Tom Petty, alligators, and influencers. The most highly anticipated trailer of all time landed last week and, while it didn’t give too much away, it was still quite the show. The trailer paints a picture of US life and subcultures which rarely get much light outside of social media. The ‘vibrant’ cast of characters depicted were like the ‘Florida man’ meme come to life.
As soon as Rockstar dropped the record-breaking trailer, we dropped a bounty in our Just About Video Games community asking for hot takes. Unsurprisingly, our community members had plenty of impressions, predictions, and opinions. Enjoy.
The first hot take comes from MURRRAAAAY and takes the form of a platform prediction:
“My hot take is that GTA 6 is going to come bundled with the PS5 Pro. The footage in the trailer is definitely from a top-of-the-line rig. It’ll be a big win for Sony if that’s the best console to play on. That’s if Microsoft doesn’t change from their leaked plans of no pro-model Xbox. It’s going to be interesting to see.”
It’s safe to say that Dave was also impressed by the graphics. He goes as far as saying that GTA 6 may be the best-looking game that many of us will see in our lifetimes:
“It looks stunning. Rockstar doesn't do downgrades, and so the trailer’s promise is likely representative of the game itself. Looking at the scale and detail in the trailer, I’d be surprised if any open-world game could rival this, especially with the diminishing returns we have these days.
“Considering the time and cost required to get to release with this level of quality in the world and characters, I find it hard to believe that any other game will beat it in my lifetime. It’s something to ponder for us older gamers: with how much longer each installment takes to arrive, we might not be around to see GTA 7! Maybe I’m getting carried away with the hype, and I’ll laugh at this comment in the future.”
Rockstar never does anything by halves. On the same topic of scale, Damien Mason’s take is about wanting quality over quantity. If the ‘busyness’ of the streets in the trailer is anything to go by, he may have his wish. Although we suspect the ever-ambitious Rockstar will aim for quality and quantity:
“I hope GTA 6’s Vice City is smaller than GTA 5’s San Andreas. I’d prefer a dense, lively world packed to the brim with things to do rather than an empty husk wherein it becomes a chore to get from A to B and back again.”
The next take is from Alex who gives some love to Rockstar’s decision to (finally) have a female lead.
“I love the fact that the lead character isn’t a guy. I’m wondering how this will shake things up for those who are fans of the series but wanted another male lead. I think it’s a really great changeup for the franchise; I wonder if it will change the dynamic of how players interact with NPCs or even just the game itself.”
Letitia Lemon starts off by praising the graphics:
“Firstly, wow! The game looks absolutely stunning, and I can’t wait to see more of it. The scenic shots of the environment, the detailed graphics, the CSI-Miami-sounding music, it has me so hyped!”
Letitia then goes on to make a hot-prediction based on the TikTok-like app seen in the trailer:
“Snippets of social media use appear in the trailer, so I think that might be a big feature. GTA 5 used a smartphone for basic needs, but I think there might be a content creation feature in GTA 6. My guess is that it will be an in-depth photography mode. Some people might find it too mainstream or inappropriate for the GTA audience. However, GTA has (nearly) always chosen a modern setting, and with social media’s prominence in our real world, it may be more prominent in the game world too.
“I’m honestly fine with that. I love in-game photography, so being able to create videos and images for an in-game social media platform could actually be quite fun. It also gives virtual photographers another way to make their content too. It could be a really fun and creative feature.”
Our theory is that players will be tasked with going in-game viral by recording - and likely instigating - shocking incidents.
We’ll end with Samuel who believes the best is yet to come:
“Hot take: the trailer won’t do the actual game justice. Just watching the trailer doesn’t show everything that GTA 6 has to offer. It mainly just focused on the protagonist and the story. There were some great aspects to the trailer, but it just didn’t seem like it really showcased what the game will be all about.”
Sam, we agree! Rockstar made a point of positioning the trailer as the ‘first trailer’. And we suspect that Rockstar has a sleeve full of aces that they’re waiting to reveal closer to launch.
Which of these hot takes do you agree or disagree with? What are yours? Let us know in the comments. Some text has been amended for brevity. You can find the original wording at the bounty post.
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