Mark your calendars, lock in your pre-orders, and submit those vacation requests: Grand Theft Auto 6 will be here on November 19th, and it’s coming for your free time.
I don’t have to tell you that GTA 6 is the most hotly anticipated video game this year, and perhaps in this decade, given that Rockstar’s last mega-hyped GTA release, GTA 5, came out in… SEPTEMBER 2013??
For my math-challenged friends, that’s a crisp 13 years that gamers have been looking forward to a new entry in the GTA series. In fact, some teens whose cool parents will let them play GTA 6 this holiday season won’t even have been born before GTA 5. To them, GTA 5 could be considered a RETRO GAME! …I need to go lie down.
And while I’m down here, I’m going to reminisce about some of the great experiences that Rockstar, and games inspired by Rockstar’s revolutionary contributions to the gaming canon (namely, fleeing from law enforcement and blowing stuff up), have given us.
If you haven’t played the following titles, now’s your chance to do so because, by all accounts, GTA 6 is poised to be a game so legendary, so massive, that it will undoubtedly consume every single ounce of your spare time. However, it would be a genuine shame to lose sight of these banger GTA-adjacent titles, especially if you haven’t played them already, because they offer some of the best experiences to be had in gaming.
1. Red Dead Redemption 2
Look, we all know this is going on the list, so why not put it first. Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption series has long captured the mayhem and chaos of GTA in a Wild West-y kind of way (see: tying people to railroad tracks, exploding baddies with dynamite, and getting in many a drunken saloon brawl just for the hell of it). But somehow at the same time, this series manages to tell extremely poignant tales about the struggles the Old West faced as it chafed against the onset of a new world. RDR2 cranks that up to 11 with beautiful cinematics, a loveable, complicated protagonist in Arthur Morgan, and tear-jerking twists and turns that will have you tilting your cowboy hat low over your eyes as a single tear rolls down your cheek. Simply put, it’s a masterpiece. If you haven’t played RDR2 yet, what are you waiting for! GTA 6 is right around the corner, and it’s gaining on you!
2. GTA 4
Have we all collectively forgotten about GTA 4, or is it already considered a “retro” game? (Don’t answer that.) Looking back, GTA 4 may not be as flashy as the subsequent GTA 5 with its crazy main characters, elaborate heist missions, and deeply addictive online play, but what it did offer was a surprisingly grounded story about life in America, the struggles of starting over, and the difficulty of trying to escape a past that always seems to catch up with you, no matter how far you run. Not for nothing, I had such a great time playing online in this game back in the day, scream-laughing with my friends over XBOX Live on our headsets as we tried to crash into each other at full speed with helicopters we stole. Good times are still to be had in this game – if you’re not already too busy playing GTA 6, that is.
3. Cyberpunk 2077
If you’re like me, you were scared away from trying Cyberpunk 2077 after a buggy launch and initially steep performance requirements. But if you’re like me, then for many years you were also missing out on one of the best open world RPGs out there because Cyberpunk was able to fix its issues and completely bounce back from its rocky start. If you’re tired of the same old guy-with-a-gun type of game and are more into a guy-with-blades-for-arms-who-runs-headfirst-into-hordes-of-enemies-and-dismembers-them-in-slow-motion type of game, then you only have *checks calendar* two months to check out Cyberpunk before GTA 6 comes along and delivers a tactical nuke to your free time.
4. The Witcher 3
If RDR is the GTA of the Wild West, then The Witcher is like the GTA of D&D. Does that make sense? Anyway, The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a phenomenal game, and if you haven’t played it yet, you should absolutely get on it before GTA 6 launches because there’s a lot of game there to sink your teeth into. The side quests alone in this game will have you saying, “What main story?”
In fact, even if you’ve played The Witcher 3 before, now is the best time to jump in because there’s soon going to be considerably MORE game to sink your teeth into – CD Projekt Red just announced Witcher 3: Wild Hunt — Remastered, a free visual, performance, and gameplay upgrade for existing Witcher 3 owners as well as free access to old expansions Hearts of Stone and Blood and Wine.
These updates are coming on September 29, which, means there’s just enough time to fully enjoy them before GTA 6 delivers a nasty suplex to your spare time. Right in front of your friends and family too. Ouch.
5. Skyrim
Okay, maybe this game is the real GTA of D&D. Surely, you’ve played Skyrim, right? It’s only been released on pretty much every platform known to man and, likely, some known only to alien. BUT check this out: have you ever dabbled in the Skyrim modding community? Even today, there are so many new ways to play this (admittedly) old game, including mods that add whole new story lines, companions, game modes, and (I’m not making this up) IKEA furniture. You heard me right. On September 9th, IKEA UK launched KALLAX STORAGEBORN, a free mod available via Bethesda Game Studios Creations menu that offers, among other things, KALLAX, a fully voiced companion that resembles a popular shelving unit from the company’s catalog. There’s someone out there for everyone, I guess.
If there’s one thing that’s guaranteed to be going on the shelf, though, it’s your spare time once GTA 6 inevitably gets a hold of it.
Conclusion
After that fond reflection on games past, I hope I’ve properly conveyed the urgency to you that you MUST play some games in your back catalog in the next few months — this may be your last chance to do so before GTA 6 takes your free time and punts it directly into the sun!
There’s only one thing left on my mind: which Turtle Beach product would make the best fully voiced companion? My vote is for the Burst II Pro mouse. Why? I’ve always gotten along with mice. We just click.
