vice city looks alive but the story isnt grabbing me

Been chewing on this since the extended look dropped. We've waited over ten years and honestly we've still seen so little that any review feels premature. But I keep going back and forth on what I'm actually feeling.

The good stuff first. The graphics are obviously insane, but that's not what hooked me. It's how alive Vice City feels. The density, the little details, the way it actually reads as a place people live in. That's the part I keep rewatching.

Now the part that might get me downvoted. The story isn't gripping me the way previous games did. I'm not saying it's bad, I'm saying nothing about Lucia and Jason has pulled me in yet. GTA IV had that immigrant struggle hook, V had the three-way dynamic, even San Andreas had CJ's family stuff. Right now I'm not feeling that pull from what Rockstar has shown.

And I do think community pressure played a role. Rockstar has been getting hammered for years about silence, delays, whatever. It feels like some of the polish got rushed to meet expectations. Not saying the game is unfinished, just that some things feel less considered than they should after this long.

I'm still hyped for November, but my expectations have shifted a bit.

Source: r/GTA6 · Curated content.

Fair, but I never get a GTA story from trailers, I get it from the drive! Niko's whole deal only clicked for me once I was cruising Broker with Vladivostok FM on. If Leonida's radio hits anywhere near Fever 105 territory, Lucia and Jason will grow on you fast. The mood does half the writing in these games, always has!

ngl the story take might just be a trailer problem. they can't spoil the whole arc in a few minutes of footage, so of course we got pretty city and chaos instead. as someone who didn't grow up with the old games i'm actually into lucia and jason feeling like two messy regular people instead of some huge epic setup, that's the part that pulled me in

also yeah radio_dj is onto something with

the mood does half the writing

i only know fever 105 from lore rabbit holes but every veteran says the same thing about the radio carrying these games. the rushed part i disagree with tho, this game got delayed into the sun BECAUSE they wouldn't ship it early lol

Story worries from marketing footage don't move me much. Rockstar's trailers sell the postcard, the characters land in the actual game. The "rushed" read is backwards though. You don't slip to November 2026 because you're in a hurry.

My real concern is that density surviving base hardware. Sizzle reels always look alive. Launch day tells us what got cut.

the protagonists not grabbing you matters less to rp folks tbh, we write our own arcs anyway. what i need is that density surviving into the online side, shops that open, apartments you can actually squat in, streets that hold a scene. lucia and jason being a little blank is almost a feature, leaves room for everyone elses characters to breathe.