Forza Horizon 6 is the latest entry in the popular open-world racing franchise from Playground Games, and they have hit another home run. This time, we get to explore Japan and everything that makes it such an iconic destination. From the Japanese countryside to the streets of Tokyo and everything in between, the development team did an exceptional job bringing it to life.

Forza Horizon 6 starts out just like the other entries in the franchise, with an opening prologue that is designed to get your adrenaline pumping and tease some of the action you will see throughout the course of the game. Forza Horizon 6 features hundreds of cars to drive, hundreds of roads to discover and drive down, and an always-growing number of events to prove you have what it takes.

Everything stems from the Forza Horizon festival. There are Festival events for you to enjoy, as well as seasonal events that are available only for a limited time. There are also some evolving events as well. In addition to all of that, there is some standard open-world racing, with something for everyone. Some of the featured races include Road Racing, Cross Country Racing, Touge Racing, Street Racing, and more. Completing these events and securing your position on the podium will eventually earn new wristbands. Once you get a new wristband, even more events open up to you. Then, of course, there are events that don’t necessarily have to do with racing your opponents to the finish line, such as speed traps, drift zones, speed zones, and more. The goal is to eventually earn the Gold wristband, which gives you access to Legend Island. This place features exclusive tournaments and more, but I don’t want to spoil it. Personally, I enjoy the wristband system because it has made me explore more of what the game has to offer instead of just staying within my comfort zone.

Of course, players get rewarded for simply exploring the world as well. There are hundreds of bonus boards to find and crash through, as well as food-themed regional mascots. One mascot might be a bowl of ramen, while the other is curry, matcha, tempura, and more. The only thing you have to do to collect them is crash right through them when you see them. I really enjoyed finding these items, and those who enjoy searching for collectibles in games will surely enjoy this as well. Being able to get some of these requires a creative mind, though, like the bonus boards that have found their way on the top of a building or somewhere else that might be a bit out of the way.

Of course, Barn Finds have made their return and will unlock as you go through the game. Barn Finds contain really rare and unique cars that have been beaten up due to neglect or simply forgotten about. Once you find one of these cars, your team restores it, and eventually, you get the opportunity to drive it. There is a lot to find here, and those who really love cars will no doubt really enjoy what they find in these barns. Once you find a car, you can also choose to gift a car to a member of the community. Any car that you own is available as a possible gift. After my first barn find, I went ahead and gifted a car, specifying it go to someone who is brand new to the game to help them out in the beginning. A while later, I received a notification that I had also received a car, so I drove back to the barn to pick it up. It is a great idea to help the community in this way.

Treasure Cars is a new addition to Forza Horizon 6. It works similarly to Barn Finds, but it is more of an open-world scavenger activity rather than something sitting in a barn. As you play the game, you will find postcard-related clues about the location of these cars. Solve the puzzle, and you could find yourself with some really rare cars to race around Japan.

Exploring Japan will allow you to discover various landmarks as well as houses for purchase. These houses have garages you can customize to show off your collection in style. While you can’t display all of the cars you have at once, you can at least pick a few to showcase for when you invite others to your place. You can also fine-tune your cars and get them just how you want. Those who know a lot about cars will really enjoy the level of customization available when tuning their cars. Those who just want to have fun driving and don’t want to customize anything can do that as well. You can customize the garage however you see fit, and the first house you get lets you customize the land as well. So, for example, you can build a race track if you want, or whatever else your mind can come up with for that land. It is a really nice idea, and I am excited to see what the community comes up with and shares.

Forza Horizon 6 also features jobs you can complete if you choose to. Some of these jobs involve you basically becoming a delivery driver. Similar to how Uber Eats, GrubHub, and similar services work, you will have to pick up a package somewhere and then deliver it to its destination within an allotted time. This can be a fun way to explore part of the world and can help you get closer to that achievement of driving on every road in the game. As you take on more jobs, you will be promoted in your position, so be sure to get those packages there on time.

There are also Festival Playlists for everyone to play through, which are limited-time events. These events feature daily challenges such as taking a picture with a specific vehicle in a specific location or sending a gift to another player competing in The Eliminator. There are also weekly challenges that can earn you a chance to win a new car. There are also photo challenges, treasure hunts, championships to compete in, and much more. As you complete more objectives and progress in the season, you have the chance to win some epic cars. It is important to keep up to date with what is happening in these festival playlists if you are trying to build a large collection of rare cars.

As you gain more experience completing a variety of different objectives, you will earn experience points. Once you have enough experience points, you will get rewarded. One of these rewards is wheel spins. Simply spin the wheel, and you will get the prize it lands on. Items you can win include clothing, car horns, money, or even a brand new car.

With all the different cars available in the game, there are different handling models and factors to consider. Cars will handle differently racing through the streets of Tokyo than racing off-road through the mountains. My 2016 Aston Martin Vulcan will absolutely dominate and tear up the roadway, but it won’t be very useful in a cross-country race if the wheels spin out, since they aren’t made for off-road conditions. Similarly, my 2016 Ariel Nomad is fantastic for off road races and exploration but wouldn’t be the best fit against that Aston Martin in a street race. When you are picking which car to use the game gives you some great stats to help you make an informed decision. Stats such as how fast the car is, how it handles, how it brakes, how it handles offroad, the type of tires it has, what kind of driving system it has (rear wheel vs. all wheel, for example) and more. Be sure to pay attention here so that you have the right vehicle for the right situation.

Forza Horizon 6 really does have something for everyone. For those who like online play, there is “Horizon Play” where you can compete against others. There is a “Rivals” section where you can battle for the leaderboards. For those who don’t really care about being competitive, there is also Horizon Solo, where you can just enjoy the world of Forza Horizon 6 without that added pressure. If you are playing with a group of friends, you can also create (or join) a convoy. A convoy allows up to 12 people to cruise the open world together and have fun. It can be a great way to spend some time with friends and is always a popular feature in Forza Horizon. Players can also browse and create livery designs for cars, create and browse events in the Horizon Event Lab, and much more. There is honestly so much content in these games that I can’t really go over everything.

Forza Horizon 6 really is an impeccable racing game. There are hundreds of hours worth of content here for those who want to really dive into the game. For those who just want to enjoy driving around Japan and discovering new cultural sites, there is plenty to see here as well. Thinking about my time with the game, I can’t really lodge any complaints. If you have played other recent entries like Forza Horizon 5, you largely know what you are getting here. I suppose for some that might be a complaint, but I look at it as Playground Games continuing to refine a winning formula they have developed over many iterations of the franchise. One tip I will give people is: for those trying to earn the achievement for discovering and driving on every road, be sure to closely monitor the map. If you see a small section of a road that hasn’t been driven on near you, go drive on it immediately. That way, you aren’t desperately searching for that missing piece of road later on.

For those who have enjoyed the Forza Horizon games in the past, you should love Forza Horizon 6. For those new to the franchise, there is a lot to discover here. It is one of those games that can be what you want it to be, whether you just want to drive around aimlessly to see what you can find, or whether you want to be highly competitive and take on the best online. Forza Horizon 6 is another homerun for Playground Games, and I can’t wait to see how they continue to support it over the years.

Please Note: Microsoft provided us with a code for Forza Horizon 6 for review purposes.