At this time, there isn’t much information to go on besides a pretty cool teaser that was released recently by Forza. With nods to the Horizon franchise’s American, European, Australian, UK, and Mexican roots, its most recent trailer teases the location of the next Horizon festival. Our favourite free-roaming racing game appears to be making its way to Japan’s streets.
There are few places with such a strong car culture, and it’s about time the Forza team included it in their Horizon lineup, but what does this mean for Horizon 6? As we have seen with past Horizon games, their environments and playstyles are heavily influenced by their locations, which is why I believe this could be the greatest racing game yet. Imagine twisty mountain roads, high-speed city runs, drift routes for days, and tuning spots at every corner with some iconic race tracks nearby too. So it doesn’t really get much better.
Well, if you like endlessly tinkering with virtual performance figures, chances are that you’ll get to geek out on near-endless performance setups. Forza Horizon is known for its broad car customisation and inclusion of all things modified and JDM, so I expect the brand to go to town with classic Japanese cars, styling options and performance customisation. All the while framed by some beautiful in-game architecture, flawless roads, and cherry blossoms. It’s going to be a blend of gorgeous scenery, stunning music and perfect driver-focused roads designed to please any JDM fan.
What isn’t as commonly known is Japan’s deep-seated underground car culture, and I expect to see some nods to Midnight Club. I also expect to see a lot of anime references, which aren’t my thing. But hey, when in Japan…
So it’s JDM time in the Forza world, and that’s right up my alley. I don’t envy the pressure to get this right, but given the franchise’s vast open-world experience, it will almost certainly produce a worthy successor to the broad Horizon 5 experience.
