The recent release of Red Dead Redemption 2 to critical acclaim and the approval of millions of fans served not only to bring us another Rockstar masterpiece, but has also helped quell the persistent and increasingly impatient hunger for details on the next Grand Theft Auto game. We’ve written extensively about the yet-to-be-confirmed upcoming Grand Theft Auto title, speculated about industry rumors and fan theories, while lauding on the quality and achievements of its predecessor, Grand Theft Auto V.

GTA V did so much for the industry; it broke records in both the video gaming industry, as well as in overall media in general, and rose above gaming as a media icon and money-making machine, which is selling and charting on a weekly basis half a decade after its initial release. Aside from this, it set a standard for open-world gameplay mechanics as well as graphical excellence; released at the end of the seventh generation console cycle, it felt like a future gen title on a current gen system. Although it was a fan favorite, it wasn’t a perfect game. There were new additions included with old staples omitted, which was not as well received by players as the majority of the rest of the game was. In this list, we are going to take a diplomatic look at the most recent installment of the series, cherry picking what we want to see return and what we don’t, while looking at other games in the series and some of Rockstar’s other sandbox adventures in order to craft a wish-list for the highly anticipated Grand Theft Auto VI.

25 We Need: A Single Protagonꦛist ꧂

via: gamespot.com

Perhaps a controversial opinion here, but here it goes. While having three interchangeable protagonists in GTA V was a cool ꧟novelty, it made it harder for the player to really connect with 🏅any of them on a deep, meaningful level.

In a game that relies heavily on story, we just didn’t get the same character development that we got with Niko Bellic in GTA IV or Arthur Morgan in Red Dead 2. So, when the new GTA game comes out, we’d𝔍 love to see one fully-fleshed out main charactꦦer we can forge a connection with.

24 🤡 ꦺ We Need: A More Engrossing Story

Via muc.wikia.com

This is also related to the above entry; as good as GTA V was, the st♎ory was a convoluted mess based on gove🍷rnment conspiracies and mid-life crises, which was muddied and pulled in three directions by the three playable characters.

Say what you want about GTA IV, but the campaign was cohesive, with a compelling protagonist and supporting cast that unfolded across a simpler, but much more compelling, story. In GTA VI, we want a shift from the ꧋wild and outrageous to a more serious, bu💎t more satisfying, narrative.

23 ꧂ We Don’t Want: One City

Via polygon.com

The argument that GTA V consisted of the San Andreas landscape with Los Santos in the middle is misleading, as Blaine County was just a relatively bare distraction from the city. The argument that the map is bigger than GTA: San Andreas is even more-so as it takes geographical peaks and below-sea areas into account, neither of which ar🌳e of nearly aꦉs much interest to the player.

Titles like San Andreas and RDR2 set a standard for Rockstar in terms of scale and variety that GTA V simply fell short of.

22 ൲ We Need: Good Pacing And ꧋Immersion

Via twitter.com (@vanthebrand)

A good story-driven sandbox game unfolds slowly over time. As the player’s progress, newer areas become available to them, along with new characters, missions, and abilities, all while the gamer bec൲omes more im🌄mersed in the experience (this is arguably the most important element of the genre).

This is something that GTA V and, in certain places, RDR2 lacked. Conversely, titles like GTA IV and the first Red Dead fully immersed the player in the experience, making them salivate for what could be next. We hope GTA VI offers us a similar experience.

21 🏅 🌳 We Don’t Want: An Emphasis On Online Play

via: rockstargames.com

GTA V’s online mode set a new standard for online play, and absolutely demolished all previous online modes in Rockstar games. The free-roaming chaos, c﷽ombined with ever-evolving missions and objectives, was addictive and is still as popular today as it was five years ago.

However, rumors are circulating that due to the success of GTA: Online, the next game will either have a more prominent online mode or be completely online. This would be a shame, and would alienate GTA’s die-hard faithful who fell in love with the series long🌜 before it went online.

20 We Needꩲ: Weapon Customization

Via customisation.gtaboom.com

Where GTA V may have lacked the same narrative cohesion as GTA IV, San Andreas, or Vice City, it absolutely ꧒blew these games out of the wa🐼ter with its weapon customization.

Not only did it have the best arsenal of weapons out of any game in the series, but it allowed you to fully customize them with different sights and enhancements (you could also level up your skill with the firearms). Naturally, we want this feature to return in GTA VI, and would love to see 💮♛Rockstar take this element of the game even further!

19 ꦆ We Need: More RPG💜 Elements

via reddit.com

GTA V wasn’t just scaled back from San Andreas in terms of map size, it also scaled back the character customization elements. And while it was a cut above the relatively sparse GTA IV, certain things from San Andreas, l🌞ike learning fight moves and gaining/losing weight, were missing.

We’d love to be able to learn new combat moves while buffing up our physiques. We’d also love to see things from RDR2, like being able to grow your hair organically, introduced in GTA VI to really round it out.

18 We Don’t Want: Bad Radio Chit-Chat 🦩

via: ru.gta5-mods.com

One thing in GTA V that took a serious dive in quality was the talk radio stations. Boring, and at times nonsensical, the combination of social commentary and zany-humor was more cringeworthy than funny. All of this is a shame, because the likes of Martin Serious in the Episodes From Liberty City, NPR in Vice City Stories, and Lazlow Jones throughout the series were genuinely hilarious🐼.

For the next game, we want to see the script w🌼riting for our in-vehicle entertainment sharpened back up to their old high s⛄tandards!

17 We Nꦡeed: More Varied Environments

Via giantbomb.com

It’s true that GTA V was split into the contrasting Blaine County and Los Santos, and while Los Santos was a beautiful thing to behold, much of Blaine Country was sparse desert land and not particularly interesting. San Andreas had three different cities with different feels to them, w🐲ith plenty of countryside in-between.

Meanwhile, RDR2 is filled with a variety of different, but equally stunning, geographies. If we could get two or more cities with two different vibes, and some RDR2-esque rural scenery in the next GTA, it’d be nothing short of breathtaking.

16 We Don’t Want: More E𒆙xperimental Psychedelia 𝕴

Via otakukart.com

GTA games are never 100% 🌜realistic, with a certain amount of cohesion in gamepဣlay and presentation expected.

While you could light up in Vice City, slowing down time, that was about as trippy as it got before San Andreas began the subtle shift towards a less cartoon-y approach (Area 51 notwithstanding). There are moments in GTA V and RDR2 that delve into the supernatural, which isn’t a bad thing on its own, but in a sandbox game like GTA, it breaks the sense 𝐆ღof immersion and realism in a way that doesn’t suit the series.