Grand Theft Auto VI analysis: The top 6 highlights from the trailer

Last night's GTA VI leak prompted Rockstar to move up the announced first trailer for Grand Theft Auto VI, the next major instalment in the open-world crime series due in 2025, by almost a full day. For many, this marks the beginning of a new era in video games, and perhaps also in the way we consume them. One and a half minutes. Ninety seconds. 30 frames per second, and we've gone through every single one of them in 4K.

1. Vice City, good to see you again

The first images we have of this current version of Vice City already show us that we are at the beginning of something big. The sunrise scenes on the highway and behind the prison gates indicate that a new world is opening up for the new co-star of the series: Lucia, a Latina robber who is about to rejoin society. On the side of the truck you can read the Patriot beer brand, which is also a common classic American vehicle since GTA III.

The next scene after the talk with the parole officer is a sequence shot from Washington Beach, where Tommy Vercetti's adventure in GTA: Vice City also began. The plane flying over the beaches alludes to a dating app called Nine1Nine, which presumably will be for same-sex users. "Why do a 69 when you can do a nine-nine?".

In addition to towering residential buildings, the counterpart to this new map will be the vast open space of Rockstar's fictional Florida swamplands. Local wildlife (alligators appear at various points in the trailer), flashy mangrove hovercrafts, flamingos and herons... and even a pet iguana - have you found it?

2. The era of Tiktok and sharing everything on the net

We've all seen it at least in movies or on TV, the beaches of Miami.... I mean, Vice City, are full of sculpted bodies and crowded with people exercising, enjoying themselves with friends and, in general, with a mobile screen in front of their noses recording something (possibly someone's arse).

Crazy Monday parties at the strip club, workshops for the Lowriders, racing down the motorway towards Kelly County... even parking our Cheetah sports car and paying a visit to the Ocean View Hotel where we were staying with Tommy. And all these activities can then be viewed on a sort of social network similar to Tiktok. But if you want visibility, be sure to use the hashtag #have.a.vice.day.

3. What great hair

The woman twerking on the car should go viral, but for the incredible hair animation in the scene. We knew GTA 6 was going to set a new high bar in many technical aspects, but the first time you see something like this is etched in your mind. And it doesn't just stop at that scene, as the girl in the rooftop pool repeats the feat by posing for the photo. Great touch, Rockstar.

4. Vice City and Beyond

I've mentioned before that the world of GTA VI will be much bigger than Vice City. And that's because at least we know of several more areas (although one of them is unclear whether it's a neighbourhood or a suburb on the outskirts. We're talking about Leonida, where crime seems to have taken a stronger hold than elsewhere. There will also be a neighbourhood called Hamlet, which is where that lady with two hammers appears. It doesn't look like you'll become bored easily.

There's also the rural area of Kelly County, which we'll get to by following Highway 404 off the west exit. Presumably this will be the Thrillbilly Mud Club's swampy, muddy car-racing area that appears towards the end of the trailer. But there's so much to discover that I'm sure they've saved the best for future trailers.

5. An unhealthy attention to detail

Back to the hair. Or rather, attention to detail. Previous Rockstar titles like Red Dead Redemption 2 or GTA V already boasted a level of detail that bordered on insanity (yes, the testicles shrink on the horse when we go through the snow), but here even on the signs and posters we can see things like Apple Pay being accepted for payments (good product placement) to the stickers and logos of businesses, like Rideout Customs.

As well as the not-so-subtle criticisms of American society such as the over-consumption of antidepressants and opioids that is eating away at the lower strata of society, which we see here in the big drug posters such as Angstipan.

6. Lucia and Jason, the new Bonny & Clyde

What we have curiously seen less of is the story's leading duo. Lucia and Jason are a pair of criminals in the style of the legendary outlaws of the 1930s, Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow. A true story of love, jealousy, greed and a tragic ending of which we can sense some details of in this first trailer for GTA 6, but which is sure to have some interesting plot twists that will be saved for future videos. For now, it looks like Lucia is the one calling the shots, and she's going to be one hell of a strong woman.