As the wait for Grand Theft Auto 6 enters its final stretch, I’ve spent my evenings back on the dirt trails and misty riverbanks of Red Dead Redemption 2.

If GTA 6 is going to truly justify the thirteen long years of waiting since we first set foot in Los Santos, it cannot rely solely on scale, high-speed chases, or satirical noise.

Instead, it needs to look closely at its western cousin and adopt the patience that made New Austin feel so real. Here are five features that Vice City ought to inherit.

Rockstar has long understood that the quieter moments between shootouts are what transform an expansive map into a place that feels genuinely lived in. San Andreas gave us gym workouts and awkward dates, GTA 4 had Niko dragged to bowling alleys, and GTA 5 introduced sprawling golf courses.

Yet RDR2 elevated this concept into something meditative, allowing players to lose an entire evening to a poker table, a friendly game of dominoes, or an eccentric vaudeville performance in Saint Denis.

Vice City needs this same commitment to low-stakes immersion, particularly given its focus on Jason and Lucia. Providing opportunities to step away from high-stakes robberies and simply spend time together.

There was something quite radical about the way RDR2 treated Arthur Morgan as an actual physical presence in the world rather than a simple floating camera.

Forcing players to monitor his weight, dress appropriately for cold mountain air, trim his growing beard, and oil his weapons made him feel human, even if those same systems occasionally tested the patience of players who just wanted to get to the next gunfight.

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