It was bound to happen, really. Following Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar’s open world tour de force which was equal parts Grand Theft Horsey and Sad Man Dies Slowly Of Tuberculosis, we sort of expected Grand Theft Auto to skew a little more grown up for its next outing. And from the looks of the trailer, it looks like that expectation has held up:
That’s not to say the trailer is devoid of humour. Far from it. GTA 6 is clearly sending up America’s culture of excess, celebrity, and vapid obsession with fame as it always has done. But the unhinged side of GTA seem like more of a backdrop here than the main event. The main story, apparently concerning a Bonnie and Clyde partnership of lovers who go around robbing places, is presented in the trailer as having some nuance and depth. An understated performance from the protagonists, and even some tenderness between them.
That’s kind of a big deal, because GTA doesn’t really do tenderness. None of the couples in GTA actually like each other. Friends and business partners are always one mission away from screwing each other over. People cheat on each other as a matter of course. Because, traditionally, every GTA character is basically a cartoon. Not a real person in any meaningful sense: a caricature of a typically selfish, decadent westerner, criminal or otherwise. Even Niko Bellic, GTA 4’s tragic lead whose entire story is about failing to live the American Dream, is an unapologetic murderer. And that’s fine, GTA is GTA.