Since the very early days of Forza Horizon, fans have been begging for an installment to be set in Japan, and with the series’ sixth iteration developer Playground Games finally delivered. Forza Horizon 6 stays true to the formula that has made the games so successful while still managing to introduce new, fresh features. Not every feature is destined to be a winner, though.

FH6 delivers the largest map to date for the series, rendering its beautifully stylized version of Japan in impressive detail. They’ve incorporated several iconic spots into the map. Shibuya Crossing, Mt. Fuji, the Route C1 circle, Mt. Haruna (Akina to Initial D fans) and the Tokyo Tower can all be found as you’re cruising around the various regions. They even included versions of Ebisu’s East Course and Nikko Circuit, albeit altered slightly and under different names. Rally and offroad fans have access to plenty of interesting dirt roads as well.

Despite its beauty and the accuracy of some of its recreations, the game does fall into the trap of having very wide roads, even on the tight mountain passes whose real-life counterparts are often barely wide enough for two cars to pass one another. Beyond the obvious effect of making roads less challenging, it also makes cars that would feel fast as hell in real life feel slow. A real-life drift car making 350-400 horsepower can hang at most tracks and grassroots events, but I found myself needing double that at times just to be able to extend enough to link certain roads.

Games struggle with quantifying the competitive side of drifting, and FH6 is no exception. The concept of earning points by drifting through a course, earning a higher score by pouring on more speed or angle has been around since Need for Speed: Underground, and probably even earlier. The trouble comes when developers try to figure out how to incorporate a second driver into the mix. At best, you get a car on rails following a pre-programmed route that you can try to door. At worst, you get a car making a half-assed, drive straight to the corner and grab the e-brake just to plow into the wall kind of attempt at drifting.

FH6 ranks just above the latter. If you’re sideways, you’re earning points. Zones, line, other cars be damned. Most every online drift lobby becomes a manji-fest, thanks in no small part to some courses that have no business being called a drift track. There’s no battle aspect, no emphasis on driving with others, no zones or clipping points. Just a bunch of ghost cars desperately trying to spend 100% of a lap as sideways as they can possibly be. It’s worth reiterating that this isn’t a Forza-specific issue, just one that I was hoping a triple-A developed game set in the birthplace of drifting would solve.

Without meaning to harp too much on the shortcomings of the drift culture representations in the game, the Drift Club: Japan missions are pretty rough as well. They put you behind the wheel of several different rear-wheel drive cars as you follow a pair of NPCs in pro drift cars as they wax poetic about the freedom and creativity of drifting, all while doing the most basic handbrake entries and sliding through single corners before gripping up and calmly driving to the next turn. Room for improvement.

The car selection at release feels quite strong, with some pleasant surprises especially when it comes to JDM representation. The models look great for the most part, and it feels like some that have gone years and years without an update were touched up for this release. They haven’t made any big leaps forward in their car customization options, but there are some pleasant surprises. The R34 GT-R front-end swap for the Stagea wagon, for example, is a cool addition. The limited customization is almost certainly a tradeoff for the huge car selection players are treated to, but it’s hard not to feel like we’ve gone backwards somewhat from the extensive options afforded by both triple-A games from more than a decade ago and some more recent offerings from smaller developers.

That’s most of the negatives out of the way. Luckily, the positives are numerous and outweigh their counterparts. The game is just a ton of fun. The 20-odd hours I’ve put into the game since release have flown by, and I’ve barely scratched the surface of what it has to offer. Racing the massive mech on the way to earning your blue wristband is just sick as hell. Sure, it’s a little silly and sure, you only win because the mech breaks down right before the finish, but driving a sweet, widebodied Acura NSX while a big-ass robot trash talks you and flies, skates, swings and stomps through the picturesque Japanese countryside and Playground Games’ stylized recreation of Tokyo is just awesome.

Smashing through adorable mascot statues representing the food specialties of the different regions while you cruise around the huge map manages to be both very satisfying and somewhat educational. It adds some spice to the XP board system Horizon fans are familiar with at this point. Speaking of smashing, FH6 has moved beyond the practice of arbitrarily deciding which trees will stop your car dead in its tracks and which ones you can knock over, with the exception of cherry trees. Those, as a cultural symbol of Japan, are protected. Just about everything else comes down with ease, making hunting for barn finds and building skill meters much less frustrating. 

The atmosphere around the different races and series is very fun and the highly-adjustable difficulty settings make for a rewarding experience that you can tailor to the amount you want to perspire, all the way from casual graphics appreciator to poop bucket, nose-on-screen tryhard. The community experience, in my limited playtime, is much the same as in past titles. Convoys could do with something like a server browser instead of the random placement system that it has now, but it’s obviously a system more geared toward groups of friends than random lobbies. I was able to find several fun drift convoys just by jumping around randomly using the keyword filter system, but it took joining and quickly leaving several lobbies that only had two or three people in them.

New food delivery missions are a fun way to earn some credits and their different requirements, be it a time limit or a skill score goal, make them challenging. The day trips are a nice way to passively learn more about Japan while driving some cars you might not have otherwise tried out, and time trials on various circuits are a cool addition to the speed trap, speed zone and drift zone system players are familiar with. The estate builder system gives players a pretty huge sandbox to play and create in with a decent-sized toolbox of assets. With some dedication, you can recreate your favorite real-life tracks or build your own dream course.

Despite the shortcomings in some of the drift-specific modes and features, FH6 is, on its whole, a very fun game. A eurobeat song coming on the radio while you test out your newest build on their recreation of a portion of Mt. Haruna just feels right, and cruising Tokyo’s streets at night looking for a spot to snap a photo of your freshest livery is very cool. There are some glitches here and there, and some features that feel a little threadbare at the moment, but those will likely be improved upon over the lifespan of the game. Playground Games has done a very solid job of giving players a beautiful world to rip around in and plenty of cars, game modes and creative tools to shape the experience into whatever you want it to be.

Our Rating: 8.25/10

Pros:

• Beautiful stylized version of Japan
• Solid car selection at launch
• Tons of modes
• Fun re-imaginings of past features
• Highly tailorable gameplay experience
• Improves on past criticisms

Cons:

• Frustratingly limited car customization

• Poorly done drift modes and storyline

• Too many big, wide roads