If you’ve been with us for a while, you already know that open worlds that reward curiosity and enable their players to just set off in one direction with the guarantee of finding something interesting along the way are among our favorites. We’ve seen that happen in a multitude of games that have often scored high in our critical analyses of them. And we’re pretty excited about adding another one to our list.
Forza Horizon 6 may not have been your first guess, but what we’re being told about it definitely fits the bill. Yes, it’s bigger, but it’s pretty well-established that bigger doesn’t necessarily translate to better in open world titles. But Playground Games seems to have kept that in mind, crafting a version of Japan that may not recreate it mile-for-mile, but packs in density and contrast in an effort to make discovery a crucial part of the experience.
That’s a welcome move for the obvious reason of getting to drive swanky cars around, and take on Japan in a game that’s looking very good. But it’s more than that, and we’re here to take you through why we think Forza Horizon 6 could be a game that’s going to be very nice to players who like to indulge their curiosity when they’re not tearing up race tracks. Let’s jump right in.
To Tokyo and Beyond
Beginning with Tokyo, everything we know of it points to it being more than just the “city area” but a pillar of the game’s exploration all on its own. Playground has already confirmed that it’s five times bigger than Forza Horizon 5’s Guanajuato, which was quite large to begin with. But as what’s touted to be the ” largest urban environment in Horizon history”, it isn’t just a huge concrete jungle with a Japanese vibe.
Instead, it’s set to be layered with enough variety to keep those of you looking to visit all of its streets, shortcuts, docks, industrial zones, and districts quite busy for a while. That variety is what makes Tokyo interesting, not just as a giant city that’s hosting the latest Horizon Festival, but as the beating heart of the upcoming title’s exploratory design language. As the capital of Forza Horizon 6’s take on Japan, Tokyo is looking like it’s ready to play that part to perfection.
But that doesn’t mean that the rest of the map is going to be any less attractive. And if Tokyo brings scale to the table, the game’s distinct biomes and the variety that’s contained within them bring scope. We’ve got the Coast, Plains, Mountains, Highlands, and Lowlands, each of which responds differently to the different seasons on board – a detail we’re going to discuss in a bit.
That sounds like a car enthusiast’s dream, and if visiting Japan has been out of your reach for whatever reason, this year’s Horizon Festival could be a dose of copium that could tide you over until you’re able to make the trip on your own. Contrasting landscapes, chasing seasons, and the fact that Alpine regions are covered with snow all year round make for a world that’s just begging you to get behind the wheel and experience it all, stopping at some stunning vistas for a photoshoot while you navigate complex paths through locations that could balance urban and rural landscapes quite organically.
The developers have been very enthusiastic to discuss popular landmarks, and there are also important locations from the real Japan woven in, including but not limited to Shibuya Crossing, Mt. Haruna, and many more. It brings authenticity to a world that’s looking very layered, while also bringing another important facet to the experience that could help it stand out: verticality.
Scaling New Heights
The word verticality has been thrown around quite a lot in discourse about the game in the run-up to its release, and we believe it matters a lot when examining the immersive potential of any open world. That’s especially true in Forza Horizon 6, as Japan is a land that cannot truly be represented authentically by a flat landmass. We’ve seen how verticality can help open worlds look and feel more interesting to players before, and the fact that it’s a factor in this one has us quite interested to see how it all pans out.
A vertical design would give the game’s take on Japan a layer of organic discovery, with overpasses, layered highways, descents, and climbs around mountains all feeding into the illusion that you’re actually driving through the country and seeing what it can bring to anyone who loves cars and different cultures. And with the game all set to let you discover new shortcuts, points of interest, and new activities as you drive around without actually sending you to them via fixed markers, that verticality becomes all the more relevant to our look into how this is an open world that’s built to encourage organic, curiosity-driven exploration.
Of course, integrating Japanese car culture into it all is something that feeds into the world’s allure. There are winding mountain routes, C1-inspired roads, Car Meets done Daikoku style, and an overarching JDM identity that looks like it underscores everything you do in the game. The developers have been quite vocal about working with consultants in an effort to capture not just how Japan looks when you drive around in it, but how it feels, which is always welcome in a title that’s built around authentic representation.
Well, that covers most of what you can see in the world. But any open-world game worth its salt must also come with enough to do in order to have you coming back to it every time you power on your systems, and possibly thinking about it when you’re away. Can the Horizon Festival manage to do that this time around? We think it’s got quite a good shot. Here’s why.
The Joys Of Discovery
The first major talking point that stands out is the fact that the entire map has a fog-of-war over it, and you’re going to have to actually drive to new places before you find what they have to offer. Venturing off into the unknown is always a big part of what keeps a massive map interesting, and making exploration a core part of the gameplay loop is not just a smart choice for a tile with Forza Horizon 6’s ambitions, but it’s also a practical one.
Of course, the Horizon Festival and the major events that it brings are important, no arguments there. But weaving in other options for engaging with the game’s systems, such as the aforementioned Car Meets, Time Attack Circuits, Horizon Rush, and player-driven spaces like The Estate, are all ways to ensure that the game stays fresh, whether it’s your first couple of hours in it or your hundredth.
There’s also the facet of replay value, which is already poised to be great thanks to the Forza franchise’s ability to draw in players and keep them invested in the worlds it creates. But the changing seasons are a feature that we’re quite excited to see in action, and we think that they could have you revisiting places that caught your eye in one season just to see how they change according to the weather and other factors. We already have a list of places in mind, and we’re sure that a lot of you are itching to get started as well.
As far as the world you’re set to explore is concerned, Forza Horizon 6 might already be a winner. Granted, there is the small possibility that things could fall flat, and that’s a reason for the cautious optimism we always approach new releases with. But there’s little reason to believe that this is a take on Japan that fails to capture what it’s going to be like to engage with it.
When you tie all the factors we’ve examined together, it’s easy to see how Forza Horizon 6’s size, scope, and approach to organic discovery can translate to an open world experience that ranks high with the best ones out there. The franchise is already well-known for authentic recreations of the cars you drive. By making the roads you drive them on as compelling, Playground Games is aiming for the stars with this one, and might just end up getting as close to them as it can. Perhaps not as high as the metaphor suggests, but we’d say getting to the top of one of Japan’s mountains is still going to be an acceptable result.
The studio seems to have understood the difference between a large map and one that’s actually worth engaging with, and crafted systems that feed into a loop of driving around with intent, or aimless wandering, and rewarding both in equal measures. And for that, we’re itching to get behind the wheel and rev our engines as we wait for the chequered flag to start off what feels like an adventure with some great racing thrown in.
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.
