TL;DR: Forza Horizon 6’s Japan setting delivers stunning biomes, refined handling, and a smart mix of freeform qualifiers plus structured festival events. The Initial Drive feels more grounded, the cars are pure joy, and the map already begs for deep exploration. Massive potential for another masterpiece when it launches May 19, 2026.

I still remember the exact moment Forza Horizon 5 clicked for me back in 2021. I was sprawled on my couch in the middle of a sweaty Dubai summer night, air conditioning struggling against the heat, when those cars started raining from the sky over Mexico. Something about the sheer ridiculous joy of it all, the perfect blend of arcade thrills and simulation soul, just grabbed me by the collar and refused to let go. That game became my undisputed king of racing titles, the one I’d boot up whenever life felt too serious or my backlog got overwhelming. So when whispers started swirling that Forza Horizon 6 was trading dusty deserts and vibrant festivals for the neon-lit streets and misty mountains of Japan, my inner gearhead did a full burnout. Japan has always been my dream travel destination, the place where ancient temples bump shoulders with bullet trains and drifting legends. Getting to sample the first hour or so of this new adventure felt less like a preview and more like an early birthday present I didn’t deserve.

The driving in Forza Horizon 6 still feels like slipping into a perfectly broken-in pair of racing gloves. Everything that made the last game sing is here, refined just enough to feel fresh without losing that addictive magic. The physics hug the road with confidence, the surface feedback changes in ways that actually matter, and the sense of speed can still make your stomach do that little flip when you crest a hill at triple digits. But now it’s all wrapped in Japan’s incredible variety of landscapes, and man, does that backdrop elevate the whole experience. I spent my limited time blasting through qualifiers, free-roaming the map, and just soaking in the atmosphere, and by the end I was already counting down the days until May 19.

The Initial Drive That Grounds You in Something Real

Unlike the over-the-top sky-drop spectacle that kicked off Forza Horizon 5, this one takes a more measured approach, and I actually loved it for that. You still hop between different cars and routes, getting a high-speed taste of what’s to come, but the whole sequence feels like you’re genuinely arriving in Japan and stumbling into the middle of the Horizon Festival. No cartoonish flair this time. Instead, the team leaned into the idea of a massive, Olympics-level global event centered on car culture and pulsing music. Barriers line city streets, volunteers and marshals keep things orderly, sponsors plaster everything in sight, and the festival site buzzes with that organized chaos you’d expect from a real-world gathering in Tokyo.

It makes the world feel lived-in right from the jump. My character gets roped in because a buddy signed them up for the qualifiers without asking, which is exactly the kind of relatable nonsense that pulls you into the story. Suddenly you’re not just some chosen-one racer descending from the heavens. You’re a visitor who got lucky enough to join the party. That shift adds a nice layer of narrative warmth I wasn’t expecting, and it sets up the festival itself as something you earn your way into rather than inherit.

Tokyo and Beyond: Japan’s Biomes Hit Different

The map I explored felt both intimate and vast in the best ways. Tokyo takes center stage here, and while it’s understandably condensed compared to the real sprawling metropolis, the recreation of spots like Shibuya and Minato still took my breath away. The detail in the architecture, the way light bounces off glass towers at dusk, the subtle cultural touches everywhere. It’s the kind of love letter to a city that makes you want to book a ticket immediately. But the real magic happens when you leave the urban core and hit the winding touge roads or the snow-dusted passes of the Japanese Alps. The Tateyama Snow Corridor looked absolutely breathtaking, even in the preview build, and those mountain routes gave me serious flashbacks to late-night Initial D marathons on my old CRT back in the day.

I was secretly hoping for a bit of Osaka or Kyoto flavor too, but the build cut off around areas like Kawazu Nanadaru and the legendary Hakone drifting spots. Still, what’s there already showcases Playground Games’ talent for capturing the soul of a place. The biomes flow naturally, informed by real-world road types and local racing culture. Grassroots Circuits scattered around feel like authentic detours run by passionate locals, adding that extra layer of discovery I crave in open-world racers. It’s not just pretty scenery. It’s scenery that invites you to play in it.

Starting Cars and the Joy of Japanese Icons

My preview build handed me three very different machines to kick things off, and each one scratched a particular itch. The 1989 Nissan Silvia K’s felt right at home on street circuits, nimble and eager to rotate. The 1994 Toyota Celica GT-Four ST205 tackled rally stages with that classic all-wheel-drive confidence that made me grin like an idiot. And then there was the 1970 GMC Jimmy, a big American brute thrown in to handle the off-road qualifier. It was an oddball choice in a Japanese setting, but somehow it worked, reminding me that Horizon has always celebrated the glorious mismatch of vehicles.

Of course, the box art teases bigger things with that sleek 2025 Toyota GR GT prototype, and I have zero doubt the full garage will be stuffed with dreams on wheels. During my session I burned through qualifiers, chased PR stunts like speed traps, drift zones, and danger sign jumps, and smashed my way through collectibles including those cheeky mascot boards that always make me laugh. The variety already feels generous, and that’s before the main festival content unlocks. It never feels like you’re running out of things to do, which is exactly how these games should play.

Qualifier Phase vs Festival Structure: The Best of Both Worlds

The developers smartly split the early game into this qualifier phase, where you get more freeform street racing, touge battles, and exploration freedom. It mirrors what it might actually feel like sneaking into underground runs on the C1 Loop if you knew the right people in Tokyo. Then the proper festival kicks in with more structured progression, car restrictions, and escalating challenges. The grid adapts dynamically when you drop into random events with whatever wild ride you’re currently driving, which keeps things feeling alive and personal.

That balance between freedom and guided structure feels thoughtful. It respects Japanese car culture without turning the game into a rigid simulator. And yes, I had to ask the obvious silly question about parking on the Shinkansen tracks for a cheeky speed trap boost. The design director just laughed and confirmed it works, which tells you everything you need to know about the playful spirit still alive in this series.

Why I’m Already Hooked and Counting the Days

Even after just a couple of hours, the map still felt enormous and full of secrets I hadn’t touched. That’s the sweet spot for me. I want to discover Forza Horizon 6 the same way I discovered its predecessor, gradually, obsessively, with late nights bleeding into early mornings. The promise is there. The handling sings, the world enchants, and the cultural details make Japan feel like a character in its own right rather than just a backdrop.

Of course, previews are previews. The real test comes when the full game drops and we see how deep the campaign runs, how the online scene holds up, and whether the festival atmosphere delivers on that Olympic-scale ambition. But based on this early taste, Forza Horizon 6 is shaping up to be another love letter to both racing and the places that inspire it.

This hands-on with Forza Horizon 6 left me vibrating with excitement for the full release. Japan as the setting brings fresh energy and emotional weight to a series that already mastered joyful chaos, and the thoughtful tweaks to structure and world-building only make me more confident that Playground Games has another classic on their hands. If you fell in love with Forza Horizon 5 like I did, this one feels like coming home to an even better version of that same thrill.