see various markers begging for you to take a little detour to find stuff like boost boards that give additional experience points, regional mascots, impromptu races, aftermarket cars for sale, and more.

In addition to the Festival side, the campaign also includes the mellower Discover Japan, which awards points separately for exploring the open world. Within these are day trips where you get a tour of a region and then finish with a race. Not that the game really needed to incentivize driving around to check out the incredible scenery, but it's still appreciated.

It's part of a constant dopamine barrage of rewards and advancement. It feels like everything you do is rewarded in some way with experience points or credits, which can be used to buy additional cars and other goodies. Activity goals are segmented off into so many compartments-street racing, food delivery, photography, off-road racing, speed zones, stunts, additional houses-that you can't help but feel a perpetual sense of progression.

Even having touched on all of that, it still feels like I've barely scratched the surface on what's available in Forza Horizon 6. To that end, I haven't even discussed what's arguably the main draw: the cars. There are over 550 cars available at launch, and each one of them can be customized and modded to whatever degree you want. Many can be purchased right off the bat while others will need to be tracked down.

For all the content it provides, there's a lot of overlap with previous entries in the series, making the game feel inherently familiar. While not necessarily a bad thing, anyone hoping the newest iteration would take any big swings could be disappointed. How much to tinker and how much to stand pat is always a tricky thing for sports titles. It does seem like Forza Horizon 6 plays it pretty safe on that front.

It's also worth noting that, having played the game ahead of launch with very few other players active, I haven't had any dealings with the multiplayer aspect. The option to race with others or show off your creations comes up frequently, though, so I have no reason to suspect it won't function as intended once this virtual Japan is populated by thousands of gamers.

Final Score (9.5/10)

It's not easy to create something that can appeal to genre diehards and still be approachable to casual players alike, but Playground Games has threaded that needle deftly with Forza Horizon 6. It looks amazing, plays great, has a massive world to explore, and is bursting at the seams with content. I'm not sure how much more racing fans of any dedication or skill level can ask for.

Related: 'Directive 8020' Review: In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream...in Frustration

This story was originally published by Men's Journal on May 14, 2026, where it first appeared in the Entertainment section. Add Men's Journal as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 3:19 PM.