Forza Horizon 6 PC review - Yeah, but it's got a new map!

In a famous scene in The Simpsons, Lisa points out to a crowded toy store that the new Malibu Stacy doll is the exact same as the previous one; the only difference is that she wears a hat. “Yeah, but she’s got a new hat!” someone shouted out. It’s much the same with Forza Horizon 6. It’s a good game, great even, but it’s also basically the same game that it’s been for years at this point. The only difference? It’s got a new map. If you’ve been fond of the series prior to this, you’ll undoubtedly continue on that trajectory, but this new entry, much like its predecessors, really feels more like a glorified map pack than a sequel.

Forza Horizon 6 does have a setup, as do the others. This time, your character is. . . okay, I need to be honest. I’ve completely forgotten what the setup is. Your player character meets a couple of other people, and they tell you to go get wristbands to take part in Horizon events. I don’t remember their names, faces, or voices, but they do exist. It does boil down to the essence of the game, though. You’ll drive to icons, take part in their events, and get points toward unlocking a new colour wristband and major Horizon event.

Regular events come in the form of a few types of races (such as road, cross country, dirt, street, etc) that reward you with points. You can also do smaller, incidental events that grant you a smaller number of points, such as driving as fast as you can down a road to get stars. There are even little story events that are part of a series where you’ll need to complete a specific objective, which typically involves just driving from point A to point B, but they break up the pace at least. If you’ve played any previous game in the series, this is all going to be very familiar, of course, as it’s mostly all the same as it’s been.

There are also collectibles that you’ll accrue by slamming into them with your car (as one does), but this time these come in the form of cute, regional mascots, as well as the returning signboards. There are hundreds of these to hit, plus you’ll hunt for barn finds, treasure cars, and the like. You’ll also find cars for sale out in the world. There are multiple series of optional checklists you can fill out, too, so Forza Horizon 6 obviously doesn’t want for much in the way of content to sink your teeth into. However, it’s all stuff you’ve very likely done multiple times before.

The obvious highlight here is the map. The game takes place in Japan, and it’s very lovingly rendered, as you might expect. The world is detailed, the city of Tokyo is great fun to drive around in, and you can even decorate part of the map if you so wish. I wish Tokyo was larger, but it’s the biggest city the series has ever seen, so that’s a plus. This map is very much a step up from the one in the fifth game, but most of it still boils down to lots of scenic roads, making it not actually feel all that different from previous games. Still, this is probably the best map the series has received.

I was hoping progression was going to improve to the point that I turned all the DLC off so that I would just experience getting to buy my own cars with the money I earned. Instead, I had 30 cars just a few hours in, only one or two of which I purchased myself. Forza Horizon 6 once again has hundreds and hundreds of cars, so it throws them at you like nobody’s business. Then there are the wheelspins (and super wheelspins) that give you tons of cash and new cars, along with plenty of rewards that are thrown at you hand over fist for filling out checklists.

I even had top-class cars early on, meaning that I was naturally going to use their high speeds to get around faster while driving slower cars as little as possible. Each new entry in the series has a chance to do something more interesting with car progression, but this one’s really just the same as it ever was. Performance is also very good for an AAA game in this day and age, as I easily maintained 60 fps on a 3090 with maxed settings (not counting raytracing, of course). It’s a beautiful game too, even if its bloated 150+ gigabyte install still annoys me greatly for something that isn’t all that different from the 100 gigabyte series title that came out in the early 2020s.

Forza Horizon 6 has more of the great driving and fun events that the series is known for, even if absolutely none of it is surprising. It’s a great game, but mostly because it’s the same game we’ve been playing for years now. If it’s your first series drive, it’s likely that you’ll have a great time. People who’ve spent over a decade with these games, however, will probably experience the same sting of repetition they’ve been feeling since Forza Horizon 2.