Originally developed as a spinoff from the mainline Forza Motorsport games, the Forza Horizon titles have become a franchise in their own right. Offering expansive, open-world maps, each installment highlights a specific area of the world. Forza Horizon 5 was based in Mexico, and the latest installment is all about Japan.

Playground Games has kept the overall formula generally the same with Forza Horizon 6. If anything, the latest game almost feels more restrained than its predecessors. Yes, there are some over-the-top moments like racing against a giant mech (even if the specific race is impossible to lose), but they don't seem to pop up as often as in prior games. Another element that makes Forza Horizon 6 feel more restrained is the focus on road racing.

It's not that the game doesn't let you go off road or that dirt roads don't exist, it's just that Forza Horizon 6 seems to be focused on keeping you to the main roads. Part of this may be the world design, with the map biomes feeling more natural but less varied. Downtown Tokyo looks fantastic (especially at night), which covers city driving, while the freeways through the forested hills and farmlands tend to blend together. There's a mountain to explore, and racing down the iced over roads can be a blast if you head to that corner of the map. Aside from the barn finds, there seemed to be little reason to explore. Activity after activity kept me on the main roads. It's not a bad thing, but it is a vibe shift from the previous games, which seemed to reward those who explored off the beaten path.

Some of this may be due to the fact that progression through the Horizon Festival events can only occur with festival-specific racing. If you want to qualify for a wristband event, you're going to spend most of your time in cross country racing, dirt racing, road racing, or the stunts like jumps, speed traps, and speed zones. The trailblazer events are ostensibly designed to get you off the main roads, but since they are just a point-to-point speed contest, those events are more about going fast and keeping control of your vehicle rather than actually exploring.

As for the actual racing, it's as solid as ever. Forza Horizon 6 still has the full simulation engine underneath, so you can hop in as a casual player and just have fun or put on your hardcore hat to tweak and tune to your heart's content. After all the driving itself is the showcase, and the Forza Horizon team is still at the top of its game.

Because I reviewed Forza Horizon 6 on a console, I spent my time playing with a controller, and even with that, the handling difference between the different cars was quite obvious. As my collection quickly grew, I naturally gravitated toward a few, and they weren't always the fastest or the lightest cars. Between the visual cues on-screen and the smart use of the Xbox controller's rumble motors, I was usually able to tell when my vehicle was being pushed to the limits and was about to lose traction before I saw it happen on-screen. It was a rewarding feeling during a race against AI opponents, especially when I was able to correct and maintain my racing line, but it could also be exhilarating when it was just me and the clock — and I was encouraged to push the car just a little bit harder to shave an additional half second off my time. The feeling of being on the edge of control is hard to beat, even if it is an illusion.

Alongside the Horizon Festival, Forza Horizon 6 also has Discover Japan. Rather than being a separate mode, Discover Japan is a parallel progression that is focused on finding landmarks, building your car collection, Togue and street racing, drift contests, photography, and food delivery. Yes, Forza Horizon 6 has a Door Dash mode.

It's not quite the Crazy Taxi experience, but it'll have you racing from pickup to drop-off, while pulling skill moves (such as near-misses) to increase your star rating and earn more credits. Food delivery feels more like a bonus than a fully integrated element of gameplay, but it's nice to see the team experimenting.

The day trip events are an interesting element, but the execution could likely be improved. On the surface, the day trips are a way to get a guided tour through an area while learning about the region and the overall history of Japan. Unfortunately, when you're driving quickly through an area, you don't really have too much time to stop and smell the roses. It's a great idea (and something I'd like to see expanded on in future games), but Playground should take a look at what Ubisoft did with the discovery mode in the Assassin's Creed games. Forza doesn't need to get to that level, but a step in that direction would make the day trips a whole lot more engaging.

Most of this review is focused on the solo experience because it was played pre-release. That said, Forza Horizon 6 does have a number of multiplayer options. You can party up in a convoy and play most events in co-op or competitive. There are also specific Horizon Play multiplayer modes available.

On the creative side, you can build out custom garages at your in-game homes to show off your car collection, while a purchasable estate allows you to go to town with a larger space. Garages and estates can be shared with other players, with the estates earning you credits based on the number of plays and likes given by other players. For example, during the review window, Playground employees shared some estate designs. One was a drift track, while another was a neon stunt track. I can't wait to see what players at large come up with once Forza Horizon 6 hits wide release.

We will have a separate PC review post-release, but for those looking to jump in on day one, Windows performance is solid. Because the game is Play Anywhere, I was able to load it up on a spare laptop and play a few rounds at 1080p and medium graphics quality. Unfortunately, our reviewer with a Steam Deck was not so lucky. As of review time, the Steam version of the game did not run correctly on the Steam Deck. It had audio, but no video. Hopefully a day one patch will fix that up.

Forza Horizon 6 delivers exactly what it promises, but it doesn't really innovate on the franchise. This is basically comfort food gaming. It's fun and familiar, but it doesn't break new ground. If you're a fan of the franchise, you won't be disappointed. If you're new to racing games, Forza Horizon 6 is a fantastic entry point, but if you're on a budget, you may want to pick up a copy of Forza Horizon 5 instead, as it's often on sale.

Score: 8.5/10