Strauss was Right

FROM THE DESK OF KYLE

I Can’t Help but Yap About the Extended Look, And Can You Blame Me? (No.)

Remember when I said don’t trust the leaks? Well, that extended showcase, captured on a base PS5, proved me right (and thank goodness, I don’t have to eat my hat).

It was hard to not see at least some of the leaked videos throughout the course of work, and even though I was impressed by that early build, I didn’t expect THAT much of an upgrade in the Showcase. The amount of insane detail on display there, in every single scene, is just mind-blowing.

It’s not some crazy marketing campaign, it’s just the game speaking for itself. And honestly, Rockstar didn’t have to do anything different. Maybe not revolutionary marketing, but mind-blowing nonetheless.

The folds in Jason’s shirt as he walks into the apartment complex, the way the lighting dances over those folds and his hair, the shadows as they leave their apartment (this week’s screenshot, by the way). It’s all just insane, and even photorealistic at times. This is definitely a major jump from anything that’s come before.

But it’s still just a game. This is evident in several scenes, but what jumps out most to me is the awkward way the NPC at the elevator lowers his phone. The way Lucia’s character model moves when kicking out the window shortly after. The fuzziness of the road while driving to meet Brian and Lori. It’s still just a game.

That last one might be hardware limitations, or it might be part of the weird (and utterly awful) motion blur that seems to be present in the game. But the awkward animations? That’s just part of games, I guess.

That said, Rockstar has another 82 days to apply various additional layers of polish, and from what I’ve seen so far, I’m totally hooked. I haven’t pulled the trigger on my pre-order just yet, but you can bet I’m securing my copy after that showcase. I was kind of hoping for a review copy, but since I wasn’t invited to the preview event, well… let’s discuss that another day.

I’ve seen enough. I’m totally sold, and though I want more out of pure hype-based greed, I’m already convinced that this is going to be one of the best games I’ll ever play.

Though, that might just be the Extended Look hangover talking. In a few days, once the fog of hype clears, I’ll definitely give the Extended Look a few more watch hours and yap about even more details.

This is my longest intro yet, and I’m sorry. But can you blame me? Still no.

Let’s check out the biggest news stories, a screenshot from the showcase, and the banger of the week, also from the showcase, of course.

— Kyle.

THE HOTTEST NEWS THIS WEEK

GTA 6 Could be 80 Hours Long, Or More

Rob Nelson, Head of Development and Co-Studio Head at Rockstar North, revealed in an interview with the New York Times that it took him over 80 hours to complete GTA 6.

That’s obviously mental, but we can’t say for sure that that’ll be the average playtime. However, as someone who does like to explore all aspects of my games — especially detailed ones like GTA 6 is set to be — I might actually be looking at a hundred-hour game here, and that’s not even counting replaying the whole thing a couple of times.

This makes me, if anything, even more excited to dive into this world. We’ll have to wait and see what the average playtime is, but since I was expecting 40 hours, anything over is an absolute bonus.

ALSO THIS WEEK

1. GTA 6 Extended Look Was Captured Entirely on PS5 — All that amazing detail captured in the Extended Look? Yeah, base PS5, ladies and gentlemen. Wow.

2. Rockstar Confirms Food and Exercise Will Affect Jason and Lucia in GTA 6 — Why is my first thought “I wonder what fat Jason would look like?” It’s a cool feature that I’m glad to see make a return from the San Andreas days.

3. Rockstar Games Responds to the Leaks, And Now I’m Kind of Sad — I did a bit of a hot take this week when Rockstar finally responded to the Leaks situation, and I stand by it still. Leaks suck.

BANGER OF THE WEEK

Let Your Love Flow

Bellamy Brothers · 1976 · GTA 6, Extended Look Showcase

My Mother loves this song, and listened to it extensively in my youth, so I got smacked in the face with an instant hit of nostalgia when it started up. But it’s also the perfect song to ease us into the story of our duo, don’t you think?

From what we’ve seen so far from Jason and Lucia, they share a very special bond which, despite the odds and their circumstances, stays strong even through her stint in Prison. The song itself has a great backstory, but why don’t we give it a listen, first?

The Bellamy Brothers had already done quite well for themselves by this point, but Let Your Love Flow is the hit that really skyrocketed their career, and they almost never performed it.

The song’s writer, Larry Williams, initially wrote it for Neil Diamond, but they ended up turning it down. During a demo session, St John (Neil Diamond’s drummer) mentioned that the song was a good fit for the Bellamy Brothers to record.

David Bellamy went to Phil Gerhard, who had the song then, and gave it a listen. He fell in love with it instantly, and during recording, they nailed it in just a few takes, and the rest is history.

It shot to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, and has been a recognizable classic ever since. And here we are, fifty years after it’s release, and it’s the perfect metaphor for Jason and Lucia’s beautiful romance.

Or maybe I’m just old and soppy now: you decide.

SCREENSHOTS OF THE WEEK

Screenshots of the Week

This week’s shot has to come from the Extended Look, of course. And I’ve gone for this one, which pretty much looks like a movie. The shadows are the first thing I notice, being absolutely spot-on not only in the way they fall, but also in the way they interact with objects.

Then we have the detailed trees, the streaks on the wall below the metal railings, the grit on the ground. Everything about it is perfect to the last detail, and I cannot believe this is actual gameplay.

When GTA 5 launched, we couldn’t even dream of a game ever looking like this, and here it is. This is a tremendous upgrade, even on RDR 2, and I can’t wait to explore everything in the kind of detail that only Rockstar can provide.

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