Grand Theft Auto 6 is Rockstar’s next triple AAA title. It’s the game that has been desired by gamers since Grand Theft Auto 5 debuted back in 2013. As Grand Theft Auto 6 grows ever closer, and soon, hopefully, fans will begin to see their first glimpses of the title, as they eagerly await it in their hands.
Rockstar’s previous title was Red Dead Redemption 2. It’s a game that certainly demands respect and attention to how open-world games should be presented. The care and craft of RDR2 cannot be understated, and Rockstar should certainly take the lessons learned from their previous title, into the titanic GTA 6.
9 Gun Maintenance And Customization
Grand Theft Auto 5 allows players to visit Ammu-Nation, a gun store chain in Los Santos where players can pick up the latest and greatest weaponry. This ranges from melee weapons to pistols, to even laser guns. Players can also change the attachments, and colors of their weapons. Yet, the limited options make for a lack of unique designs among players.
What RDR2 does so well, is give the player the ability to both maintain their weapon and customize it. RDR2 has a great number of pistols, rifles, and shotguns. Each weapon, including the knife, is cleanable to maximize efficiency. Players can also go to Blacksmiths to make the weapon unique in appearance and ability, through attachments. This should be a lesson learned, and added into GTA 6; to add more personality to players’ arsenals.
8 Relationships And Friends
As part of the Van der Linde gang in Red Dead Redemption 2, the player has to understand the importance of the gang and the safety of the camp. The game has players receive tasks and chores to make their criminal family happy. Players can sing songs with them at night, and listen to their stories. If the player is away from camp for too long, another gang member will ride out to find you.
This level of immersion makes the game feel real, as no longer do players feel alone in a world where they have the only sentience. The ability to care for and maintain a camp of friends and family adds optional responsibility to the player, and GTA 6 should utilize this.
7 Buildings To Explore
Grand Theft Auto 5 has a great map and some great structures that add to the immersion of Los Santos being a real place. It feels alive in every corner, even on the desert plains. However, the map has many buildings that are just there for show, and cannot be explored. Buildings that players can explore are behind an immersion-breaking load screen.
What Red Dead Redemption 2 did so well, was buildings you can explore just by walking through a door. There were bounties of caves and wooden houses and shacks that players could just walk into with great detail. It added to the immersion of being in the west. GTA 6 should adapt this further to allow players to enter more buildings.
6 A Demand For Activities
Red Dead Redemption had a plethora of activities that were suited for the wild west. Players could hunt in many different environments and go fishing for all sorts of rarities. The casino was something adapted from GTA Online and added a new level of fun.
However, the first Red Dead Redemption seemed to brim with more side activities. Liars dice was an iconic game that could be played with AI or with friends, as was a fun zombie game mode. These should make a return for the GTA 6 experience.
5 Immersive NPC Interactions
As players ride through the different states in Red Dead Redemption 2, they’ll surely come across an array of different people. From rude, uptight racists, to the kind and gentle nature of other cowboys. The game feels alive with its characters, and the NPCs will react based on your actions both in the world, or how threatening you are.
By allowing players to have their morality shown as a consequence, they have more control over what kind of person they want their character to be. It adds a new level of immersion, being able to interact with digital people, rather than just walking past them.
4 Interesting Side Characters
What Rockstar never lacks in their games, is a roster of colorful and wacky characters for the player to question their sanity. Red Dead Redemption 2 is no exception to this rule. As players ride across the map, they’ll find all sorts of characters. From a pair of escaped convicts on the run to a rather gory serial killer, and a vampire prowling the streets of Saint-Denis. The game surely brims with life and weirdness.
Grand Theft Auto 6 needs to incorporate these side characters and stranger missions into the game, and at a higher degree than what was achieved with Red Dead Redemption 2. The writing on these characters is whimsical, weird, and sometimes creepy, and it would fit perfectly in the satirical and hyper world of Grand Theft Auto.
3 Singular Protagonist
Although Grand Theft Auto 5 had a great story and perfectly balanced the three protagonists of Franklin, Michael, and Trevor, there was a lack of character development since there were three characters to bounce back and forth from. Red Dead Redemption 2 doesn’t have this problem, as Arthur Morgan is the sole protagonist.
Players become invested in Arthur’s story and his interactions with other people. Since Red Dead Redemption is the intimate story of a gunslinger watching the decline of the life he grew up with, it makes for a much more personal story. GTA 6 could benefit from this kind of storytelling.
2 Detailed Wanted System
Most players enjoy a tad evil streak in their tenure in open-world games. Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead are no exception, and players often find themselves on the wrong side of the law. With GTA, if players have committed a crime, the police will pursue them until the player successfully evades them. Then, players can walk up to police officers as if nothing happened.
With Red Dead Redemption 2, your crimes are specific to the individual states. Depending on the severity of your crime, players could have to spend their nights treading carefully, as bounty hunters will be on their tails. It’s a great feature and adds to the realism that should be in GTA 6.
1 An Expressive Map
Red Dead Redemption 2 has an enormous map, with much to explore for the player and their horse. The map can appear somewhat overwhelming to new players, as they realize that they are within five fictional U.S. states. Most impressively, New Austin and West Elizabeth return from the original Red Dead Redemption, in their full upgraded glory.
GTA 6 should consider RDR2’s map when developing their own. The ability to travel long distances, with so much to explore in jets and fast cars is a player’s dream. GTA 5 had an impressive map, with Los Santos covering a city and a desert plain, but it pales in comparison to RDR2.