Amuse Productions

A rumor since Forza Horizon 3 back in 2016, Playground Games finally brings the franchise to a long expected venue that new-comers and veterans of the series were excited to check out, Japan. With its many development cycles and destinations such as Australia for the aforementioned Forza Horizon 3, Scotland/UK for Forza Horizon 4, and of course Mexico in Forza Horizon 5, Playground Games has always focused on the setting and the details needed to make every place feel special to the players. So what makes Japan feel most special of all, even after such a short amount of time?

After almost 5 years of Forza Horizon 5 being out since 2021, a lot of skepticism came about when it came to the next Horizon title from Forza/Playground Games. The cycle of yearly releases going back and forth between the Motorsport and Horizon series being broken with the release of Forza Horizon 5 as well as a planned Forza Motorsport (no longer having a number attached to it as they would focus more on the competitive scene), drove the fanbase to be stuck in many different lingering questions on what to expect for the next Horizon release.

Forza Horizon 5 seemed to focus more on the map size rather than the substance throughout the whole map altogether. As cool as Mexico was to explore in over 1,100 cars by the end of its cycle, there were many missed opportunities for the destinations to be fleshed out and the rich culture of Mexico seep through. Even though everyone was in fact impressed with the map size and the amount to drive through in Forza Horizon 5, it left a lot to be desired and there was clearly an objective that was not met to give entry 5 the respect it deserved. Overall, it did seem like Playground Games really wanted to create a game that was a passion project through and through, which is where Japan came into play throughout the last 5 years, and has definitely made up with what Mexico lacked.

To be talked about more in-depth into the podcast, it felt like this was somewhat of a make or break for Playground Games. As far as ultra-realistic open world sim racing goes, the Forza Horizon series always excels, and improvements are felt as every entry is presented. The game devs at Playground Games do impress with their impressive levels of details and precision. Scanning so many real life cars and having such a fun variety of categories for each story every individual vehicle tells.

For Japan in Forza Horizon 6, we’ve had cult classics, daily drivers, returning monsters and track beasts that can easily be taken around a scenic route around the coastal line, and a point to point, over 21 miles which absolutely makes it the biggest map to date! The main reason why this almost 6 mile difference between Forza Horizon 6 and 5 in length is possible, is because of how many non-straight roads exist. But cruising has never felt so perfect whether it be in 2020 Nissan R35 GTR or a 1984 Honda City E II, the highs and the low speeds feel perfect in Japan and make Forza Horizon 6 a perfect destination for Playground Games to not only set the standard for open world racing sims, but for racing games in general going forward.

To hear a more in-depth analysis on Forza Horizon 6, the very first episode of the AP podcast will be attached below, and is now available on the brand new Amuse Productions YouTube channel, where the AP Podcast will be uploaded, as well as upcoming content once the channel as well as this website start to take off! Thank you all for the support an making this possible, hope you enjoy, check it out on the YouTube channel, leave a comment/suggestion, like and subscribe, if possible as well!