The long wait is finally over, and Forza Horizon 6 is the latest modern game to take us to a version of Japan that aims to stand out on the graphical front. And after spending a considerable bit of time with it, we can safely say that this one manages to do that and more, with its visuals being a pillar that brings the entire experience together.
Forza Horizon 6 looks and feels as good as the cars you’re going to be driving, and its take on Japan is probably as close to the real thing as you can find in a modern video game. It’s going to be quite hard not to sound like a fanboy when we’re writing this one, and that’s simply because this title is a beast for visual fidelity in the racing sim genre.
So, what’s got us this enthusiastic about the visuals on display in this latest addition to the Forza franchise? We’re delighted to tell you. Let’s get right to it.
A Deep Dive Into ForzaTech
Forza Horizon 6’s visual splendor is going to be evident from the very first minute you spend in the game as you make your way through three different races designed to give you a taste of what’s to come, both on the track and off of it. Let’s begin with Japan itself. There’s an astounding amount of environmental detail to see as you make your way across winding roads, coastal highways, city streets, back alleys, and so much more.
The foliage on trees stands out as well as individual blades of grass, while specks of dust or perhaps purple flowers fly up around your car as you tear across the road. Drops of water are pushed across your camera lens when they fall on it, just as they would move if they were on a glass surface that was moving at some very high speeds in the real world.
The draw distance is especially eye-catching, and you’re going to see the road and scenery in the distance, all of it rendered so beautifully that it lends Japan a sort of ethereal quality and a subtle beauty that makes you feel like you’re right there, speeding along the road to your next race.
The level of detail in the environment is equally present on the cars you drive, with each material being reproduced so darn well that your ride can look good even without a fancy paint job to make it stand out in a crowd. Roll into a city, and there’s such a seamless shift into a more urban vibe.
We do think that cities like Tokyo felt weirdly empty, with only minimal traffic on its roads and activity on the pavement. It’s almost as if news of the Festival had most people either choosing to stay in or leave early to find a great spot in the stands of whatever event you’re driving to on empty streets. Does it help sustain smooth performance and make exploring feel easier instead of being forced to navigate traffic? Sure. But it does break the spell a little bit if you’re not willing to suspend your disbelief.
Thankfully, the ray tracing and global illumination make light such a lovely part of Forza Horizon 6’s visual design that we were able to move past our previous complaint quite quickly. Sunlight bathes the roads and open fields in a warm glow, creeping through thick forest cover to light up patches of the ground so well.
Glossy paint jobs on cars reflect the world around them so darn well, and that’s irrespective of whether they’re in motion or standing parked in the sun. The car models are fantastic, as are the character models for the humans who drive and otherwise interact with them. The animations on characters are top-notch and make the entire experience very believable and immersive.
Material quality is brilliant across the board, while shadows work as well as reflections to create very authentic effects when the light interacts with either you or your ride. The weather system and the effect it has on the visual presentation are probably our favorite bits about the game’s graphics.
While this isn’t the first time we’ve seen Japan transformed into different versions of itself based on the seasons, this is definitely the first time that it’s come as close to what the country is likely to look like if we were to visit it today. Our pick was probably when the Wisteria flowers were in full bloom, but each season has something to offer based on where you’re at when you experience it.
It’s all so realistic and works well with excellent texture quality and streaming to really sell the experience on offer. Streaming stayed stable even at higher speeds, making this one a graphically strong offering with well-implemented physics.
Each car felt distinct and unique to handle, making you adjust your handling of it to coax every bit of performance you could get out of it. The collision physics are spot on, while damage is clearly visible and quite believable in the event of a fender bender. Each engine, and the environmental sound design as a whole, is done very well, and a good set of speakers can make this one all the more immersive for it.
Of course, it goes without saying that all of this beauty has been so good to behold thanks to some stable performance across the board.
An Evolution From Forza Horizon 5
Before we talk about how well this one runs on all available platforms, we thought it would be a good idea to comment on how the latest Forza flagship has made meaningful upgrades over its predecessor’s take on Mexico. The shift between urban and rural settings is a big one, and it’s much better in the new game. Tokyo’s scale makes that easier, of course, but its density and the way in which it seamlessly jumps between different settings showcase how exploration through curiosity is baked into its design, and that’s a serious upgrade over Mexico in Horizon 5.
When you’re in urban environments, there’s verticality in the form of elevated highways, which contrasts well with street-level industrial docks, tunnels, and alleys. Of course, Tokyo is the star of the show as the largest urban area in the Horizon Festival’s history so far, and its neon-heavy vibe is the perfect showcase of the game’s visuals. Of course, the weather system throws in another layer of nuance into the mix, and the way in which it makes even familiar roads feel fresh is something that the previous game doesn’t really come close to.
The lighting and the way it all interacts with car models are another highlight. Horizon 5 might have done pretty well to make things look and feel real, but being current-gen only allows the new title to take things up a notch, and it shows. No matter the scene, you’re going to find both objects and environments reacting so well to the game’s lighting, with reflections and shadows so well-implemented that they make this one a phenomenal showcase of what ray tracing done well looks like.
Aside from these three main highlights, the engine audio and steering animations are all noticeably better in the new game, and it’s a true evolution of what the Forza franchise can achieve in a new game.
PC Performance
Playing Forza Horizon 6 with all of its graphical settings maxed out (with only environmental geometry quality and shadows set to Ultra), and the quality on reflections and global illumination set to low, along with balanced DLSS on our PC, was nothing short of breathtaking.
It helps that it manages a consistent 50-60 fps on our system, which includes an RTX 3080 Ti, 32GB RAM, and an AMD Ryzen 9 5950X. It did annoy us that cutscenes are locked at 30 fps across platforms, but that’s something we can live with since the gameplay remains buttery smooth.
It’s definitely a great game to play with all of its bells and whistles toggled on, or at least tuned to higher settings, as watching it in action is about as current-gen as it can get today. Forza Horizon 6 looks, sounds, and performs so well that you’re going to find yourself marvelling at how well it all comes together.
Xbox Series X Performance
On our Series X, we got to pick between Quality and Performance modes, with the former bringing Native 4K capped at 30fps, prioritizing greater details in environments, along with a better draw distance and higher quality shadows. The latter brings the resolution down to a dynamic 4K with a locked 60 fps to give you smooth and responsive gameplay, an important detail in an experience like this one.
Performance was flawless between both modes, and we didn’t encounter any noticeable issues, although we’d suggest going with Quality for the visual bump on this one.
PC Vs Xbox Series X Comparison
Of course, the PC version comes with advantages over its console counterparts, with support for ray-traced reflections on cars and RTGI support. But how much of a difference does that make to the experience? Quite a bit, actually. It’s a world of difference when you compare details like neon lights, sunrises or sunsets, the quality of car models, and the way different materials respond organically to a scene’s lighting, environmental detail, and so much more.
Car model quality is largely the same across PC and Xbox, with paint, glass, carbon fiber, interiors, headlights, and tail lights all holding up well on both versions, so the cars themselves do not show any major visual gap. The bigger difference comes from the world around them, where PC takes the lead.
Tokyo’s buildings, rural roads, docks, tunnels, mountain routes, road textures, signs, walls, foliage, and interior textures all look cleaner and sharper, while pop-in is also better handled, especially at high speeds through the city and across highways. World streaming, however, remains largely similar. A good PC setup can feel slightly cleaner in motion, but the Xbox version still keeps up well during fast driving and does a solid job of holding the world together.
The superior visual capabilities of our PC made a pronounced difference between the two versions, and that isn’t too surprising. The load times were blazingly fast across the board, and we didn’t see any drastic differences between platforms.
Conclusion
But irrespective of what you’re playing this one, as far as its graphical fidelity and performance go, Forza Horizon 6 is a masterclass and a great title to show off what your PC or console can do. It’s replaced its predecessor as a new benchmark for graphical fidelity among racing sims, and is definitely the one to beat on that front.
