Since the dawn of time, humanity has yearned for one thing: to trip balls and return to nature. While you’re not legally allowed to do that in most territories, the next best thing is a digital tour of the wild side in the few games brave enough to offer your in-game character a bag of cactus buttons. Will GTA 6 continue a proud tradition pioneered by its predecessor in the space of expanding your mind and giving you a sneak peek at what awaits you when you reincarnate and return to nature? Will I become an alligator in digital spirit?
I really, really hope so.
In case you’re wondering what I’m on about–and why there’s more smoke coming from my office than demo day at a vape shop–I’m referring to the cover reveal for GTA 6. It has all the hallmarks of a typical GTA cover, splitting images of the game’s location, protagonists, and a helicopter across multiple panels. The cover also features this delightfully toothy fella, occupying prime video game cover real estate in the center:
Some people might say that the prime positioning of an alligator is meant to hammer in how the Miami-inspired location of Vice City also has its own version of the Florida Everglades, a region that’s naturally teeming with the predators. GTA 5 featured its own diverse biomes when it first launched, and one of the best things about that game was the recurring drug-fueled hallucinations players could dive into between missions.
Those diversions were brilliant, a perfect contrast to the detailed world you inhabited as one of the three bipedal protagonists. Shifting from a beautifully realized simulation of modern-day life to inhabiting the body of a coyote wasn’t jarring; it was a reward. And considering how the state of Florida appears to exist in a bubble that’s a few steps removed from reality, completely detaching yourself from the human experience and becoming one with nature sounds thematically on point.
What’s the point of all this? Admittedly, no one is going to buy GTA 6 for advanced alligator-simulator gameplay, no matter how well-designed the death-roll gameplay mechanics are, but Rockstar Games is at its best when it reminds players that its worlds can be believable and surprising. Contradicting reality with a wild flight of fancy leads to moments that fans will talk about for years to come, like jetpacks in San Andreas, running into a mournful sasquatch in Red Dead Redemption, or spotting UFOs in its sequel.
GTA 5 gave us hallucinogenic-fueled wildlife LARPing, and that’s the energy I’m hoping to see pop up again in GTA 6. I’m feeling confident that GTA 6 will provide dozens of hours of action, drama, heists, and talking points about chasing the American dream, but if I get the chance to spend 10 minutes terrorizing a golf course as an alligator, that’s the moment that I’m going to remember the most.
