Everything Revealed In Netflix’s Extended Look At ‘GTA VI’

After 13 years, we finally received our first (official) look at the gameplay of Grand Theft Auto VI on Thursday through an extended look on Netflix. 

I will say, considering this premiered on Netflix, I was expecting a more cinematic presentation for the footage. It was mostly a disjointed mix of gameplay and cinematics. I was hoping for more of an in-depth overview of the game’s mechanics and story. Both Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption II had really good, narrative trailers that provided a solid explainer of what to expect from the game. Given that GTA VI has been the target of prolonged leaks in the lead-up to the extended look, I was hoping Rockstar would’ve brought a little more showmanship to the nearly 30-minute presentation. 

It gave the vibe that Rockstar knows you’re already going to buy the game, so they don’t have to try too hard. Which, considering the already staggering number of preorders, you can’t blame them for thinking that. 

With that out of the way, the general vibe of what I could make out from the story is that Jason and Lucia, a Bonnie and Clyde type couple, are doing jobs for the various criminal bosses within Leonida, the game’s equivalent to Florida. The extended look opened with a mission showing Jason and Lucia going to big up a drug deal for someone named Boobie. After a brief conflict with the supplier, it’s revealed that Boobie set everyone up and the cops are on their way. The mission ends with them escaping from a window before going into the meat of the trailer. 

After a few looks at the larger world of Leonida, we then move to one of the most realistic depictions of waiting for your girl to get ready while you’re already late. Jason grabs a drink from the fridge (I’m curious if the different drinks it shows he can pick give you different buffs or impairments in the gameplay) and sits down to watch TV. I’m happy to see that GTA’s satirical take on television is coming back.

After few looks at Vice City, we’re shown a cutscene where an older man tells Jason a story about a carnival ride which is really about the dangers of staying in the criminal life for too long. Prefab Sprout’s “Cars and Girls” plays throughout this sequence, so the soundtrack in the game is already going to be fantastic. That’s genuinely one of my all-time favorite songs, so you already know I’m gonna be whipping through Vice City on my “violent criminal with a soft heart” vibe, cause some things really do hurt much more than cars and girls. 

There appears to be a revamped star system, where even your appearance plays into the amount of heat you have on you. At one point before Lucia goes into a store, a selection wheel is brought up that shows different options for hats and face coverings. The sheer variety of locales on display is impressive, ranging from the rooftops of Vice City and rundown projects to suburban neighborhoods and the Leonida swamplands. GTA VI does not look to have a shortage of places to go or things to do. 

There also looks to be an impressive variety of minigames. We see footage of backyard wrestling, weightlifting, snorkeling, racing, kayaking, shooting ranges, and perhaps even influencer missions. The game also continues GTA V’s dual-protagonist structure, with the footage showing the player switching from Jason to Lucia. The coolest demonstration of this is during a car chase where the player switches from Jason to Lucia, who’s in the passenger seat, and begins shooting at the cops chasing them. 

From a graphics and art design perspective, GTA VI looks gorgeous. Despite running on now six-year-old consoles, the game is still a looker. The hazy, tropical sun gives the game a lush vibe, with a few sunset sequences really standing out. 

The footage closes out with Jason and Lucia doing security for a man named Andres. They take him to a party at a skyscraper in Vice City, which of course results in armed intruders crashing the party. The footage switches between Jason and Lucia, both dealing with the attackers. Jason’s gameplay in particular gave big Miami Vice (2006) vibes as he shoots his way through a colorfully lit office. We then see Lucia narrowly escaping an attacker choking her before being tackled down an elevator shaft. The footage blacks out, and we get one last look at the world of Leonida. 

The most notable absence from the footage is any look at a potential follow-up to Grand Theft Auto Online. GTA Online was so successful that it’s largely the reason why it took so long for GTA VI to come to fruition. While GTA Online didn’t launch until months after GTA V was released, we still saw glimpses of it in the lead-up to GTA V. Rockstar has remained silent on a potential GTA Online 2, but considering that every Rockstar game post-GTA IV received an online mode, I wouldn’t be surprised if we receive our first look at GTA VI’s online mode after launch.

Growing up, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Vice City Stories were some of my favorite games in the series, so I’m simply excited to finally revisit that world after two decades. With its wide variety of locales, the number of minigames, and the different ways you can interact with the environment, GTA VI looks like it continues the series’ maximalist tradition in grand fashion. 

From what I could see of the gameplay, it doesn’t seem to be reinventing the wheel too much. I would’ve loved a narrator throughout the gameplay bits, just so we could know what has been changed and improved between GTA V and VI. 

But honestly, the most important thing is this: I’m going to be able to whip around Vice City, committing crimes while bumping Prefab Sprout. That’s all I’ve ever wanted out of a game, so it’s looking like I’m all in on GTA VI. 

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