Well, folks, the wait for Forza Horizon 6 is finally over. Well, sort of, but it isn’t too far away for those of you who haven’t opted for early access to the game. But the early reactions to it are strong, and a common undercurrent among all critical reviews of the game is Japan, a long-awaited destination for the Horizon festival.
And while Japan certainly does form a crucial part of the game’s allure, there’s more to Horizon 6 than meets the eye. That beautiful map alone isn’t enough to carry the high expectations that come with the franchise’s pedigree, after all. Japan is merely a lovely stage upon which an entire world with nuanced progression, exciting exploration, and excellent reward systems makes your dopamine a source of fuel, blending it well with an adrenaline-fuelled gameplay loop to keep you driving along those winding roads and busy highways.
They feed into each other to ensure that the map constantly pulls you in every possible direction, all at once, while leaving you free to decide where the road takes you next. We came to Horizon 6 for Japan, but stayed because there was always another race to finish, a new road to indulge our addiction, or a reward that we just had to get, sitting just out of reach.
Wondering why? That’s easily explained. Let’s jump in.
Your Success On Your Wrist
The Wristband’s obviously familiar to all you Horizon fans out there, but the way it’s been woven into the very fabric of your time with the Festival this time around is quite intuitive. It isn’t just color-coded bragging rights in an easily accessible cosmetic, but it acts as your ticket to more driving, more rewards, and more fun in Japan.
If you’re new to the whole Wristband thing, they act as progression trackers, with every bit of XP you gain pushing you ever so tantalizingly closer to that next tier. Each new tier unlocks new stuff to do, new car classes, activities, and challenges for you to tackle in new areas of the map. But that’s not all, since you get more of the above in areas you’ve already cleared. See what we mean about the map pulling you in different directions?
It’s a smart way of encouraging players to explore new places and backtrack to older ones, meaning that the entire world is alive instead of feeling like a checklist, a common trap that many great open worlds have fallen victim to. There’s none of that here, fortunately, and what you have on offer is a game that’s constantly refreshing its map in response to you engaging with it.
It’s the beating heart of why this one’s quite hard to walk away from, even if it’s to take a short break. Your progression is tied to exploring the world and engaging with it, and nearly everything you do is pushing you ever closer to that next Wristband tier, and more things for you to enjoy. It’s not just the Wristbands, either, as the Explore Japan system comes with Stamps, another form of progression tracking tied to how much of Japan you’re seeing as you race along.
You can visit popular landmarks, photograph them, and even take on a boring day job as a delivery driver. They’re all great ways to slow down and take in the sights. In a title as gorgeous as this one, that’s even better considering that Japan isn’t just the largest map in the franchise yet, but is interactive enough to make it feel like a living, breathing world that isn’t just a backdrop for driving fancy cars. It’s an important part of the progression loop on offer in the experience.
But being the heart of the experience isn’t enough. Japan’s also a major part of its personality, working well with the activities you take on to give this version of the Horizon Festival a very unique flavour.
Shifting Gears
Horizon 6’s take on Japan isn’t just about where you go, it’s about what you’re going to do once you get there. We’ve already said Japan looks beautiful, but that undercuts the seemingly random structure to the world at large, as it flows from urban streets replete with neon and wild colors to open roads on beautiful plains, the sun glistening off your ride as you take it all in. It’s all so seamless and makes driving so darn enjoyable. This one’s a title where we forgot about the fast-travel system on many occasions, as you never know what you might miss if you choose to skip the next bend in the road.
There’s also a lot of variety in the activities on offer. The Discover Japan system is a welcome diversion from all the racing as a more relaxed alternative, but it wouldn’t have been worth a lot if the races themselves were repetitive. That would definitely be counterproductive to a title that’s aiming to keep you in the driver’s seat for as long as it can, wouldn’t it? But it’s rare for Horizon 6 to point you in the direction of the same thing you were just doing.
You might be at an event that encourages you to adhere to the best possible racing lines on the track. Get that done, and you might find yourself at an event that’s all about controlling off-roaders to the best of your ability before you tackle winding mountain roads where your skills at drifting will be pushed to their limits. The possibilities may be finite, but they do feel endless with this one, and that’s another part of what makes it as addictive as it is.
With Japan being as long-awaited as it’s been over the years, Playground Games has been clever to make engaging it feel like a reward all on its own, changing the flavor of the game’s core driving experience consistently, while the world always has something for you to take on or just enjoy as you’re driving by. But of course, this is a racing title we’re talking about.
It’s time to look at the way Horizon 6 remains appealing to a wide palette of player tastes and skill sets.
Acceptably Accessible
The Horizon Festival’s a pretty welcoming place, allowing rookie and veteran racers alike a platform to grow and improve. The game throws a ton of options to customise the experience to your liking. Are you a casual racing player who just wants the excitement of podium finishes without worrying too much about your car’s weight? You’ve got a bunch of tuning options and assists to make the game bear the brunt of its simulation-focused trappings for you.
Or perhaps you’re an enthusiast who likes every aspect of their car under their control so you can squeeze out every last bit of performance from it? Knock yourself out. Player agency is at the core of it all, and the manner in which it’s been implemented in this one deserves special praise. It makes for an inclusive gameplay loop that doesn’t make demands of players looking for a good time, while remaining challenging enough to have even the most seasoned racers cracking their knuckles before driving off into the distance in search of a new milestone.
You’re left free to figure out a way to have fun that works for you, and the Festival’s excellent vibe makes that quite easy to do. There’s a humming energy that underlines every moment you spend in Japan, making it feel like a celebration of automotive excellence, and a perfect vehicle for the fantasy of engaging with a car culture that’s a global phenomenon, all from the comfort of your favorite chair.
It’s always lovely to see an open-world where progression doesn’t feel like grinding, and the Festival makes playing Horizon 6 a celebration of your love for racing and the things that happen off the track as well. It’s intoxicating in a way that’s both fresh and familiar, and it helps the game fire on all cylinders.
Came For Japan, Stayed For The Gameplay
The best open-worlds do not overwhelm their players with icons, but rather tempt them with next steps that flow organically enough between one another to make the structural strings that bind them invisible. Horizon 6 keeps you in your cars because your next big race, or another exciting discovery, always feels close at hand.
Japan has provided the perfect canvas for Horizon 6 to feel like the franchise’s final form, but it’s far from the only reason for you to become a permanent presence in the Festival’s many activities. Its strength lies in how it connects Japan to the driving, rewards, and progression, making for an ambitious, polished experience that’s high on organic cohesion.
Your Wristbands become more than progression markers that give you bragging rights in the game’s expansive worlds. They are a visible reminder of all the memories that you’ve made along the way to becoming the finest driver Japan’s ever seen. Forza Horizon 6 hits all the right notes because it makes excellent use of a simple facet of any racer: it gives you a reason to keep driving, and interesting reasons to make multiple pitstops along the way.
This is a game that understands momentum and is clever enough to have its players sustain that momentum for themselves every time they get behind the wheel. And on that note, we’re hopping back into our rides to zoom off to whatever Japan has to offer us next. Happy travels!
