Consistency is a funny thing, and perhaps the most intertwined with perfection that a concept can be. Of course, “just showing up” isn’t enough, especially in the video game industry, which constantly demands something more from its franchises. New settings and stories; new progression systems; sleeker visuals and more songs; more content – the list goes on. Oftentimes, it can be difficult to one-up your previous efforts, especially when you keep raising the bar for yourself.
And yet, very few franchises turn excellence into a habit like Forza Horizon. Developed by Playground Games six years before Microsoft’s acquisition, it’s the one series that has remained consistent in quality. The first release scored a strong 85 Metascore; its sequel, an even more respectable 86. From there, reception among critics jumped even higher with Forza Horizon 3 and 4 crossing the 90+ threshold on Xbox One. And yet somehow, Forza Horizon 5 went even higher, earning top marks on three platforms.
It’s way beyond the point where hubris should set in, but Playground doesn’t just sit on its laurels. After continuously updating the last entry for almost five years, not including the two paid expansions, it’s finally delivered Forza Horizon 6, where players get to visit one of the most requested locations in video games – Japan.
Are any of you really shocked that it’s currently sitting at a 92 Metascore based on 64 reviews? That IGN calls it the “best-looking and best-sounding game Playground has produced to date?” Or that GameSpot says the “best Forza Horizon map to date”? Or how Game Informer believes it’s “one of the greatest racing games of this generation” (a generation which also includes Forza Horizon 5, mind you)?
Probably not, and our own review praising pretty much every aspect – the sheer number of vehicles, the customization, the range of activities (food delivery by day, Touge battles by night), the performance, the ever-lasting charm of discovering new areas – shouldn’t either. It’s become so expected, so inevitable, that it’s almost unnatural. Playground Games just doesn’t miss with this franchise.
And such habitual excellence really makes you wonder how. Oh, there are the usual justifications. “It’s just a game where you race cars around,” as if creating a massive open-world racing game striving to balance the arcade and simulation aspects is easy. “It’s just the same game as the last one,” despite the addition of several new activities, revamped progression systems, and incredible new locations that have been painstakingly recreated. “It plays things safe,” where apparently not fixing what isn’t broke is a bad thing (at least in terms of the overall gameplay loop).
But even when there are complaints of “same old, same old,” no one can deny the consistency or Playground’s ability to design an open world that you just want to get lost in, or its ability to make every single vehicle feel like a unique experience that has you giddy to try the next one.
Yet the “how” becomes even more pronounced when you consider the state of Xbox’s other franchises. Do we really need to get to Halo, even with how well-documented its downfall has been over such a sustained period? Not that I’m going to completely dump on the development team’s inability to capture the magic of Bungie’s original trilogy – multiplayer turned out pretty well with Infinite, after all.
But such a pyrrhic victory it was that Halo Studios has just gone straight back to the drawing board and opted to remake Halo: Combat Evolved, again, that too after its first effort, Combat Evolved Anniversary, was reviled by fans. Is that the reason we’ve seen nothing from it since? With a rumored July release date, perhaps Xbox wants to dump all the details beginning next month. Shorter marketing cycle, less time to ask questions or let skepticism fester.
Then you have Gears of War, which has actually been fairly consistent in quality for a long time. Yes, Judgment is the exception, but it was also a different era. Yes, multiplayer is still far from perfect, and yes, The Coalition soured Steam players on Reloaded by not including split-screen co-op. Yet despite all of this, and very strong reviews throughout the years, it’s seemingly taken forever for Gears to find itself. Gears of War: E-Day holds extensive promise with its setting and general return to horror, to be sure, but we’ve yet to see any gameplay.
Of course, both of the above are still in better places than, say, State of Decay 3, which was announced in July 2020 and begins closed alpha testing this month (though various content creators have been hands-on for a while). Or Perfect Dark, which saw its reboot cancelled alongside Everwild and ZeniMax’s Blackbird. Or Microsoft Flight Simulator, whose 2024 sequel still receives plenty of flak for feeling unnecessary, even as its performance issues have been sorted out. Mostly.
This isn’t to say that Xbox doesn’t have any good franchises whatsoever. It’s just that, Forza Horizon, from day one, has remained excellent, delivering on expectations and oftentimes surpassing them like it’s nothing. From day one, each subsequent title has been acclaimed and beloved by millions. Forza Horizon 6 is no exception, reportedly garnering 2.6 million wishlists on Steam alone as of February, and currently the second-best-selling title on the platform based on revenue. Considering that over ten million players experienced its predecessor in week one, it’s almost a given that the sequel will do bigger numbers.
Again, however, we go back to the big question: How? I think it’s because Playground Games is in tune with what fans want and, more importantly, it has the skill and technical expertise to deliver. Credit where it’s due to Microsoft, which has stayed out of the studio’s way and allowed them to cook without any meddling (that we know of). But Forza Horizon isn’t just a franchise where you churn out a new entry, slap a higher number on it, and call it a day. It’s from a studio of passionate developers that take the time to deliver on its own expectations and those of fans.
Heck, such is the craftsmanship that even another troubled Xbox franchise, Fable, looks compelling with its reboot, despite years of alleged issues. We’ll find out in the coming months if it can deliver on its ambitious systems while telling a compelling story – simply by virtue of the studio never having worked on an action RPG. However, at this point, Playground’s name is significant enough to convince me. Which isn’t to say that Xbox should make it develop all its games – we don’t need a repeat of what happened with Massive Entertainment.
As for Forza Horizon 6, it’s clear that this is just the beginning. All these positive reviews will give way to weeks of praise from fans – and maybe the same detractors – and years of support from the studio. New expansions will bring additional content, and there may be some complaints, as there usually are, about the overall value. Meanwhile, Playground Games will continue quietly cooking, perhaps pushing the boundaries further with its next entry, all the while ensuring it carries the same spark and sense of wonder the franchise has become known for.
Note: The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of, and should not be attributed to, GamingBolt as an organization.