FORZA HORIZON 6

Shibuya Crossing meets supercars—what could go wrong?

- Phil Iwaniuk

That's right, the world's most improbable festival is returning sooner than we thought. Horizon 6's Japanese jamboree has a bigger world map than ever, a detailed urban center that might be half-decent this time, and—best of all—there's not a pebbledashed porta-potty or a van selling loaded fries for $24 in sight.

Bigger doesn't necessarily mean better, of course. The last decade of depressingly empty open worlds have taught us that. Playground Games is evidently well aware of the cynicism we've all developed about such claims, because the studio's also emphasized that it's using all that newfound real estate to capture the contrasts and culture of its chosen location. Japan is a country of contradictions, where vast hubs of technology and overpopulation give way to countryside, where tradition and innovation sit flush with one another, and where seasonal changes have dramatic visual and cultural significance. Given Horizon's track record for encapsulating a sense of place in its world maps, it's unlikely to present featureless fields just to chase an arbitrary map size stat.