I recently turned 27, and last month I had my very first driving lesson. Ironically, I’ve probably driven more kilometers in Forza Horizon than I ever have in real life. Forza Horizon has always been my franchise, my baby. I absolutely love this series. As far as I can remember, I’ve played every single Horizon game, and in many ways, I grew up with it. Forza Horizon 6 was developed by Playground Games and published by Xbox Game Studios. Playground Games has been the developer behind every Horizon game since the first release in 2012, while Xbox Game Studios publishes the games on Xbox and PC.
I’ve always loved racing games because they’re a great way to clear my mind. There’s something relaxing about driving around while singing along to your favorite songs. Over time, I realized that realistic racing games were never really my thing. I’ve always preferred arcade racers instead. That’s also why I’m such a big fan of Mario Kart and other games like it. When I heard that Forza Horizon 6 was coming out, and that it would take place in Japan, I was instantly hyped. Japan has been one of the most requested locations for years, so I was really happy Playground Games finally decided to make it happen.
Welcome to Japan
One of the biggest strengths of Forza Horizon 6 is definitely its setting. Playground Games did a great job bringing Japan to life. Every part of the map feels different, and there are so many little details to discover while driving around. Sometimes I even forgot I was supposed to do a race because I was too busy exploring the world. To me, that’s exactly what a Horizon game should be.
Normally I don’t really care about collectibles. I’ll collect a few, forget they exist, and move on with the story. Somehow, Playground Games managed to make the Regional Mascots actually fun to collect. Before I knew it, I had collected all 200 of them. It also helped that they looked really cute, which made finding every single one even more satisfying.
Music & Atmosphere
I also really liked the Japanese radio station. In previous Horizon games, I almost always listened to the classical station, but this time I spent most of my time driving around with Japanese music playing in the background. It just fits the setting so well.
And of course, I can’t forget You by Lane 8, the song that plays in the main menu. Every time I heard “I wanna wake up where you are, I wanna wake up where you are, every day,” I immediately felt like starting another session. It’s funny how such a simple song can suddenly become so special because of a game. I actually have that with every Horizon game. Whenever I hear one of those menu songs again, I instantly think back to the time I spent playing.
It’s also a song that definitely got stuck in Dex’s head, since I was constantly game-sharing with him while playing. Even now, hearing those first few lines immediately reminds both of us of our time in Forza Horizon 6.
Endless Fun Until You Finish the Game
I honestly had a great time with this game. I completed the story, most of the achievements, and pretty much everything else the game had to offer. That’s also where my biggest criticism starts. Once you’ve finished almost everything, there honestly isn’t much left to do. Sure, there’s the seasonal playlist, but for me that wasn’t enough to keep coming back. After a while, I simply removed the game from my Xbox because I felt like I had seen everything the game had to offer.
NPCs, Please Learn How to Drive
I did get pretty frustrated with the NPCs at times. The random traffic cars felt like they weighed a thousand tons and sometimes seemed completely unaware that I even existed. There were plenty of moments where I was building a huge Skill Chain, driving perfectly, and grinding Skill Points, only for a random traffic car to suddenly slam into me out of nowhere. Just like that, my Skill Chain was gone… and there went my Skill Points. This happened way more often than I’d like to admit.
The Drivatars could also be a little too aggressive. They often braked way too late and weren’t afraid to push you off the road, which made some races feel more frustrating than challenging.
And of course, we can’t forget the legendary Bowie Knife99. He became one of the biggest memes in the Forza Horizon 6 community because he had a reputation for absolutely destroying players during races. Surprisingly though, he was actually pretty nice to me. Maybe I was just one of the lucky ones.
Final Thoughts
Forza Horizon 6 reminded me why I fell in love with this franchise all those years ago. Japan was everything I hoped it would be, the world was fun to explore, the soundtrack was great, and for the first time in years I actually enjoyed collecting collectibles. Sure, the NPCs annoyed me more than once, and once you’ve completed almost everything there’s not much reason to come back. But by that point I’d already spent dozens of hours with the game.
At the end of the day, that’s what matters to me. I had fun. I found myself driving around for no reason, collecting all the Regional Mascots, singing along to the radio, and simply enjoying the world. That’s exactly what I want from a Forza Horizon game, and Playground Games delivered once again.
Note: We normally receive review copies from publishers in exchange for an honest review. This time, we didn’t, so we ended up buying a Game Pass subscription ourselves. No regrets though, we still had a great time with the game. But hey, Xbox… if you’re reading this, we’d happily review your next game too.
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