The erratic enemy AI continues to be a source of frustration for many players in Forza Horizon 6. On Reddit, a fan highlights the issue with a screenshot.
Officially, Forza Horizon 6 isn’t set to release until tomorrow, Tuesday, May 18; however, those who pre-ordered the Premium Edition can already play and are actively sharing their opinions on the new arcade racer online. One thing is clear: In the eyes of many players, the Japan-set Forza is a worthy continuation of the series, but there are a few issues.
In addition to theinitial launch issues with the Steam version, the main focus is once again onthe erratic opponent AI. Ironically, this is not a new problem for the Horizon series, but has been repeatedly criticized in previous installments as well.
The recurring problem: Either the racing opponents are all slowpokes, or they take off like Lewis Hamilton or Max Verstappen in Formula 1 right after the start. Apparently, there really isn’t anything in between in Forza Horizon 6 either—as our test driver Dimi also notes in his review of the game.
Although the developers emphasized before launch that they had “comprehensively overhauled” the opponent AI, the old pattern persists inForza Horizon 6as well. Even on the medium difficulty setting, it’s nearly impossible to make any headway in races with untuned cars.& nbsp;The opponents always stick perfectly to the ideal lineand are always a few meters ahead of you, no matter how recklessly you drive.
One difficulty level lower, however, you’ll leave the computer rivals in the dust because they all seem to confuse the gas pedal with the brake and stay obediently behind you. Of course, fans expect something different from a next-generation racing game. On the discussion forum Reddit, some Early Access players are already venting their frustration with the opponent AI.
One user aptly sums up the “typical Forza Horizon AI experience”with a screenshot:
Link toReddit content
The image shows that the player has most of the AI cars just behind him; however, three AI opponents are pulling away by a wide margin. User TheShadowRelm38writes in his post:
The game puts me all the way at the back of the starting grid and then gives me three laps to overtake AI opponents on rails… aaah, how I’ve missed this. I love this game; it’s better than Part 5 in many ways, but the AI still makes every race the same boring affair where you have to watch three or four top drivers pull away on rails.
In the comments, many other users agree with TheShadowRelm38. The AI doesn’t behave like believable human drivers.
DanielDubs88 writes, for example:The funny thing is: If I somehow manage to pass the car in front of me, it never catches up to me again. It took me two laps to catch up to him with perfect cornering, and now that I’ve passed him, I can make as many mistakes as I want—he just never gets close to me again.
cTreK-421 writes:It makes me feel like the races are somehow scripted: Oh, you’ve been trying to catch up for so long, so we gave you a sense of pride and progress. Okay, now you can pass and win.
Admittedly, there are ways to master the rubber-band AI inForza Horizon 6as well. With the right tuning, you can turn your car into a speed demon that even the AI can’t catch up to. In the settings, you can also use various assists and AI handicapsto fine-tune the difficulty of the races.
However, the problem for many players is that the standard version of the races with AI designed this way is simply no fun. Developer Playground Games should definitely address this in future updates.
