Grand Theft Auto has built an empire around a violent, free-roaming video game with brilliant writing. Its commentary on Americana and plastic culture creates interesting tension and intrigue, only bested by the classic GTA plot.
You have your character in an open world, dealing with a funky situation. The good old formula for emotional investment. Then, 2013’s GTA V took it further than ever before when the series expanded from one protagonist to a three-character cast in Michael, Franklin, and Trevor.
Starting your journey with San Andreas’ own and eventually unlocking all remaining characters through the natural flow of the story, it feels organic as the dots connect, and we start to understand why our characters are doing what they’re doing. This immersion will not be the case for GTA 6.
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After such a high, Rockstar Games have written themselves into a pickle with the original GTA 6 trailer from 2023, revealing the Bonnie and Clyde GTA equivalents, Lucia and Jason. Liberty City native Lucia Caminos is fresh out of prison and now seeks a peaceful life. Her biggest obstacle in achieving it might be who she chooses to be by her side.
Jason Duval, a former Army man and Lucia’s love interest, returned to his crime-riddled childhood state of Leonida to eventually work for drug runners. Matching the interests of a better tomorrow, this relationship is expected to be the main narrative vehicle for GTA 6.
It all sounds like a great synopsis on paper if it were a consumable product rather than an interactive one. This interesting setup to the most anticipated video game release ever has one major problem: three main characters were never a crowd; it was, in fact, the sweet spot. All balancing each other with their shenanigans, interests, relationship dynamics, backgrounds, history, and so much more, GTA 6’s dual protagonists are doomed from the get-go.
With Jason and Lucia, the options are much more limited storywise, trapping Rockstar Games into a corner, forcing them to make difficult gameplay decisions to make up for the lack of a third-wheeling relief.
Only being able to play as Lucia would force all players of the most anticipated Grand Theft Auto title yet to consume it exclusively from a female perspective, turning its first female lead in franchise history into the internet’s low-hanging fruit: “forced diversity” claims. Maining Jason exclusively, which would never be a thing, essentially takes away this same gaming feat, turning Lucia into a storyline token instead of being the first female protagonist in the 29-year-old series.
Switching back and forth freely between Jason and Lucia, as in GTA V, would undermine the player's emotional investment and the illusion of free will. You cannot feel empathy for one protagonist if you are also playing their antagonist. The tension between our main characters would be ruined, leaving the entire plot feeling devoid of stakes.
Limited character switching would turn GTA’s inventive mechanic into a shell of itself, only allowing it when it serves the storyline, not when the player prefers. GTA V’s three amigos worked because of their relationship. Lunatic, genius, beginner. Veterans and a new gangster. Old friends and father-son duo. Here, Jason and Lucia are in a committed delinquent relationship while she’s fresh from prison. Why would they be separated across town when switching?
Last, but not least, we could see minimal controlled switching like the Mary Jane missions in Insomniac’s Spider-Man, with either Jason or Lucia becoming momentarily available for specific tasks that advance the story without depersonalizing the players’ experience. While this is the safest route to preserve some sense story-wise, where’s the fun in playing mostly as Bonnie or mostly as Clyde?
This predicament is truly a testament to how hard video game writing can be. Unlike consumable media, stories have to make sense in the hands of the players, not just the world built around them. Maybe this is a non-problem considering how many players will speedrun past the story mode straight into GTA Online 2, whenever that releases.
Regardless of the solution, this duo already feels anything but dynamic, as the switching mechanic between only two figures will make the suspected betrayal all the less exciting. It would feel out of character with their actions so far, forced and sudden, rather than creating a third-person, uncontrolled perspective like the Michael, Trevor, and Franklin love-hate triangle. Oh, do I miss the boys.
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