GTA 6 Has The Perfect Chance To Create Two Mechanically Distinct Protagonists

What game series is still as impressive and enjoyable as it was in your childhood? Very few series retained their creativity and popularity and continued to go strong for decades. Still, even among those few, Grand Theft Auto is in a league of its own. It’s safe to say GTA 5 was a legend that essentially shaped the 2010s. But, for a legendary game, it sure took its time to relax and stick around for too long, refusing to give its fans a new entry.

I think there’s no doubt when I say that GTA 6 became the most anticipated game of the decade, considering 5 came out back in 2013. To further fuel the hype fire, Rockstar made sure to re-release GTA 5 every time it made a new announcement. While this torture of anticipation continued, the hype for the inevitable GTA 6 only continued to soar, and soon, the moment of truth came when the trailer was released earlier than expected because some people were a little too impatient.

The GTA 6 Trailer’s Overall Quality Aside, The Visual Leap Is Insane

Now that close to 100M people have watched the extremely anticipated trailer, I’m sure everyone has their thoughts and emotions about it. Some are excited beyond belief, others think it’s not enough. Let me add my thoughts to it. I believe after a decade of waiting and the enormous hype, the trailer could’ve been better. It only had a few key details, things leaks already hinted at, and the majority was just a showcase of the various NPCs.

I think the trailer should’ve done something creative like GTA 5’s trailer did with its Micheal monologue. Anyway, putting that aside, the trailer in no way implies GTA 6 would be a bad game, and it still has the potential to be the next enormous thing. Let’s look at the trailer’s plus points. We have a look at the game’s dual protagonists, how the story might present a dynamic between the two, and what sort of tropes it might cover. Still, that’s not the trailer’s highlight, the insanely gorgeous and realistic visuals are.

Needless to say, the thing that essentially blew me away was how much of a visual feast it was. It far surpasses the original Vice City, that’s expected, but even compared to GTA 5 this is an unimaginable leap. The city’s design, impressive and pretty authentic environments, NPC design and motion animations, Playable vehicles, and traffic, everything is just amazing. If nothing else is yet confirmed, at least GTA 6 is an enormous upgrade over the rest in terms of visuals.

I made this video comparing GTA 6 to GTA 5’s trailer, so we really can appreciate the differences in quality.
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The Series’ First Female Protagonist Has A Ton Of Potential

Now, let’s get to business and theorize what we can expect to be in the game. Although it’s pretty much confirmed it is more GTA craziness we know and love, the one thing that’s unique right off the bat is that GTA 6 features the series’ first (well, not the first technically) female protagonist, Lucia. Alongside that, we have dual protagonists in the historic Bonnie and Clyde-style setting. This opens up a lot of possibilities.

From the trailer, we see that the game’s story elements and even gameplay will circle the relationship of the protagonist duo. Featuring a female protagonist can introduce new story dynamics, as the narrative experienced through her perspective would be pretty unique in the context of GTA storylines. Similarly, this opens up the possibilities of romance options and storylines in the game, which can strengthen the narrative and, I hope, even the gameplay.

First look at Lucia in ‘GTA 6’, the franchise’s first female protagonist.
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It would be perfect if the game had some way to gauge the strength of your relationship. This could, in turn, affect the gameplay by giving you more cooperative options, and also the narrative to some extent. Similarly, how Rockstar, with its “satirical” depiction of women, will design a female protagonist in the mocking world of GTA is what I genuinely wish to see. The trailer with its “females galore” certainly shows it’s the same old GTA, so it is fascinating to me how Rockstar will pull it off.

Stopping Me From Playing As Lucia Would Be Pretty Hard

After saying all that, one thing’s for sure: Lucia is of so much importance to this game that my boy Jason is very likely going to be ignored. Hate to do this to him, but so far even I’m set on playing as Lucia. Don’t get me wrong, I think both will be pretty important to the game’s core concept, but considering how novel Lucia’s existence is for GTA fans, Rockstar needs to make sure some spotlight is shared with Jason, too.

Lucia has my heart
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To implement this, I think the first thing to do which Rockstar most likely will, is to create narrative points in GTA 6 where changing the character is either forced or allows you to see the story in more depth, the latter is preferred. From the trailer, it is suspected that Lucia is on parole, and I don’t know if she’ll outright start defying the law, but I think using this narrative to restrict her actions would be a splendid move. Lucia’s operating range can be controlled and Jason can fill those gaps.

Lucia has an ankle monitor!

I wonder if this is how they will restrict map travel in the early game? She perhaps can't exit a certain radius! pic.twitter.com/mM4hwtcc3a

— GTABase.com (@GTABase) December 5, 2023

In addition to the main story, I think designing side quests that encourage character-switching is important. We’ll most likely be getting quests specific to each protagonist, but what I want are objectives that utilize both and require active cooperation. And the best way to do that would be to introduce fully playable and real-time heists, and create parts that require each protagonist to operate alone and you need both to achieve success.

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Need Some Incentive To Switch Outside Of Narrative Reasons, Too

Okay, the game adds story elements and quests to engage both characters, that’s great. But what about after that? A GTA game is something you play for years on end, because even more than its story or quests, the things that matter the most for many players are just roaming around the world, killing everything in your sight, driving in the most reckless way possible, and unleashing as much chaos as possible. At least this is how I spent most of my hours.

And after the GTA 5 experience, I think everyone is painfully aware that GTA 6 will be here to stay, so rest assured we’ll be exploring every nook and cranny, and massacring as many NPCs as possible before the next entry. The point is after you’re done with the story or if you just like GTA for its extremely creative open-world, having two protagonists that play out the same would limit the incentive to switch between the two, as people might prefer Lucia.

Why aren’t we talking about Jason!
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Thus, I believe unique gameplay mechanics for both would be quite excellent. The dialogues and interactions with NPCs and after certain actions would do wonders, but the gameplay needs to be distinct in some way too. For example, access to unique weaponry, differences in gunplay and handling weapons, and melee combat changes would be great. In addition, GTA’s staple easter eggs and secrets should play out a little differently, or could only be accessed by one of the two would be a good addition.

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Now That Dual Protagonists Are Common, GTA 6 Has Tougher Competition

Back when the leaks revealed GTA 6 might have two playable protagonists, it opened up many fascinating avenues. But the point of making the two protagonists more distinct in gameplay and feel versatile is more relevant now than ever. That’s because more and more games have started using this trope, and they try to make it as creative as they can. Once you have two characters, you need to justify using both equally instead of making one a favorite.

Take a look at the games of this year. Spider-Man 2 introduced both Peter and Miles as playable characters and made them both meaningful and distinct to play as. Similarly, so did Alan Wake 2. With the series veteran Alan and the newcomer Saga, the game divided their segments quite creatively and made their respective gameplay pretty unique and equally fascinating. Thus, this has placed even more emphasis on how GTA 6 should strengthen its dual protagonists dynamic.

It’s integral for GTA 6 because it has to live up to a decade of hype and anticipation. No doubt fans have created insane expectations, and reaching them would be a tall order. But it’s Rockstar, so I think we don’t have that much to worry about. Just make good use of the fascinating dual protagonist trope, root it into the core gameplay, and make the game as chaotic and just more GTA goodness as possible, that’s all we want. And if the trailer is anything to go by, it’s going to be one hell of a visual feast.

Be realistic, do you think GTA 6 will be able to live up to expectations?
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GTA 6 releases for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S in 2025, with no news yet of a PC release date.