# Forza Horizon 6 and Lego Batman review roundup: critics find two polished crowd-pleasers **June 15, 2026 ยท Perthro** Mid-May 2026 brought three reviewed releases worth reading together: Forza Horizon 6, Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight and Supermassive's Directive 8020. The first two are familiar formulas that critics say work because they know exactly what they are. The third is a horror game that split critics. (007 First Light landed a week later; its reviews are in [our 007 First Light review deep dive](/blog/2026-06-28-007-first-light-review-critics-hitman-problem).) ## Forza Horizon 6 review scores: 91 on OpenCritic Forza Horizon 6 is from Playground Games and Xbox Game Studios, on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Eurogamer lists May 15, 2026 as the release date and IGN lists May 19, but either way the reviews landed in mid-May. OpenCritic lists a 91 Top Critic Average with 100% recommending it. - **IGN:** 10/10 - **Eurogamer:** 5/5 - **PC Gamer:** 84/100 - **Gamereactor UK:** 70/100, mostly wishing Playground had taken more risks with progression and interface. Reviewers agree this isn't a radical sequel, and also that Japan does more than look nice. Luke Reilly at IGN calls it "the new standard in open-world racing" and argues Japan gives the series its most believable and car-friendly map: "Every corner of the map feels like a place I can pause or park, meaning everywhere I arrive feels like a destination." That's the best compliment a Horizon game can get: the space is worth being in between events, not just a set of roads and views. PC Gamer is warm but careful: "It's another Forza Horizon, for all its faults, but also its many, many triumphs. Forza Horizon 6 isn't an ambitious sequel, but its version of Japan is still a joy to race through." If you're tired of the Horizon loop, the sixth game won't cure that. The icons, event structure and festival fantasy are all familiar. The setting makes the loop work better; it doesn't change it. Dom Peppiatt at Eurogamer calls it "the cleanest, buzziest, and most engrossing experience" the series can offer, with Playground applying 14 years of lessons confidently. He spends a lot of time on progression, especially the return of the first game's wristband structure. Open-world racers often struggle to make freedom feel like progress, and Horizon 6 apparently finds a better balance. Everyone agrees the handling is approachable without feeling weightless, the car list and events are what you'd expect, and Japan is the star, giving the roads and festival a stronger identity rather than a tourist checklist. They differ on ambition. IGN sees mastery in the refinement. Eurogamer sees the series finally delivering on its original promise. PC Gamer sees a safe sequel underneath. If the last two games wore you out, read GameSpot as well. It calls the Japan setting "hard to put down" but describes the constant drip of cash, customization and small rewards as a "dopamine highway," and warns longtime players may feel diminishing returns. ![Forza Horizon 6 screenshot: racing through the Japan map](https://perthro.io/assets/blog/22102f483735c07c.jpg) ## Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight review scores: 84 on Metacritic Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight is from TT Games and Warner Bros. Games, on Switch 2, PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Eurogamer lists May 19, 2026 and IGN May 22; reviews arrived around May 18. Metacritic has it at 84 from 65 critics. - **Game Informer, 8.75/10:** leaves "no meat on the bone" with Batman mythology. - **IGN, 8/10** - **GameSpot, 8/10:** the most fun the reviewer has had with a Lego game since 2005. - **PC Gamer, 83/100** - **Eurogamer, 4/5** - **TheGamer:** it "set a new plastic mold for TT Games." Nobody calls it a reinvention of Lego games. The idea that works is simple: make Batman small and plastic, and keep him basically Batman. Simon Cardy at IGN describes "a strong open-world Gotham" full of slapstick and affection for Batman, with TT Games "back at the top of its game," especially when the open world takes over from the linear levels. It remixes Batman films, villains and scenes into something that feels built rather than quoted. PC Gamer's verdict: "There are a couple of Arkham games better than this, but also a couple that are worse." The game has counters, acrobatic free-flow moves, shield enemies, electric-baton enemies, vents, grapples, perch takedowns and explosive gel. It takes the rhythm of Rocksteady's combat and traversal and makes it more forgiving. Christian Donlan at Eurogamer is the most charmed. The references, gags and unlockables come thick and fast, but it doesn't get overwhelming because the main reference is clear: "This is a Lego take on Rocksteady's Arkham games more than anything." That structure lets the campaign stitch decades of Batman films together without turning into noise. Critics agree on the Arkham-lite combat, Gotham as a playground for Lego chaos, and the deep-cut references. The parody reads as affectionate, not lazy. The criticism is consistent too. IGN wanted tougher fights and found the story slow to come together. Eurogamer's delight at the gag density tells you what might wear some players out. Stealth is the most-named weak spot: GameSpot says it lacks the depth of Arkham's predator rooms, and Game Informer calls it the least consistent part, alongside minor glitches and a top difficulty that's only mildly challenging. If you want the next brooding Arkham game, the Lego tone may get in the way. If you want a lighter open-world action game that understands why Arkham's combat still feels good, critics call it a pleasant surprise. ## Directive 8020 reviews: critics split Supermassive's Directive 8020 came out May 12, 2026 on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. It opens the second season of The Dark Pictures Anthology and takes the studio's choice-driven horror into deep space. OpenCritic had it around 73 with just over half of critics recommending it, and other roundups put Metacritic around 70. The high end is very high. PC Gamer gave 85/100 and called it "everything you could want from a sci-fi horror game." TheSixthAxis gave 9/10 and called it the best Dark Pictures game. Xbox Tavern also gave 9/10, singling out the Turning Point system, which lets you revisit key scenes and try other outcomes. Kyle Hilliard at Game Informer is the sharpest dissent. He says the nods to Alien and The Thing feel like "rip-offs that don't understand the source material," and questions the rewind feature: "If I can change every element of the story as I am making my way through it, then why does any wrong decision or missed quicktime event matter?" Metro GameCentral complains of "under-informed choices and an awful lot of walking about in dimly lit corridors." ZTGD's 7.5/10 points to stealth, cheap jump scares and jarring transitions. Critics mostly like the premise and production. They disagree on whether Turning Points are an overdue convenience or a way of draining the consequences out of a branching horror game. ## Which to play first Forza Horizon 6 and Lego Batman are very different, but reviewers praise them for the same thing: familiar foundations handled with skill rather than leaning on nostalgia. Horizon 6 doesn't need to apologize for being another Horizon if Japan gives the driving a better sense of place. Lego Batman doesn't need to have invented free-flow combat if it makes it funny, generous and quick. - **Forza Horizon 6:** the safest pick, with higher scores and broader praise. - **Lego Batman:** the nicer surprise. A licensed Lego game scoring 8/10, 83/100 and 4/5 from IGN, PC Gamer and Eurogamer shows the comfort still has real design under it. - **Directive 8020:** the one where the average tells you least. If you like Supermassive's formula and want it in space, the 9/10 reviews make a real case. If stealth and rewindable choices sound like they'd kill the tension, read Game Informer first.