With the world collectively vibrating in anticipation for Grand Theft Auto VI, the conversation has shifted from “when is it coming? to “how is it going to feel?” We know it’ll look stunning, that’s just the Rockstar tax. But the real magic of a Rockstar game isn’t just the sun-drenched vistas of Vice City; it’s the weird granular mechanics that make you forget you’re holding a controller.

Over the last few decades, Rockstar has experimented with everything from RPG-lite fitness tracking to hyper-realistic horse grooming. If GTA 6 wants to be the most immersive evolution of the series, it needs to look back at the best ideas from its own Hall of Fame.

The Survival Rhythms Of Red Dead Redemption 2

If GTA 5 was a high-octane summer blockbuster, Red Dead Redemption 2 was a slow-burning, prestigious drama. It introduced a survival lite layer that forced you to actually care about Arthur Morgan’s physical state through the Core System. You were a man who got cold, hungry, and dirty. In the context of Leonida, this shouldn’t mean we’re playing a hardcore survival sim, but it should mean our actions have weight.

If Lucia spends a night running from cops in the humid Everglades, she should look exhausted, her stamina should be depleted, and her clothes should be covered in mud. There is something strangely therapeutic about maintenance in RDR2, and bringing that level of interaction, like cleaning carbon buildup off a rifle or managing the fuel levels of a getaway car, would ground the chaos in a way that Los Santos never quite managed.

The Physical Transformation Of San Andreas

Back in 2004, San Andreas gave us a mechanic that we haven’t seen in full since: dynamic body shapes. If CJ ate too much Cluckin’ Bell, he grew a visible belly and lost his sprint speed. If he hit the gym, he became a tank. This was more than just a cosmetic slider; it was a reflection of how you chose to play the game. To make GTA 6 feel like a true generational leap, Rockstar needs to bring this back.

We’ve seen hints in the trailer of a very active Florida lifestyle, from beachside bodybuilders to mud boggers. Giving us the ability to hit a Vice City gym to boost strength, or letting Jason become a couch potato, adds a layer of RPG depth that makes the character feel real, and forces the world to react to your physical presence.

The Weight And Impact Of Max Payne 3

Rockstars’ 2012 foray into the world of noir remains the golden standard for gunplay mechanics. In Max Payne 3, every bullet felt like it had a weight of ten pounds, largely due to the way the “Euphoria” physics engine handled character momentum. When Max dived, his body interacted with the environment, thudding against crates or sliding across tile floors with wince-inducing realism.

GTA 5’s shooting often felt a bit floaty and arcade-like in comparison. GTA 6 needs that bone-crushing impact. If an NPC gets shot in the leg while running, they shouldn’t just play a hit animation; their weight should shift, and fall realistically based on the physics of the environment.

The World Interaction Of L.A. Noir

L.A. Noir was famous for its faces, but its most underrated feature was the investigation interaction. You could pick up almost any object, rotate it in your hand, and look for subtle clues like hidden engravings. Imagine a heist in GTA 6 where you aren’t just following a glowing yellow waypoint. Instead, you are in an office, manually flipping through mail on a desk, checking the framed photos for safe combinations, or searching a car’s glovebox by actually moving your character’s hands.

It shifts the gameplay from “press a button to win” to a tactile experience, making the rumored robbery mechanics feel more personal and high stakes.

The Living Schedule Of Bully

Long before RDR2’s NPCs had 24-hour daily routines, Bully had a world clock that actually mattered. You had to be in class by 9:00 AM, and if you were caught wandering the halls past curfew, you were hunted down.

Vice City is a town that lives for the night, and GTA 6 should lean into this. If certain black market dealers only appear at a specific pier at 3:00 AM, or if jewelry stores have different security rotations depending on the hour, the city itself becomes a living character. It allows the player to plan their crimes according to the rhythm of the city.

The Heavyweight Driving Physics Of GTA 4

While many preferred the zippy arcade handling of GTA 5, the suspension and weight of the cars in Grand Theft Auto IV offered a level of immersion that hasn’t been matched. Every car felt like it was made of two tons of steel, leaning into corners and bouncing over curbs with terrifying realism.

In a modern Vice City, we need to feel the difference between a high-end Italian supercar and a rusted-out swamp boat. Bringing back the sense of momentum and physics would make every high-speed chase through traffic feel like a high-stakes gamble where a single wrong turn results in a devastating, physics-accurate wreck.

The Deep “Greet/Antagonize” Interaction Of Red Dead Redemption 2

In RDR2, you didn’t need to pull a gun to interact with the world. The dynamic dialogue system allowed you to greet, rob, or antagonize any NPC you walked past, leading to thousands of unique conversations. In GTA 6, this would be the ultimate immersion multiplier. Instead of NPCs just screaming and running away the moment you bump into them, imagine being able to talk your way out of a confrontation at a club, or successfully intimidating a witness into not calling the cops without firing a single shot.

It makes the NPCs of Vice City feel like people with tempers and personalities, rather than cardboard targets waiting to be knocked over.

The Detailed Vehicle Customization of Midnight Club: Los Angeles

Rockstars’ racing masterpiece, Midnight Club: LA, featured a level of interior and exterior customization that puts Los Santos Customs to shame. You weren’t just picking a “sports” engine; you were tweaking the stitching of your seats, the exact color of the dash lights, and the rim offset.

Since GTA 6 looks to be leaning into car culture, specifically the neon-soaked “donk” and “lowrider” scenes, this level of obsessive detail is a must. Being able to customize your vehicle to match Jason’s or Lucia’s personality would make it feel less like a disposable asset and more like a character in its own right.

Rockstar has all the ingredients in its pantry; the devs just need to decide how much of that “simulation” spice to throw into the pot. Personally, I’m looking for a game that isn’t afraid to make me work for my fun, where a gun jams because I crawled through a swamp, and where I need strong Cuban coffee to keep my stamina up for the next job.