Forza 6 Got The Most Amazing Rain and Night Driving

We love Forza titles, They are the best car games in the car simulation genre. With every successive Forza Motorsport title, developer Turn 10 wades slowly and deliberately through the uncanny valley of car simulation. The new Forza 6 is no exception; creative director Bill Giese told at Microsoft’s E3 2015 booth about the new weather and night modes.

It’s not a torrential downpour, but it’s enough that large puddles have formed along the track. From behind the wheel, I can hear the pattering of drops. Move out to third-person view, and the drops are more distant but still hit this invisible floating lens.

Rain is the big one, both visually and in terms of how you play. At moments it looked like individual drops were falling on the spoiler. Hydroplaning is now a real concern. Most, but not all, of Forza 6’s iconic tracks will support rain; Giese said some tracks like Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina would not have rain as an option because it doesn’t rain very often in the desert. “We wanted to recreate specific race events,” he added. It isn’t the first racing title with impressive rain, but it’s still a welcome addition here.

Nighttime is the other major new environmental feature, and for that, we drove a (virtual) Lamborghini Huracán. It is seriously dark, save for a few fireworks, the glow from our dashboard electronics, and the lights from other cars. Get too far ahead — or in my case, too far behind — and it feels like driving in the middle of nowhere at midnight. Giese noted, too, that because of cooler nighttime temperatures, your car will grip the road less.

While Forza 6 has a couple of new gameplay elements, as well, including improved drivatars, “mods” for for grouping assist options, and a League mode that’ll be detailed at later time — the game is still very much an evolution of the last Forza title. Which is exactly what you expect with new Forza — “the most comprehensive game yet,” said Giese as he rattled off the numbers (450 cars, 26 destinations, 24 cars on track at once, 1080p 60fps). This is will the best Forza game ever and I cannot wait to buy and try it out myself in pitch black darkness with some rain on my shields.

Forza 6 is set for release September 15th for Xbox One.