GTA VI — First Impressions

Yesterday evening, we at Basket logged into Netflix to watch the Grand Theft Auto VI presentation. Thankfully, we had no trouble watching it, and after seeing what Rockstar Games has prepared, we have a few thoughts to share.

First, the game looks seriously impressive. We saw the PS5 version, and if the PC version delivers the same level of detail—with the performance and graphical settings PC players expect—it could be absolutely massive.

One of the biggest highlights for us is the relationship between Jason and Lucia. Their story has a strong Bonnie and Clyde feel: two characters caught up in crime, danger, and each other. Their chemistry could become one of the game's most interesting elements.

The world itself looks enormous and packed with things to discover. The map appears far more alive and detailed, with an impressive amount of environmental detail. There seems to be plenty to do beyond simply driving from one mission to another. Whether you're escaping the police in a car, exploring the city, or simply interacting with the world, GTA VI looks designed to keep players busy.

We were also particularly impressed by the social-media elements shown during the presentation. The inclusion of live social-media feeds is a clever way of making the game's world feel connected to the modern world—and, knowing Rockstar, we suspect there will be plenty of satire hidden within it.

From a technical perspective, the game looks solid. The graphics engine appears capable of handling a huge amount of activity while maintaining impressive visual quality. There are also plenty of animations and interactive actions that should make the gameplay feel more dynamic.

However, not everything looked perfect. One area that could still use some refinement is the character animation. At certain moments, Jason and other characters appear somewhat rigid, almost as if they are suffering from a collective back problem. Their movements don't always have the natural fluidity we would expect from a game of this scale. Hopefully, this will be polished before the final release.

As for the gameplay, some of the presentation reminded us of Final Fantasy, particularly in the way certain sequences and character interactions were presented. Of course, GTA VI remains its own beast, but there are interesting similarities in presentation and cinematic storytelling.

Our verdict — for now

Last night's presentation confirmed one thing for us at Basket: Rockstar Games and Take-Two Interactive are aiming very high with GTA VI.

We still don't know much, and trailers can only tell us so much. The real test will come when players finally get their hands on the game.

For now, we're impressed, we're intrigued—and we're definitely keeping our fingers crossed.

Now, Rockstar, show us what the final product can really do.