5 Strangers and Freaks characters that GTA 6 should bring back

Rockstar Games has created many lively characters for the GTA series, but not all appear during missions. There are random Strangers and Freaks encounters in the HD Universe titles where players can meet some unique characters, not all of whom are connected to the story. The recent GTA 6 trailer also highlighted some bizarre NPCs who were reportedly based on people seen in real-world viral Florida videos.

Many fans expect to meet these characters during Strangers and Freaks side missions. Rockstar Games introduced this feature in Grand Theft Auto 4, and the studio kept improving it in subsequent games, with Red Dead Redemption 2 having some of the most memorable Strangers.

With that in mind, here are some Strangers who deserve to return to Grand Theft Auto 6.

Note: This article is subjective and reflects the opinion of its writers.

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Five Strangers from the HD Universe games who should return to GTA 6

1) Marnie Allen

Marnie is a Stranger who first appeared in Grand Theft Auto 4. She is shown as a young drug addict who is desperate to get her next 'fix.' The second encounter has her wanting to leave Liberty City and visit her parents in the Midwest. Niko will give her $500 each time he decides to help her. She also reappears in GTA 5 as well as GTA Online.

It's revealed in Grand Theft Auto 5 that she became a cultist of the Epsilon Program. In Liberty City, she used to sleep with people just so she could afford drugs, whereas in Los Santos, she sleeps with gay movie stars for the cult. She also reappears in Grand Theft Auto Online as part of The Contracts DLC, where Lamar makes a deal with the Epsilon cult to sell weed legally.

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2) Ilyena Faustin

Ilyena is the wife of Mikhail Faustin, with whom Niko has one of the more solemn dialogues in GTA 4, where he shares his war experience. She is also met in a Stranger encounter where Niko helps her and her daughter Anna by threatening Anna's new boyfriend.

It becomes apparent that Niko helps her out of guilt, as he was responsible for the death of Mikhail Faustin. While Ilyena herself doesn't regret his death, she and her daughter ended up poor because of his passing. It would be interesting to know what this character has been up to since the events of the game, or even Anna could be introduced as a Stranger.

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3) Hao

Hao first appears as a Stranger in Grand Theft Auto 5, where he's involved with the illegal street racing scene. He has a major role in Grand Theft Auto Online, where he gets his own mod shop called Hao's Special Works. This is a vehicle mod shop that's exclusive to next-gen consoles (PS5 and Xbox Series X/S) and made for specific HSW vehicles in GTA Online.

The GTA 6 trailer showcased the importance of car culture in Vice City numerous times. The 90 second teaser highlighted some car meets, new mod shops, as well as illegal street races. Hao could easily be included in the game and shown to be involved in the car modding or racing scene.

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4) Love Fist

Love Fist was a fictional in-universe band first introduced in Vice City as a parody of 80s hair metal bands. The fictional band also had some songs that would play on the GTA Vice City radio stations. Tommy Vercetti had to help them out on multiple missions and was also able to attend one of their live performances.

They have been mentioned in subsequent games and one of the band members, Willy (William McTavish), even appears in GTA 5. Trevor needs to knock him out as part of the Strangers missions for Nigel and Mrs. Thornhill, the crazy English tourists who collect celebrity memorabilia.

While this old pair might just be too old for Grand Theft Auto 6, Willy or some other Love Fist member could definitely make a reappearance.

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5) Barry

Barry is a marijuana activist who gives missions to all three protagonists in GTA 5. His missions are a little wild, with the heroes fighting aliens and clowns after smoking his weed and hallucinating. Barry, an advocate for cannabis legalization, would fit right in with Grand Theft Auto 6, which is set in Florida, where marijuana is illegal for recreational use.

In addition, the crazy psychedelic missions that players did for Barry should also return, as they would make for an interesting distraction from the main plot.

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In other news, some details about the GTA 6 Trailer 2 have reportedly been making the rounds online, and it promises a jaw-dropping upgrade.