Forza Horizon 6 arrives as the latest game in the long-running racing franchise, and the build tested here is already making its case on speed, sheen and sheer spectacle. The game ships with ray-traced global illumination turned on for the world’s lighting, and it also comes with auto frame-generation active as part of DLSS 4.5.
A few days before publication, a copy of the game was sent through by Nvidia, and the writer tested ray-traced global illumination, DLSS 4.5 auto frame-generation and performance at both 4K and 1440p. The results were steady: at 4K with effectively maxed-out settings, the game held 60fps, while at 1440p on a desktop with auto frame-generation and an 80fps cap, it stayed smooth without obvious trouble.
That performance matters because Forza Horizon 6 is not trying to hide its ambition behind safe visual design. The opening is bombastic, the kind of start that announces a big-budget racing game knows exactly what it wants to be. The game also leans hard into its sightseeing side, with day trips that begin like tours before ending in a race. That structure fits a series that has made a reputation out of giving players gorgeous locales, dynamic weather and enough visual variety to make a fast drive feel like a small tour of a place rather than a lap around a track.
The most striking proof of the visual upgrade came in the reflections. On a capable rig, they are beautiful. Driving past the Tokyo Tower and seeing it reflected in the boot of a car was not the sort of screen-space trickery that can flatten a scene. It looked like a real reflection, and that is the point of ray-traced global illumination: it turns ray-tracing on for the global lighting in the game’s world, not just a few shiny highlights at the edges.
Just as important, the test did not uncover distracting flaws. The writer noticed no ghosting or artefacts during the sessions at 4K or 1440p. That is where DLSS 4.5 and auto frame-generation matter most for a game like this. The franchise has always depended on motion, speed and the illusion that the road ahead is stretching faster than the eye can track. When the frame delivery stays clean, the rest of the game’s visual ambition gets to do its work.
Forza Horizon 6 is still being judged on an early look, but the picture is already clear. This is a modern racing game built to show off current hardware, and in the testing reported here it did exactly that without falling apart under the strain. The unanswered question is not whether it looks the part. It does. The real test now is whether the full game can keep that balance of spectacle, performance and control when more players get their hands on it.
