Forza Horizon 6’s representation of Tokyo appears stunning yet desolate.

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      Playground Games has provided a sneak peek at the unfiltered gameplay of Forza Horizon 6 ahead of its May 19 release. This is our first chance to experience some of the game's map set in Japan at a leisurely pace, showcasing sections of Tokyo and its surrounding areas, likely during spring or summer. While there’s a lot to appreciate about the current world—its natural landscapes reflect the stunning style typical of Horizon, and the urban environments appear denser and more vertical than ever—there's a lingering feeling that something was lacking during those nine minutes of exploration.

      Let's highlight the positives first. The transition from the countryside into the city, featuring ascending highways with circular overpasses and winding through forests until you catch that first glimpse of bridges, buildings, and the Tokyo Tower, was quite impressive. In past Horizon games, cities felt like afterthoughts—a brief change in pace, but not substantial enough for in-depth exploration. That doesn’t seem to be the case here, as the intricate details of FH6’s Tokyo and the authentic incorporation of the Metropolitan Expressway show promise. I’m eager to see it illuminated at night.

      The areas surrounding the city also look fantastic, but that was expected. The highways are lengthy and mostly straight, offering ample room to reach top speeds in vehicles like the Saleen S7 LM—an unusual choice for this gameplay segment. I was particularly impressed by the coastal route that appears around the six-minute mark.

      That said, I can’t help but feel uneasy about the overall atmosphere, especially in central Tokyo. For starters, the streets are very wide. We anticipated Playground would prioritize playability, which they clearly did. However, it appears the developers could have narrowed the roads a bit more to match reality while still allowing for multiple cars to drive comfortably at speed. Plus, speeding through tighter streets can add excitement!

      The vast open spaces in FH6’s Tokyo raises another concern: it creates a void that would typically be filled with vehicles in a bustling city. This is a fine balance every open-world racing game must achieve. If there’s too much traffic, smooth driving becomes unfeasible; and managing numerous computer-controlled cars across all players on a server is quite challenging. Conversely, if there is too little traffic, you risk making the city feel desolate, as evidenced by this footage.

      In this segment, we observe entire Tokyo streets linking major roads with hardly a car in sight. On roads that should be teeming with vehicles, only one car is visible as far as the eye can see. When you strip away the busy traffic of a city like Tokyo, you lose its essence. There’s a lack of ambient noise, and in keeping with the Forza Horizon style, there are no pedestrians on sidewalks to truly evoke a lively atmosphere, making it seem like you’re in a modern gaming version of the Twilight Zone. (While I don’t believe you should be able to run over people in Horizon, Midnight Club: LA managed to incorporate these features of life without any violent implications and released with a Teen rating—18 years ago! Surely, FH6 could achieve something similar.)

      We didn’t catch a glimpse of FH6’s car meets in this footage, which might help instill that feeling of activity.

      Players engage with these games for various reasons. I know many enjoy Horizon with friends, but personally, it has usually been a more solitary experience for me. Sometimes, especially during the FH4 period, I would play online with a small group of friends, but we rarely had objectives, leading to a chaotic mix of donuts and disrupting traffic until someone became disinterested and logged off. Having visited Tokyo for the first time last year, my main desire is for this experience to feel like an escape in a beloved car.

      This leads to my concern regarding this game: that Playground has constructed an exceptionally rich and detailed world but may not have gone the extra mile to make it feel lived-in and genuine. If it comes at the expense of playability, so be it. FH6 has great potential to truly distinguish itself in a series that, while very competent, has seemed satisfied with delivering a formulaic experience across different settings.

      Perhaps traffic was reduced for this gameplay session; it certainly feels less congested than what we observed during the Developer Direct in January. However, even that earlier look seemed inadequate, so we will have to wait and see how the final product turns out. IGN, who showcased this initial look, has a month of FH6 content planned, so perhaps we won’t have to wait long.

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