Forza Horizon 6 Needs These Improvements: Smarter AI, Ranked Multiplayer & Deeper Customization
Since its release, Forza Horizon 6 has quickly garnered a massive player base thanks to its vast open world in Japan - over 670 explorable roads and more than 550 vehicles available at launch. However, as players delve deeper into the game, a series of issues have gradually surfaced.
This article will systematically outline the aspects of the game that urgently need improvement, based on extensive feedback from the player community and officially announced updates.
AI Drivatar
AI issues are currently the most concentrated area of player complaints. At higher difficulty levels (such as Unbeatable or Pro), the speed, grip, and other stats of AI opponents are astonishingly high. Furthermore, the developers publicly acknowledged in late May that sometimes their AI opponents are so fast that they are difficult to compete with, especially at higher difficulties.
Even more troublesome is the inconsistency of AI. At the same difficulty, one race can be easily won, while the next one struggles; AI performance in road races and off-road races is drastically different. In S1 or higher performance-level off-road races, AI sometimes misses checkpoints, runs off corners, and crashes haphazardly.
While the June 15th update for Series 2 addressed some issues, including improvements to AI difficulty balance and fixing abnormal start behavior in Drivatar races, there's still a long way to go before it's truly satisfactory.
Players eagerly anticipate a significant reduction in AI parameters, allowing AI to use smarter lines and strategies when facing high-difficulty challenges, rather than simply overwhelming opponents with numerical superiority. They also hope for more refined AI difficulty differentiation based on track type and performance level.
Uneven Race Distribution
Forza Horizon 6's race distribution exhibits a clear structural imbalance. According to player statistics, excluding endgame content outside the main storyline, the game features 19 road races, 14 street races, and 5 touge races, totaling 38 paved races; while dirt races number 19, off-road races 18, and unpaved races total 37.
While the differences between the two sides appear minor, the problem lies in the fact that street races and touge races don't count towards Wristband progress. This means players only have 19 paved road races available to advance the main story, compared to 37 off-road and dirt races - almost double the former. For a map set in Japan with excellent mountain and city roads, this design is perplexing.
The developers urgently need to rebalance the ratio of road to off-road races in the main story progression and add more themed tournaments to fully utilize Japanese car culture resources.
Multiplayer Issues
Ramming
The biggest problem in multiplayer mode is ramming. While this is a common issue in racing games, FH6 lacks effective countermeasures. Players can only choose to report, retaliate, or quit and re-rank.
The studio could easily introduce a vote-to-kick system - when a player repeatedly engages in malicious collisions with multiple players, players can vote to remove the troublemaker from the match.
Lack of Ranked Matches
FH6's design director stated before release that the current version was a step towards a true ranked mode. However, to this day, ranked play is still not implemented, severely impacting the game's long-term replayability - players seem to have nothing left to do after completing the main story and collecting all the collectibles.
The community has been clamoring for separate ranked modes for Horizon Racing and Spec Racing. The studio should allow players to be categorized by class and level, introducing an ELO rating system and a safety rating system, assigning points based on each match's ranking. At the end of the season, a corresponding number of Forza Horizon 6 credits and exclusive rewards should be distributed based on ranking.
Open World and Season System
Season Changes Superficial
Forza Horizon 6's seasonal system is touted as "returning to significant seasonal changes," but in actual gameplay, the impact of seasons on driving is negligible. Aside from visual changes like cherry blossoms in spring and autumn leaves, its effects on grip, visibility, and road conditions are extremely limited.
Japan boasts a rich culture of 72 microseasons, which is not fully reflected in the game. Players expect summer heatwaves and torrential rains, autumn fog and falling leaves, and winter snow and ice - extreme weather that should genuinely impact the driving experience, not just be a filter change.
Open World Lacks Motivation
Once the map is 100% explored, players lose their reason to drive in the open world - Fast Travel makes everything too convenient. The meticulously designed 673 roads ultimately become mere backdrops between waypoints. Perhaps the studio could add timed car delivery missions to guide players to different parts of the map.
Customization Lacks JDM Soul
This is one of the most disappointing areas for the community. FH 6 is set in Japan - the mecca of global car modification culture - yet it severely lacks in-depth customization options that truly reflect JDM culture. Many vehicles share the same Forza Aero universal aerodynamic kit, resulting in highly homogenized appearances across different models. Widebody kits are outdated and lack detailed adjustment options.
Since the game's launch, the underglow has consistently been the most requested customization item on the official feedback platform, followed by exhaust customization, interior customization, and body kits. Some analysts point out that the studio's unwillingness to invest heavily in acquiring licenses for modifications has resulted in an extremely limited selection of available parts. However, even without official brand licenses, the studio could still design original modifications to compensate, but they simply aren't willing to spend the time on it.
Forza Horizon 6 is undoubtedly an excellent racing game - its Japanese map, massive garage, and beautiful graphics are all commendable. But as the community has pointed out, it's a game with a near-perfect map, yet plagued by poor game design, AI, and outdated mechanics. Hopefully, the developers will listen to the community and address these issues one by one in future updates.
