Red Dead Redemption 2 has convinced me to give GTA 6 a try
A new frontier
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Across my three playthroughs ofRed Dead Redemption 2,Rockstar Games’ profound and soul-shattering Western has never failed to stir my heart and bring tears to my eyes. Its intimate, human storytelling and weighty, believable characters have stuck with me years after the fact; their trials and tribulations are forever etched into my memory.
This had an unexpected side effect. Previously, I’d slept onGrand Theft Auto(GTA). Sure it looked like a laugh, but as a lover of story-driven games, it never occurred to me to see the series in those terms. Friends would always tell me how, in theGTAgames, you could “do anything” and “go anywhere.” To me, they were always sold as fun open-world power trips rather than anything more narratively substantial.
Red Dead Redemption 2showed me that I’d been wrong. After spending 70 hours with the game’s roster of sad cowboys, I came to realize that Rockstar was capable of a lot more than I’d given it credit for. So when theGTA 6trailer finally arrived, rather than letting it pass me by, I watched the preview with no small amount of excitement.
On the surface, despite coming from the same developer, it may seem as though there’s little to connectGTA 6andRed Dead Redemption 2. One is a modern-day crime game, while the other is, essentially, a period drama. However, my time with the Westernshowed me firsthand that Rockstar is not only capable of shaping a realistic game world but is also exceptionally skilled when it comes to filling that world with deep, relatable characters with rich lives.
Sure, the state of Leonida, the fictionalized version of Florida whereGTA 6is set, won’t have gallant rogue Arthur Morgan or self-righteous ideologue Dutch van der Linde, but it’ll almost certainly have comparable characters of its own.
Time and place
What gives the cast ofRed Dead Redemption 2their zest is how effectively they slot into the winding political turmoil that engulfed the post-Civil War United States. Lenny Summers, who acts as something of a little brother figure to protagonist Arthur Morgan, is constantly forced to contend with the violent and tumultuous racial politics of the time. Dutch van der Linde’s own ideological quest to escape the longarmof the law is also rooted in a very real contemporary anxiety surrounding the expanding scope and powers of the Federal Government.
Rockstar had huge scope to create a believable and politically loaded story.
1899, the year in whichRed Dead Redemption 2is set, places the game slap-bang in the middle of a period of rapid industrialization and centralization. As theLibrary of Congressputs it, “Americans who were born in the 1840s and 1850s would experience enormous changes in their lifetimes” thanks to a “technological revolution.”
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It’s no coincidence then that Rockstar had Dutch van der Linde born in 1855. His tendency to see civilization as a “mess” and his romanticized view of outlaw life is rooted in a response to the realities of the period. His deeply held ideological beliefs spill out across the main story, irrevocably changing the lives of everyone he comes into contact with.Red Dead Redemption 2is as much about ideas as it is about six-shooters, and this gave Rockstar huge scope to create a believable and politically loaded story, grounding its characters in reality to make them all the more accessible and resonant.
Here and now
Modern-day Florida is no less tumultuous or fraught than the old West. Albeit for different reasons. Under right-wing populist governor Ron DeSantis, travel advisories have,according to CNN, begun to warn potential visitors that “the state is ‘openly hostile’ toward people of color, immigrants, women and LGBTQ+ community members.”
Meanwhile,the Associated Press reported that“cost of living concerns have become an issue” for Florida residents. “Rents are going sky-high. Property insurance, whether you live near the coast or not, is becoming less available and less affordable.”
It’s in this context that the opening line of theGTA 6trailer becomes all the more poignant. When asked “Do you know why you’re here?” our hero Lucia responds: “Bad luck, I guess.” For a woman of color in a fictionalized version of Florida, this bleak sentiment rings true in a powerful way.
Rockstar has an opportunity to address issues of sexism and racism with an elevated level of intimacy and directness.
With political tensions and economic struggles rife across real-world Florida, this opening line gave me hope thatGTA 6wouldn’t shy away from the same sorts of delicate political topics that Rockstar approached inRed Dead Redemption 2.By framingGTA 6’s narrative from the perspective of a Floridian woman of color, Rockstar has an opportunity to address issues of sexism and racism with an elevated level of intimacy and directness. In practical terms, this means we may well be in for a truly gripping story that reflects the struggles and turmoil faced by marginalized people in the modern-day US.
Political and social commentary is hardly new for theGTAseries. Rockstar co-founder Dan Houserfamously intendedGTA 5to showcase “the endpoint of the American dream.” However, as veteran gaming reporter Stephen Totilo put it inhis review of the gameback in 2013,GTA 5takes place in a “parody version” of reality which is “there to entertain you.” It’s a form of biting satire, sure, but it’s a step removed from the more immediate drama of the likes ofRed Dead.
GTA 6feels like it could take a step further, directly addressing the messy and complex power structures that make places like Floridaunwelcoming for women,people of color, andLGBTQ+ folks. Whether or not the game manages this when it releases in 2025, I know that I’m deeply excited to see what Rockstar’s cooking up. Given the studio’s successful efforts to bring relatable human drama to the old West, there’s no doubt in my mind that it’s also capable of bringing the same nuanced storytelling to Leonida.
Looking for more thought-provoking games? Our lists of thebest story gamesand thebest RPGsmay be what you’re looking for.
An editor and freelance journalist, Cat Bussell has been writing about video games for more than four years and, frankly, she’s developed a taste for it. As seen on TechRadar, Technopedia, The Gamer, Wargamer, and SUPERJUMP, Cat’s reviews, features, and guides are lovingly curated for your reading pleasure.
A Cambridge graduate, recovering bartender, and Cloud Strife enjoyer, Cat’s foremost mission is to bring you the best coverage she can, whether that’s through helpful guides, even-handed reviews, or thought-provoking features. She’s interviewed indie darlings, triple-A greats, and legendary voice actors, all to help you get closer to the action. When she’s not writing, Cat can be found sticking her neck into a fresh RPG or running yet another Dungeons & Dragons game.
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