6 things we want to see in GTA 6: improved alternative endings, natural NPC reactions, and more
GTA 6 fever is at its peak, with the digital pre-loading for both PS5 and XBOX Series X|S starting on November 10th, and the game finally coming out on November 19th after over a decade in development. As this will undoubtedly be the biggest entertainment launch in history, every new day, we are being treated to new information about the upcoming Grand Theft Auto title from Rockstar Games. As passionate gamers, just like you guys, we also can’t wait to get our hands on this game and dive head-first into Vice City.
As we eagerly wait for the game to release, we want to share a few things we’d like to see in the upcoming GTA game. These are not things that Rockstar or someone who got hands-on time with the game has shared anything about; these are just aspects that we as players want to see in the game. Take a guess before the list starts and let us know in comments if you guessed it right or if there is something not mentioned on the list that you would rather want to see in the shipped version of the game.
Table of Contents
1. Detailed and drastically different endings
Multiple endings are nothing new for Rockstar. GTA IV made you choose between a deal and revenge, and that one decision settled whether Roman or Kate died at the wedding. GTA V had three endings, and Red Dead Redemption 2 shaped Arthur Morgan’s final moments around his honour and one last choice. The trouble is that one ending usually gets all the attention, while the others feel like an afterthought. In GTA V, Deathwish is a full finale in which Michael, Franklin, and Trevor settle every score together, while the options to kill Trevor or Michael are over after a single, short chase.
For GTA 6, we want every ending to have the same level of detail and be different enough that a second playthrough feels like a new game rather than a new final cutscene. That also means moving the fork. GTA V asked for its big decision at the absolute climax, right after the final heist, so all three endings shared almost everything that came before them. This time, we would much rather see the story branch off far earlier, with choices in the middle of the campaign changing who Jason and Lucia trust, who turns on them, and where they end up.
There are signs Rockstar is thinking along these lines. The studio has said choices in GTA 6 will have deeper consequences than in its earlier games, and that how well you look after Jason and Lucia’s relationship will have a bearing on how their story plays out. We just hope that adds up to several fully realised endings, not one real ending and a couple of alternatives.
2. Some parkour ability
We are not asking for Assassin’s Creed. Jason and Lucia scaling the tallest towers in Vice City would feel out of place. But something closer to Watch Dogs 2, where Marcus could vault over obstacles, climb the sides of buildings, and run across rooftops to shake off the police, would add a great deal.
On foot, GTA V let you climb ladders, fences, and low walls, and not much more. That is why most police chases came down to the same routine: find a fast car or bike, drive until the stars disappear, and repeat. It gets repetitive after a while. Being able to ditch a car, cut through a narrow alley, climb onto a roof, and drop down a street away would give every chase more options, and make Leonida feel like a place you can move through on foot rather than just drive across.
It would suit the characters, too. Jason did a stint in the Army, and Rockstar says Lucia’s father taught her to fight as soon as she could walk. These are not two people who should be stopped by a garden wall.
3. A highly dynamic environment
Rockstar set the standard with Red Dead Redemption 2. Storms rolled in over the plains, mud clung to boots and wagon wheels, snow held every footprint, and the world looked different at every hour of the day. We want GTA 6 to go further still.
Leonida gives Rockstar plenty to work with. The state stretches from the neon of Vice City to the Leonida Keys, the swamps of the Grassrivers, and the trails of Mount Kalaga National Park, and each of those places could look completely different in a torrential downpour than on a bright, sunny afternoon. We want storms that flood streets and change how cars handle, mist hanging over the Grassrivers at dawn, and a Vice City that feels like a different place after dark. If the weather changes how we play, not just how the game looks, Leonida could be Rockstar’s most alive world yet.
4. Better environmental destruction
GTA 6’s launch trailer includes a shot of a helicopter slamming a huge suspended load into the side of a high-rise, leaving a hole in its glass front. It looks fantastic, and the glass breaks convincingly. But we are hoping that kind of destruction is not saved for specific missions.
Rockstar’s cities have always felt a little too solid. Cars crumple and windows break, but walls, shopfronts, and most of the world stay exactly as they were, however much chaos you cause. We are not asking for Battlefield-style destruction, where whole buildings come down. That would be overkill in a city that is meant to feel lived in. But shopfronts that splinter in a shootout, cover that breaks apart under gunfire, and crashes that leave real damage behind would make every firefight and chase feel heavier. Even a modest step in that direction could be a game changer.
5. More natural NPC reactions
Rockstar has said GTA 6’s NPCs have been designed to look, move, and interact more naturally, and that the world will respond to what you do, down to people reacting when you walk around carrying a rifle. That is encouraging, but what we care about most is the split second after something unexpected happens.
Even Red Dead Redemption 2, still one of the most realistic games ever made, fell short here. Ride your horse into another rider, or into someone crossing a street in Saint Denis, and the reaction often felt jerky, with people and horses snapping from one animation into the next instead of responding the way a real person or animal would. In a game that worked so hard on everything else, those moments stood out.
We want GTA 6’s instant reactions to feel as natural as its scripted ones. A pedestrian clipped by a car should stumble, try to catch their balance, and then react, rather than flip straight into a canned fall. In a place as busy as Vice City, moments like these will happen again and again in every session, which makes them as important as any big set piece.
6. How far the Jason and Lucia relationship can go
Jason and Lucia are at the centre of GTA 6, and Rockstar has already confirmed that their relationship is a system of its own. Rob Nelson, co-studio head at Rockstar North, has said it has to be nurtured by spending time together, that playing missions together may not be enough to keep them together, and that whether you look after it will have a bearing on how their story plays out.
That is a promising start, but we want to know how far it goes, and in which directions. If the relationship is neglected, do they actually break up and go their separate ways? If it is strong, could one of them give their life for the other in one of the endings? And if things go badly wrong, could they end up turning on each other, or even killing each other? For a story Rockstar has described as a pair of criminal lovers against the world, every one of those outcomes makes sense.
The Bonnie and Clyde comparison only works if the story is allowed to get as messy as the relationship. We want to see whether Rockstar lets us push Jason and Lucia to the extreme in every direction, or keeps them safely together whatever we do. We will find out on November 19th.
