5 features from GTA San Andreas that should make a comeback in GTA 6

In many ways, GTA San Andreas was representative of Rockstar Games firing on all cylinders and going above and beyond with regards to functionality and features. To the point where GTA San Andreas included features that weren't seen in future titles, some of which fans have wanted to see come back to the series.

As things stand, it does appear that GTA 6 is far off in the distance, given that Rockstar Games is yet to confirm its presence in development. This period of stasis between GTA 5 and its sequel allows for fans to speculate and debate the kind of game they would like to see.

This ultimately leads to comparisons with games from the series' past and elements from them that fans would love to see again. Here, we take a look at some of the most exciting bits of GTA San Andreas that fans would love to see included in the highly anticipated sequel.

Note: This article is subjective and solely reflects the opinion of the writer.

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Fan-favorite features from GTA San Andreas that should make a return

1) Gym and muscle mass

This might not seem like much on the surface, but simply affecting the character's appearance in such an organic way makes a ton of difference. For one, it hands players a lot of agency, in addition to making CJ feel all the more authentic.

It allows the player to form a deeper and organic bond with the player character, thus letting them be exponentially more invested in the game world. Going to the gym and putting on muscle makes a difference visually as well as in gameplay, which is the kind of synergy video games thrive on.

2) Gang/Crew formation

Given CJ's background and history with the Grove Street Families, it only made sense for him to become part of the gang once again. This allowed GTA San Andreas to include a gang member recruitment system that allowed players to form a crew around them at will.

This functioned in tandem with Respect level, which would rise eventually as a result of the player's actions. A similar system that lets players form a crew or gang around them at will might allow for more gameplay opportunities in GTA 6 that Rockstar might want to explore.

3) Fighting styles

Surprisingly, this feature never made it to any other game in the GTA series. Mostly because, for one, it allowed players to learn more functionality as they went along, and two, it deepened the combat loop to a great extent.

While in most cases, players might be using guns instead of melee, so having a flying kick in the back pocket is always a nice touch. GTA's combat loop has always lacked in quality compared to other aspects of the game design; more depth in melee might just do the trick the next time around.

4) Air travel

Again, not very significant on the surface, but having a fast-travel system is one of the essential parts of game design in the modern-day open-world title. It allows for developers to really stretch out their map or even experiment with multiple open worlds since players will always have a quick and easy way to traverse that distance.

Air Travel was featured briefly in GTA San Andreas, which allowed CJ to travel to San Fierro and Las Venturas. A similar feature could make a return and allow the player to travel to more open-world hubs and locations within the game.

5) Deeper NPC interactions

NPCs in GTA San Andreas ranged from anywhere between pedestrians and even girlfriends. CJ could develop relationships with certain NPCs and go on dates and such. While it sounds a bit corny, it is also one of the major reasons why Los Santos and the state of San Andreas feel more real.

The game world is populated not just by pixels on the screen but by believable AI and NPCs. Hence, this allows the players to suspend their sense of disbelief and invest completely in the game world.