Immersion isn't about every building being enterable — Sleeping Dogs proved that 14 years ago
Replayed Sleeping Dogs last night and it hit me again. That game came out in 2012, had a fraction of Rockstar's budget, and still managed to pull off some incredible immersive details. After a wild police chase, I ended up at the hospital, and instead of just a cutscene or a fade to black, I could walk right in. Not just the lobby either — back rooms, ICU, surgery, even a cat scan room. Found a bag of cash stashed in a mafia boss's room. All that interior work for what's basically a throwaway moment.
People keep saying GTA 6 can't be that immersive because the PS5 and Xbox have limits. That we shouldn't get our hopes up for enterable buildings or deep world interaction. But if a game from over a decade ago with a sliver of the resources can do it, why are we setting the bar so low for Rockstar? They've had years, thousands of devs, and a budget that probably dwarfs most Hollywood blockbusters.
Immersion isn't about making every single door openable. It's about the world feeling alive in the places that matter. The little details that make you stop and think "huh, they actually thought of that." Sleeping Dogs had that. RDR2 had it in spades. I'm not worried about technical limitations — I'm worried we're not thinking big enough.
Source: r/GTA6 · Curated content.
The little details that make you stop and think "huh, they actually thought of that."
Exactly! For me it's always the audio details. You're driving through Port Gellhorn and some obscure Florida metal comes on a local station. That needle drop hits harder than any open door! Rockstar's worlds have always lived through their soundtracks. If GTA 6 brings back that Wildstyle energy or something fresh for the Keys, the immersion's already there. Sleeping Dogs had the cat scan room, but it didn't have the perfect driving song. Not quite!
The little details that make you stop and think "huh, they actually thought of that."
That applies to police response too. I don't need every lobby enterable. I need patrol units that run a felony stop by the book.
Give me PIT authorization. Give me air units coordinating ground teams. Sleeping Dogs had that hospital. But if a four-star wanted level still means endless spawning cruisers, the immersion breaks.