Grand Theft Auto 6has yet to be announced, but that hasn’t stopped fans from speculating on every aspect of the game. A lot can be presumed about it based on the way that previous titles have worked, but in truth, there’s no telling what sorts of changes Rockstar Games might make. Sometimes it can be fun to ponder at these potential changes and think on how they might change the franchise as a whole, but one potential fan-favorite but unlikely feature would turn theworld ofGrand Theft Autoupside down: a permadeath system.
It should be stated up front that Rockstar Games has made no recent or new announcements aboutGrand Theft Auto 6, and this is all completely speculation. There hasn’t been anything withinGrand Theft Autoas a franchise to hint at some kind of permadeath feature being implemented either, so fans shouldn’t get their hopes up (or down for that matter if permadeathGTAsounds like the worst possible change). Nonetheless, something like this would dramatically impact the way players approach situations in the game, taking a familiar formula and turning it into something completely new that requires a lot more skill and planning.
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Permadeath in Grand Theft Auto 6
There are a lot of different types of Permadeath, but if it were somehow to be implemented intoGrand Theft Auto 6, it would likely work in one of two ways. The first way involves a full on permadeath campaign, mimicing the way the campaigns of previousGTAgames worked but with the added burden of permadeath. If the player dies at any point in the story, they would be forced to start the entire story over. This type of permadeath is absolutely brutal, and as such is usually included as an optional feature, similar toThe Last of Us 2’s permadeath mode.
Alternatively, ifGrand Theft Auto 6takes a step away from the heavy narrative-focused aspects of the franchise, it couldallow the player to create their ownGTAcharactersfor going through the story. This would be an interesting addition in and of itself but would also lend itself well to permadeath. Perhaps the player could make multiple characters that would all be part of the same gang, but any time one died, they would have to make a new character to replace them. Permadeath in this case wouldn’t affect the story progression but rather the progression of individual characters.
How Permadeath Changes Gameplay
Permadeath changes the way players approach situations in a massive way. Whenone mistake could mean losing all the hard work players have put in, they tend to be a lot more careful about things. This can be both a good and a bad thing depending on the situation and the player, which explains the necessity of making the feature optional. On the one hand, having no permadeath gives players a ton of freedom to simply enjoy themselves in a low pressure environment. Especially inGTAwhere players often find themselves causing mayhem for the fun of it, mandatory permadeath would be a mistake.
On the other hand, though,adding an optional permadeath featurewould give more skilled players something to strive for.Grand Theft Autogames aren’t typically considered to be very hard, but adding permadeath in the mix could change that. Players would be forced to analyze situations and approach them from a tactical perspective, using everything at their disposal to ensure that they come out alive. They’d also have to play much more carefully, as reckless driving and spontaneous homicide could lead to the end of a run. This sort of thing will probably never happen, but it can be fun to imagine how different the game would be with this feature.
