Summary
It has recently been revealed that players will be getting their first official look at the highly anticipatedGrand Theft Auto 6in December, which is sure to reveal new information about the game’s story, gameplay, and the inclusion of its “Bonnie and Clyde” protagonists. Ahead of the massivelyhyped-upGTA 6reveal trailer, it’s worth taking a look back at the last game in the series and how it implemented multiple playable characters.
Grand Theft Auto 6is set to feature two playable characters, named Jason and Lucia, according to last year’s leaked gameplay footage. The specifics of their relationship, their individual roles in the story, and how each of them plays are all unknown at this stage, but multiple protagonists is nothing new for the franchise.GTA 4had alternate playable characters through DLC, andGTA 5notably featured three different characters that the player could switch between at will. Fans got a glimpse of how Jason and Lucia control in theleakedGTA 6alpha gameplay, but the footage doesn’t confirm whether a central feature ofGTA 5’s multiple protagonists will be returning;GTA 6would be improved greatly by this feature.
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GTA 6 Should Expand On GTA 5’s Character Abilities
Franklin, Trevor, and Michael, the heroes ofGTA 5, are wildly different in terms of personality and the roles they play in the narrative, but there was one feature that had the largest impact on gameplay: character-specific abilities. These abilities were tailored to each character and added some fun variety to the game, butGrand Theft Auto 6could take this concept to the next level.
Red Mist
Increases player damage while decreasing damage taken.
AsGrand Theft Auto 6improves upon animations, visual fidelity, and overall technical polish from earlier games in the series, so too should it enhance this specific aspect of gameplay. The inclusion of character abilities inGTA 5is good but a bit bare-bones, especially by today’s standards; gameplay differences between the three protagonists don’t extend beyond these limited abilities, and they can’t be upgraded or expanded beyond simply increasing their duration. With just two protagonists instead of three, it will be even more important for Rockstar to make them feel distinct from each other.
PerhapsGTA 6could feature not just one, but multiple character-specific abilities, encouraging players to be thoughtful before starting a certain task or side mission, as they would have a significantly different slew of abilities available based on their chosen character.GTA 6will likely change several elementsof theGTAformula, so maybe it could also introduce some radically new character progression systems, implementing a skill tree or something similar.
Not only would this further differentiate Lucia and Jason from each other, but it would also make for a more satisfying and rewarding gameplay experience. Of course,GTA 6probably shouldn’t delve head-first into RPG territory, but it could arguably benefit from borrowing some of those genre staples.
Grand Theft Auto 6is an important title in more ways than one. 2023 marks ten years sinceGTA 5’s release, and hype for the sixth mainline entry has not stopped mounting during that decade. It will also be the first Rockstar game to release following the departure of Dan Houser, who was instrumental in shaping the company and franchise. Amid Rockstar’s contentious reputation, some may be skeptical aboutGrand Theft Auto 6, but if Rockstar canlearn from previousGTAgameswhile staying creative with innovative new features, there’s every chance that it will live up to the hype.
