Forza Horizon 6

I've been running co-op sessions with friends since Forza Horizon 3, so landing in Japan for FH6 felt like the series finally arriving at its most natural home. Street racing through Tokyo's elevated expressways, touge battles on fog-thick mountain passes, cherry blossom physics that actually react to your tyres, the location is not just a backdrop, it earns its place in every race. The map is the star. Tokyo City is reportedly five times larger than any urban area in a previous Horizon entry, and the density shows: compressed side streets give way to industrial arteries, which open onto sweeping mountain routes and rice paddy byways in the south. Playground added a fog-of-war exploration system via the Collection Journal, a stamp-album mechanic inspired by real Japanese travel culture that makes discovering a new corner of the map feel rewarding rather than like ticking off a checklist. There are also 200 regional mascot collectibles scattered across the world, car meets built around genuine Japanese parking lot culture, and the new Touge Battle mode, a 1v1 duel on twisty mountain roads that feels like a direct love letter to anyone who ever watched Initial D. For a couch session or an online lobby of mates, the variety here is very hard to argue with. On the mechanics side, this is evolution rather than reinvention, which is both FH6's strength and the loudest criticism it's attracting. The core event types, road racing, cross-country, street racing, PR stunts, showcase spectacles, are all present. The new R class cars are genuinely a handful, and the 540-degree steering animation in cockpit view is a meaningful improvement for wheel users. Auto Drive, a mode where the AI pilots your car to a waypoint while you sightsee, is a smart addition on a map this size. The new wristband progression system requires you to start as a festival tourist and earn your place at the Invitational, which is a much more grounded opener than FH5's instant-superstar treatment. On the less flattering side: the story dialogue is broadly considered throwaway, some critics feel the overall formula hasn't pushed far enough, and a portion of user reviews flag online racing balance as a work in progress. These are familiar Horizon complaints, not dealbreakers. For the multiplayer crowd asking the important question: yes, online co-op is fully supported through the campaign, and the Eliminator battle royale mode returns with up to 72 players. The Car Meet social hubs let you park up with real players, trade liveries, and generally mess about without any competitive pressure, which is exactly the energy for a Saturday night session. The game does require a persistent internet connection and a Microsoft account, so pure offline play is off the table, worth flagging before you commit. Wheel and FFB support is present and steering has been smoothed, though some hardcore sim wheel users note FH6 is still pitched more toward a gamepad audience by design. If you bounced off Mexico in FH5 because the landscape felt repetitive, Japan is a genuine upgrade in environmental variety. If you were hoping Playground would tear up the formula, that's not what this is. What it is, though, is the most complete and visually striking open-world driving sandbox you can play on PC right now, with enough content to justify months of regular sessions.

Riley · Scout Team

Sports & racing

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