It’s fair to say that Forza Horizon 6 is the one we’ve all been waiting for. Playground Games is finally taking the arcade-inspired racing game series to Japan, which we already knew. But on Thursday, the studio gave a fairly detailed first look at the forthcoming installation, set to release on Xbox on May 19.
Playground Games seems to understand that nailing the map is even more important this time around. The two studio leaders who spoke during an Xbox livestream event elaborated that its representation of Japan mixes modern and traditional, rural and urban. In fact, they claim that the Tokyo City section of Forza Horizon 6’s playable world is five times larger than any urban setting it has ever created before, with multiple districts.
With open-world environments inspired by famous real-life routes like the C1 Loop and Ginkgo Avenue, it ought to be an authentic take on Japanese car culture’s most hallowed grounds. There will even be Daikoku PA-style car meets for players to join with their buds.
Several members of the Horizon team visited the country, obviously for inspiration but also to take detailed notes on the settings, right down to how fallen cherry blossoms blow around as a speeding car passes by. I’ve only been to Japan once, but everything I saw in the short first-look seemed reflective of what I experienced in places like Chiyoda and near Mt. Fuji. They even taped sound recordings across all four seasons to create a more true-to-reality audio experience.
“It’s easy to think of an authentic space as a recreation of a place, but it’s less about that accuracy, and more about the feel of it,” explained Forza Horizon 6 Design Director Torben Ellert. “If you think about driving in Tokyo, for example, what does that look like? What are the things that make it feel like this place? You’d see it in the distance from the freeways, before passing through the suburbs, then suddenly you’re in downtown, surrounded by skyscrapers.
“It’s about looking at roads, references, thinking about what you see in each place and how it feels when you turn a corner. You don’t recreate every corner—you recreate the experience of having something revealed when you get there.”
Almost as crucial as the map is the car list, which Playground Games says will expand beyond 550 different vehicles. There’s set to be a smattering of new body kits with fresh aero components, as well as more customizable liveries that allow creators to use car windows as part of their canvas. How else could you execute a full-fledged stickerbomb without covering the side glass, too?
I tried capturing some of the cars with screenshots as the presentation went on, and while these are far from exhaustive, they show a good mix of classic and new enthusiast models (with a lot of Porsches). As for the cover car, it’s the new GR GT by Toyota—what else?
Something I’m curious to tool around with is the expansive estate gameplay. Not only can players customize their garages, right down to the decorations on the walls, but Playground Games also said there will be an entire valley that you can fill with different buildings for you and your friends to visit. It looked like an entire campus on the livestream, and apparently, you can build all of that out on your own or collaboratively with others.
Talking about game modes isn’t nearly as fun as playing them, but the ever-evolving campaign will be significantly different from before. Rather than starting the story as some star driver or even a rookie making a name for themselves, you begin as a tourist who has to earn their place on the Horizon roster. From there, you have to collect wristbands to advance the plot. You’ll have to duke it out in downhill mountain pass competitions as well as new time attack circuits that are seamlessly integrated into the world.
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There’s still a lot to learn about Forza Horizon 6, but from what I’m seeing so far, it’s going to be a hoot. I’ve always been a fan of the series, personally, as it’s a lot more fun to play with my kiddos than the more dedicated racing sims. You can bet I’ll be scooping it up come May.
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