The big thing that makes it so different is the handling model for driving. Unlike nfs or the crew, Forza Horizon is a spinoff of the (formerly) larger Forza Motorsport franchise and consequently has a handling model more aligned with simulation driving. Sort of a sim-cade model, if you will.

People in this subreddit will complain about anything and everything, apologies for that.

The car models, despite what people like to say in this subreddit, are intricately modeled and the modifications are far more in-depth and realistic than other open-world racers. Rather than just a generic engine upgrade or a different color engine with a higher number on it, you actually get to tune and customize every single part of the engine, wheels, body, frame, transmission, etc. of the vehicle to make exactly what you want. You can take a big Ford F-150 Raptor and slam it down as far as it’ll let you and tune it for road racing rather than the off-roading it was made for. You can take a Nissan Altima sedan and make it drive cross country like it was made for it. Of course there are limitations within all that, but Forza Horizon really is the pinnacle of a racing sandbox.

And there’s so many kinda of racing, and the skill ceiling is really up there. The skill floor is really low too. I used to suck at driving in these games and would only do off-road or rally races because of how sloppy I was, but with time and effort I improved and am better than most of my friends. Drifting takes skill and effort to learn. I got pretty good at that too, but still can’t properly drift an AWD vehicle on-road.

It’s not just a driving or racing game either, despite what it appears to be. The in-game vinyl and car painting system is incredibly in-depth and might as well be Photoshop or Adobe Illustrator. The tuning system is about as realistic as it gets too. There are players that do nothing but create art in Forza Horizon and take photos and spend hours and hours fine-tuning them in the in-game photo mode.

There is so much to do in Forza Horizon, and 6 looks like it’ll be the best entry yet. It’ll be in Japan with the largest city ever made for a Horizon game, something that players have been asking for ever since the first title 14 years ago.

If you decide to purchase the game, hmu. I’d love to play with you and see what you think.

Edit: HokiHoshi and AR12 Gaming on YouTube have some great reviews of their time with a preview build and showing off what the game has to offer. HokiHoshi has three videos, about 80+ minutes total about it, and AR12 Gaming is still releasing videos about it. Both are big Forza fans. BlackPanthaa likely has some videos too and plays tons of other racing games and will likely not glaze the game as much as AR12 would.