Overall, I just want to start by saying the IGN reveals for Forza Horizon 6 have been awesome in general. Yes, there are a few questionable choices that I’ll get into, but all in all it’s always great to see new gameplay, screenshots, and explanations of how the game works.
From what we’ve seen so far, the teams at Playground Games have done a fantastic job with the city, the different environments and biomes, and the overall level of detail around the map. Of course, most of us are genuinely excited that the series is finally going to Japan, and I do feel for Playground with the amount of pressure that’s on them from the community to deliver. That said, the majority of what I’m seeing so far is positive, so hats off to them.
Now for the concerns… sorry to dampen the mood a bit… haha.
1 – Customisation
Yes, I’m aware we’re apparently getting a deeper dive into customisation next week. My hopes are high, but I also feel like they might not quite deliver everything people are hoping for.
What I’d really like to see includes:
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Better wheel fitment adjustments
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Tyre writing available across all tyre types
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More body kits across the car list
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Better Forza aero
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Interior colour tint options at a minimum
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Window stickers / banners
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Exhaust tip modification
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Headlight and taillight tinting
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Better paint and livery options, including material types (for example let me make my cars glossy red carbon or blue carbon)
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More wheel options
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Tyre wall / profile adjustments for all vehicles
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More realistic bullbar and lightbar options for 4WDs
Customisation has always been one of the biggest parts of Horizon for me, so I’m hoping they push this further.
2 – Gameplay / Endgame
I’d really like to see more detail around the gameplay and endgame plans for this iteration of the series.
So far it’s great that they’ve shown:
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Wristband progression
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Exploration systems
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Adjusting races once completed
But the big thing I want to know is whether we can create custom championships. If that’s possible, honestly that would be the cherry on top for me.
3 – Houses
This looks like an awesome feature. I love the idea of displaying cars at houses, and having 8 houses confirmed around the map is great.
The one thing I want to know is the display limit at each house.
Because if they limit it to something like 3–4 cars, similar to Forza Motorsport, I think that would be a massive missed opportunity for a feature with so much potential. Hoping to have a minimum of 6-10 cars per house on display
4 – Online Racing
I’m really hoping to see improvements to online racing.
Mainly:
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Reducing or balancing the meta builds
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More variety in event types
Not just race class and type, but things like:
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Manufacturer-specific events
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Vehicle categories (track monsters, classic racers, etc.)
More variety here would keep the online side fresh for much longer.
5 – UI
Personally I didn’t mind the UI in Forza Horizon 5, although it was a little visually busy.
The one thing I would really love to see added is better filtering options.
Let players create their own tags and filters, not just “favourites.” Especially when jumping into online races, it would make it much easier to quickly find the car you want.
We should be able to create custom tags and assign cars to them. At the end of the day this is Microsoft, and it honestly blows me away that this still isn’t a thing.
Overall
Overall I’m extremely excited, just like I’m sure most of you are.
The main thing is I just don’t want them to stuff this up — I want it to be amazing. And realistically it should be. By the time FH6 releases, it will have effectively been in development for about 4.5 years since FH5 launched, and that doesn’t even account for work that may have started before that. With roughly 200–300 developers working on Horizon itself, plus support from Turn 10 Studios, expectations are naturally pretty high.
Anyway, just my two cents. I’m not a developer — just a very keen and hopeful player.
