Please Rockstar, give us some actual hand-to-hand depth this time

Melee in GTA has always been the weak link. Guns feel great, driving's a whole debate, but fist fights? It's the same three animations on loop since forever. RDR2 finally made brawling feel weighty and reactive, but even that got old after a while. I'm really hoping GTA 6 takes it further.

What bugs me is the RPG-lite stuff they keep teasing. If Lucia and Jason have a strength stat or melee skill that levels up, there's gotta be a reason to care. Right now in V, you could max out strength and still just throw the same slow haymaker. No new moves, no real difference. That's a waste.

I'm not asking for a fighting game. Just a few more options. Grabs that lead into different throws depending on the situation. A kick that actually has range. Maybe some weapon-specific animations, like a baseball bat swing that feels different from a crowbar. RDR2 had that brutal tackle and ground-and-pound, so the foundation is there. Let us disarm someone with a well-timed counter. Let us use the environment, shove a guy into a wall or over a railing.

Even little things would help. A quick jab to interrupt, a heavy strike that leaves you open. If the combat has some risk/reward, it stops being a button-mash sideshow and becomes something you might actually seek out. And with Vice City's nightlife and back alleys, you know there's gonna be plenty of brawls.

I just don't want to walk up to an NPC, press circle, and watch the same canned knockout for the hundredth time. Rockstar's shown they can do better. Here's hoping they actually do.

Source: r/GTA6 · Curated content.