{"id":14,"date":"2026-05-20T19:09:47","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T19:09:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=14"},"modified":"2026-05-20T19:09:47","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T19:09:47","slug":"review-forza-horizon-6-brings-a-japanese-ethos-and-world-to-players","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=14","title":{"rendered":"Review: &#8216;Forza Horizon 6&#8217; brings a Japanese ethos and world to players"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<div>\n<p>The Japanese concept of \u201ckaizen\u201d could be used to describe the evolution of the \u201cForza Horizon\u201d franchise. It\u2019s a series that began with a simple concept. Playground Games wanted to build an open-world racer that was truer to life than its peers using, the ForzaTech engine.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=12\">Tech layoffs top 5,000 in Bay Area this year after LinkedIn announces cuts<\/a><\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s a game that offered the realism of a sim but livened the genre\u2019s cold edges with a vibrant environment full of activities celebrating car culture. Since then, Playground Games has taken on the \u201ckaizen\u201d ethos, continually improving every facet of the series. It has gone from an amusing spinoff to a Microsoft tentpole franchise and game of the year winner, a rarity for a racing game.<br \/>\n<span><iframe allowfullscreen=\"true\" class=\"youtube-player\" height=\"360\" loading=\"lazy\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/oYhaW-Vr4wg?version=3&amp;rel=1&amp;showsearch=0&amp;showinfo=1&amp;iv_load_policy=1&amp;fs=1&amp;hl=en-US&amp;autohide=2&amp;start=1&amp;wmode=transparent\" style=\"border:0;\" width=\"640\"><\/iframe><\/span><br \/>\n<strong>A HUGE CROSS SECTION OF JAPAN<\/strong><br \/>\nFor \u201cForza Horizon 6,\u201d Playground Games has brought the series to Japan, the origin of \u201ckaizen\u201d and an automotive capital. It\u2019s a destination that fans have been clamoring for, given how the nation has developed its own car culture through anime such as \u201cInitial D\u201d and aftermarket customization. Japan has race tracks and street courses featured in video games, but rarely, if ever, has the country been part of a car-centric open world.<\/p>\n<p>Playground Games found itself with a huge canvas to craft the ultimate driving game, and the team delivered with \u201cForza Horizon 6\u201d as players again take on the role of the star driver in the Horizon Festival. The game\u2019s structure is split into two parts. Players can enter contests and earn points toward a Showcase race, which is essentially a boss confrontation. The wild events are spectacles that show off the developers\u2019 creativity as players race planes and a giant robot that stretches the boundaries of realism.<\/p>\n<p>Organizers reward players with a new wristband for each Showcase victory, which opens up more events that require faster and more expensive vehicles. It keeps going until players earn the gold wristband and become a Horizon Legend.<\/p>\n<p><strong>THE SIDE QUESTS MAKES EXPLORATION A DREAM<\/strong><br \/>\nThe other track is the Discover Japan path, which focuses on exploring the locale\u2019s culture. This is where players can take on side quests that dot the map. They can earn extra money as a Tokyo City Food Delivery driver or take day trips with Mei Hasegawa, one of the organizers who explains the history of the land. This is also where players can do one-on-one Touge races, in which players drift down the winding curves of a mountain like Takumi Fujiwara in his Toyota AE86.<\/p>\n<p>This is what separates the \u201cForza Horizon\u201d series from other open-world racing games. The developers put care into these side quests and diversions, but they never feel like busywork because they reward players with cars or other cosmetic collectibles. Moving up the ranks unlocks new Barn Finds and properties for sale.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=10\">An alleged transnational assassin hid in an Oakley bush, waiting for his victim. It proved to be his downfall<\/a><\/p>\n<p>The tasks add more dimension to the real-life environments, creating a deeper sense of place and people. Players will appreciate Mei discussing Hirosaki Castle or driving down the legendary Mount Haruna. One of the most memorable is Yuji Kono in the Yuji Auto questline, which has players gathering stock cars and then racing souped-up versions after the staid mechanic Yuji Kono and his colleague Keiko Tamaguchi get their hands on them.<\/p>\n<p>These side quests and other diversions strewn around the map make exploration worthwhile, but they also highlight some shortcomings in the world. \u201cForza Horizon 6\u201d does a fantastic job of re-creating parts of Japan, but I wish there were more metropolitan areas beyond Tokyo City. I also wish the environment felt more alive with birds and other animals. Aside from that, it would have been nice to see more trains running across the map, since Japan has tons of rail lines.<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>NEW PATHS TOWARD CREATVITY<\/strong><br \/>\nPlayground Games makes up for some of that with the return of seasons in \u201cForza Horizon 6.\u201d The environment and driving conditions change as summer turns to fall and snow begins falling in winter before spring returns again. This time around, roads are more drivable during the winter without the need for all-wheel drive vehicles, and the team carved out a portion of the map in the mountains where players can enjoy snow year-round if they want that experience.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cForza Horizon 6\u201d adds more refinement by letting players customize their garages and even build tracks on the on a Yashiki House estate. All of this creates another avenue for \u201cForza\u201d creativity on top of the livery designs, photography options and online get-togethers.<\/p>\n<p>That has always been the strength of the \u201cForza Horizon\u201d series. Whereas some racing games drill down on creating the most realistic racing game available, the Playground Games series revels in car culture and wants to give players the most opportunities to explore it and turn it into their own art.<\/p>\n<p>Read more <a href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7\">San Bruno man arrested on suspicion of sexually assaulting woman during massage<\/a><\/p>\n<h3>\u2018Forza Horizon 6\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>Four stars out of four<br \/>\n<strong>Platform: <\/strong>Xbox Series X and Series S, PC<br \/>\n<strong>Rating: <\/strong>Everyone<\/p>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Playground Games further refines a stellar open-world racing game capturing the scenery and spirit of Japan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-things-to-do"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.6 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Review: &#8216;Forza Horizon 6&#8217; 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