Review: Forza Horizon 6: PC Ray Tracing Looks Great - A Hint Of The Project Helix Port To Come?

Forza Horizon 6 has launched as a true current-generation release for PC and Xbox Series X/S, marking the first mainline entry in the franchise to leave Xbox One behind. Developed by Playground Games, the game relocates the action to an open-world recreation of Tokyo and surrounding Japanese regions, continuing the arcade-style driving gameplay the series is known for.

PC performance analysis reveals the game performs admirably across a range of hardware configurations. Testing shows that Forza Horizon 6 runs smoothly even on older hardware without requiring upscaling or frame generation technologies to achieve playable frame rates. However, the game is noted as being CPU-heavy, which may impact players on systems with aging processors.

The most noteworthy aspect of the release concerns the implementation of ray tracing. While the feature is available, reviewers have found it underwhelming. Despite its availability, the visual improvements provided by ray tracing don’t justify the performance cost, even on the highest-end GPUs such as the RTX 5090. The consensus suggests that ray tracing in Forza Horizon 6 should be left disabled for most players, making it more of an optional curiosity than a recommended feature. Overall, the game delivers a solid arcade racing experience that runs well on PC, though its ray tracing implementation falls short of expectations.

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