By the time you’re reading this, the “Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look” is no longer exclusive on Netflix.
The third trailer, focusing on gameplay is surprisingly lack of any narration. Instead, developer Rockstar Games let the highly-anticipated game with a big price tag speaks for itself. And make use of the opportunity to play a few of the licensed tracks that likely will be in the game.
The 27-minute-ish trailer, captured on PS5 as it proudly proclaims, features various scenes of protagonists Jason Duval and Lucia Caminos, or Jay and Lu as they affectionately refer to each other.
The power couple here is seen doing all sorts of crimes and grey-area gigs, from a simple package pick-up job gone wrong where the cops start gunning down everyone in a drug lab, to a high-end security job protecting some VIP who’s likely high on drugs.
The gameplay here should be familiar, as GTA VI evolves the formula set in GTA V and Red Dead Redemption 2. Cover-based shooting. An ability to slow down time for those headshots. A weapon wheel. Though the few set-pieces shown here has Jay and Lu not packing much heat, having to resort to picking up guns from dead enemies.
The couple can work together in these set-pieces, where players take on the control of one of them (the trailer mostly shows Jason as the point character). Some scenes will see them split up where players swap between the two perspective. And yes, the ability to swap between the characters during gameplay is available, similar to GTA V.
The more mundane stuff, and arguably more fun stuff, Jay and Lu can do outside of their crime antics are also fleshed out significantly in GTA VI. Snorkeling, driving a hovercraft, and racing in closed off tracks joins the list of things you can do in previous GTA games like visiting a club, make it rain in said club, and street racing.
Expect a lot more of contextual interactions. Grabbing food from the fridge in the apartment, holding hands and petting the dog are some of what’s being highlighted here. If the next GTA Online based on GTA VI better be making use of all of these, as the multiplayer community loves a bit of roleplaying, as Rockstar surely knows after purchasing the team behind one of the biggest role play community servers.
The trailer also shows a lot of robbery. Jay and Lu can hold up a small mom-and-pop store to a high-end jewelry store just as two baddies with face masks on and guns. These don’t look like scripted heist missions, which would be interesting as just an activity that you can decide to do on a whim while immersing in the open world.
The trailer does a good job in highlighting the cultural diversity of Vice City. Of course people in this city, like its real-life counterpart, would shout “Dale!” and spam that in chat.
Also, we heard the first instance of how to pronounce the fictional state of Leonida. It doesn’t rhyme with Florida. The story beats hint of two criminals looking for a way out of trouble only to be getting stuck deep, which likely will lead into an emotional ride for the protagonists, and the audience. And we had that before with Red Dead Redemption 2 so it can happen again.
Grand Theft Auto VI releases on November 19 on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S. The game will not be pressed on discs at launch, as physical copies will only include a download code. Pre-loading will be available a week before launch, on November 12.