00:00Buckle up, the latest installment of Forza Horizon is just around the corner,
00:05and if its predecessors are anything to go by, we're in for a phenomenal fuel-injected frenzy
00:10of an open-world arcade racer. Playground Games has had a little longer to work on this sixth
00:16entry than previous titles, probably due to a split focus with its upcoming Fable reboot.
00:21But judging by the hands-on we've been lucky enough to have with the game,
00:25every second in development has been spent wisely. Here's five things you need to know about Forza
00:31Horizon 6. Playground Games has been at the bleeding edge of simcade racing for well over a decade now.
00:43It's easy to take just how finely tuned the Forza games are for granted, but I'd be remiss if I
00:48didn't point out how utterly thrilling driving fast feels in Horizon 6. As a real joy to be earned in
00:55maintaining tight racing lines at speed, drifting sharply through densely packed city streets,
01:01or careening off-road and out into the wilderness of Japan. Forza Horizon 6 feels fantastic in your
01:06hands, with clear and discernible differences in handling models for vehicles across the
01:11different tier classes and manufacturers. Combine all of this with some delightful visual and audio
01:17flourishes, and Horizon 6 is on track to be the arcade racing game to beat for this generation of home
01:26consoles.
01:27The Horizon Festival lands in Japan this year, and it's honestly astonishing that it hasn't come here
01:32sooner. It's a visually diverse and varied play space, with a fantastic blend of urban and naturalistic
01:39spaces. Tokyo City is undoubtedly the centerpiece, a tightly populated sprawl that's guaranteed to be
01:46the destination for shared world races and car meets. The scale of this space is absurd, multitudes larger
01:53than Horizon 5's Guanajuato. The thing is, there's so much to be found beyond the city boundaries. The
02:00varied color palettes and different elevations make venturing out into the wilds really worth your time.
02:05There's plenty to find out there in the open world, every discovery made contributing to progression
02:10through your journal, and earning you all-important currency. But there's just a very real joy to be
02:16found in cruising around such an undulating, constantly changing landscape.
02:26If the natural beauty of Japan isn't enough of a reason to get out there and start exploring,
02:32perhaps the aftermarket cars might. The Forza Horizon 6 map has this fog of war effect, which means it
02:38won't mark items of interest until you've driven on its respective road. As you start clearing out areas
02:44of this discovery map, you'll eventually start noticing that aftermarket cars are appearing ready for
02:49purchase. Playground recognized that there's a large cohort of players who don't really engage with
02:55Horizon beyond cruising around and having a lovely time doing it. This is one of the reasons you now earn
03:00currency for simply exploring and discovering the map, giving you the cash to easily buy these rare discounted
03:07cars that spawn all over the world. It's an excellent idea, and removing the reliance on purchasing vehicles
03:13for specific races at the auto show makes for a more naturally varied experience.
03:21Playground has introduced a different type of multiplayer experience into Forza Horizon 6 in the
03:26form of time attack and drag racing circuits. These aren't part of the official Horizon Festival
03:31progression, but rather exist in specific areas of the open world that, once discovered,
03:36give you a couple of different ways to flex your skills and speed.
03:39As my hands-on with Horizon 6 was limited to single player, I was only able to participate in the
03:44loneliest
03:44drag race of all time. A single car pulling up to a starting line, increasing my revs until the light
03:49turned green and burning rubber down this old abandoned airstrip. Time attacks I did spend more
03:55time with. A circuit you can run endlessly that constantly tracks your split and lap times. There's
04:00even a leaderboard at the top of the track which shows your personal best versus other players who
04:04exist in the shared world. It's an excellent idea that I can't wait to get back into.
04:15Forza Horizon 6 has introduced a stronger degree of career progression through the Horizon Festival
04:20to counterbalance the more open activities in the world itself. After you complete qualifying races and
04:26earned your first coloured wristband, you'll enter the festival proper and begin competing in different
04:31events. Your goal is to get yourself a gold wristband and get access to the exclusive
04:36Legend Island. The thing is, you can't just earn currency exploring the open world, use it to
04:41purchase the fastest S-tier car you can find at the auto show and bluster your way to Legend Island.
04:46Instead, each wristband comes with vehicle-tier restrictions, meaning you start with C-class cars
04:52and eventually work your way up to faster, more volatile vehicles. The re-establishment of a tighter
04:57progression loop is a nice touch and should make competing and completing official festival events
05:03feel more rewarding. And there we have it, our five key nuggets of knowledge on Forza Horizon 6.
05:12But what do you think? Will you be picking up this hotly anticipated sequel? Have you played the
05:17previous games or will this be your first time attending the Horizon Festival? Let us know and
05:22stick with GamesRadar for the latest on the greatest games of 2026.
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