Games Inbox: Does GTA 6 have the best video game graphics ever?

The Monday letters page discusses GTA 6’s graphics, as one reader offers a recap on Opening Night Live at Gamescom 2026.

The final furlong
After watching GTA 6 on Netflix I thought the graphics were great and they still got a few good months to get them better. And as for the gameplay, I loved it. It’s my sort of game and you know as time goes on the trailers will get better.

Will GTA 6 be better than GTA 5? Only time will tell, but I can’t wait for November 19 at midnight. I’ll be sat there in my boxers, a few cans of Dr Pepper and playing it till I hear the birds singing. It’s been 13 years since the last one and I’m going to love it.

Well worth paying the extra for the Ultimate Edition. The problem with players is it’s never enough, they could make that trailer perfect in every way and they would still be people saying that wasn’t good enough. Only thing I want to see is GTA 6 Online.
David

GC: Nothing is changing about the game in the next two months. They’ll be focused solely on bug-fixing at the moment; any title would be at this point in its development.

Xbox 360 graphics
What was I watching? GTA 6 looks slightly better than the Max Payne 3 game I recently played on my Xbox 360.

Obviously, there were more details and I couldn’t get seeing it in peace but considering how much they are supposed to have spent on it, I’m not hyped/blown away.

I’m still hoping it’s a fantastic game, as I’m not actually that fussed over graphics. Dave The Diver was one of my favourite games this year and this GTA has the opportunity to be on that level.
Bobwallett

In name only
Being a fan of the first two games, I decided to try Ninja Gaiden 4 after fairly positive reviews, including your own. After eight levels, I was done. Don’t get me wrong; it’s a competent game in its own right but it simply isn’t Ninja Gaiden. Rather, it feels like the love child of Platinum’s Bayonetta and Metal Gear Rising wrapped in Ninja Gaiden clothing.

Ninja Gaiden excels with its slower, precise, tight swordplay, clever and brutal enemies and bosses – and in the case of the first game, a wonderfully inter-connected world. What we have here as enemies include huge robot dogs, things that seriously look like giant floating mothballs, and bizarrely, in an early level, a ninja lady boss who seems more interested in Madonna style groovy dance moves than trying to butcher you to pieces.

The levelling up of weapons and attack moves feels clunky and overdone, much like the last two God Of War games. If there is to be a seque,l I hope Team Ninja takes back full control and focuses on what made the first two games great, but more importantly, great Ninja Gaiden games. But I fear that style and setting, much like the first three God Of War games, are confined to yesteryear.
Sam

GC: We don’t disagree with any of that. Although we admit we enjoy PlatinumGames’ oeuvre a lot more than we like the previous Ninja Gaiden games. Ninja Gaiden 4 and Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound were both flops, so we doubt you’ll be seeing the franchise again anytime soon.

Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

Weekend reminder
With the first look at Grand Theft Auto 6 gameplay fresh in my mind, I had a bit of a Rockstar Games retrospective session over the weekend. I played GTA: Vice City on my PlayStation 2 and I watched a YouTube documentary on Rockstar itself.

Playing Vice City again was a mixed experience. The ambience of the game holds up well, no doubt boosted by that classic eighties soundtrack and a stellar cast. Even today Vice City as envisioned in 2002 remains a great place to be, and speeding across the beach on a motorbike is still a great laugh.

What wasn’t so much fun was actually playing the missions. Driving down seemingly narrow streets I constantly collided with everything. Even getting anywhere on foot proved a challenge because the camera kept leaving me disorientated. At least development times were shorter in the olden days. After Grand Theft Auto 3 came out and changed everything Rockstar gave us Vice City the following year.

I didn’t know that originally, when it was conceived by DMA Design, Grand Theft Auto was actually called Race ‘N’ Chase. All interesting stuff.
Michael Veal

GC: There was also supposed to be something called Grand Theft Auto: Online Crime World around the time of the Dreamcast, but obviously that never happened.

Anniversary extras
Hats off to Xbox, they might not be making any money, but for gamers they’ve been getting everything else right.

Component prices and low sales volume were always going to make a special edition Xbox Series X a ridiculous price, but you’ve got to give them kudos for going through with it anyway. I still remember debating between translucent green and regular black when I bought my first Xbox (I went with black in the end), and this new one just looks like a modern version of that OG console.

With most anniversary celebrations not really consisting of much, I wasn’t expecting anything beyond a special edition controller. So while I’m fairly certain the Xbox inspired McDonald’s menu isn’t going to be that great it’s good that it actually exists.

I certainly wasn’t expecting them to convince Ikea to launch a range of products either. The Xbox thumbstick stool looks quite cool, even if it does also look a terrible way to play a game. But the D-pad platter actually looks sensible and I’m wondering how long I could have it before anyone realises it’s the D-pad from the controller.
Tim

Parental advice
That was a really good Reader’s Feature from Carlton over the weekend, regarding being a parent and the worries of what affect adult-themed games can have on his children.

I can only speak from my perspective as a parent and unfortunately, it’s going to sound very cliche but from what I’ve learnt over the years it all comes down to educating them.

Now that sounds quite broad of an answer, so I will elaborate. It’s not about sitting them down and telling them you know what’s best for them. If you want them to be distracted by other games, it won’t happen overnight.

Instead, you have to gently steer them towards other titles and, let’s be honest, there are plenty of other great titles out there. Grand Theft Auto 6 is not the be all and all of gaming and I can say that with some confidence, having not played it, because there are plenty of other top notch games out there that are doing things Grand Theft Auto can’t do. So in that respect its completely subjective, but I digress.

What I’ve done over the years is present to my daughters other titles that are family friendly, appealing and, more importantly, fun.

You have to show passion for what they are playing too, as it’s not enough to just give them a child friendly game and hope it sorts the problem out.

Over time this dispelled any urges for them to think about ever wanting to go to the hood and rob some cars, while shooting people via another game.

What I was very conscious of though was playing Grand Theft Auto in front of them. As I never wanted them to think it was OK for me to do it but not them.

It has worked and not 12 months ago I heard my 12 year old daughter tell her friends ‘my dad won’t let me play GTA’.

She’s happily blasting away on Star Fox and Splatoon Raiders today, without a care in the world.

Like I said, it’s not an easy overnight fix but it did work with perseverance for me.

I will say though, I have two daughters and you mentioned you had two sons, so undoubtedly there is a different dynamic in play there, which unfortunately I can’t really offer you any advice on.

Anyway, I hope even in some little way this letter helped. Keep up the good fight and remember it’s not the only game on the planet, even if it will feel like it at launch.
freeway 77

Successful boycott
Well, I’ve played the multiplayer Call Of Duty beta quite a bit over the weekend, on my Xbox Series X (no PlayStation due to boycott).

I gotta say I’m very impressed. Seems very well made. The maps are great and the feel of the guns is excellent. I can see me buying it (on disc) when it releases.
DB

Constant news
Definitely a great opening Gamescom 2026 night and Geoff Keighley’s opening speech, regarding his father and the state of the games industry.

I got plenty of Elden Ring Melania vibes from Nodusfall, to the point it must be very influenced by that classic game. Awesome to see director Naoki Hamaguchi introducing, at last, Final Fantasy 7 Revelation. I’m very interested in at last seeing if the ending differs from the original or not.

Metro 2039 was a fantastic reveal for us all and definitely gets me excited to be going into that universe again and seeing how things have evolved and what factions have changed or survived. Then there was the emotional context of being proudly made in Ukraine, despite the real conflict of war overshadowing the development team.

A surprising reveal was a remastered The Witcher 3, which just looked amazing on the PlayStation 4, so the idea of this on the PlayStation 5 is very exciting. Plus the two amazing expansions being released for free, as they were classics, especially Blood And Wine which I so loved. Then there’s the brand new Songs Of The Past expansion, which I would never have thought possible for an older game from another generation, without it being a fan made mod or something.

Wizards of the Coast showcasing their new action-oriented game Warlock: Dungeons & Dragons, and city builder Lego Skylines, along with the paranormal Perceptum, being some other games that caught my interest.

Some interesting live music from cats playing guitars and violins! Alot of new and anticipated reveals and seeing Geoff again just shows how darn quick the year is going. I’ve just had notification of Apple’s annual special event in September! There’s no stopping 2026 and the 2027 gaming revelations.
Alucard

Inbox also-rans
Is Sony going to release a sequel to Days Gone?
Tony

GC: Almost certainly not.

My favourite bit of the GTA 6 footage was when I was thinking Rockstar’s music choice perfectly created the mood yet again, even with an unfamiliar song. Then the chorus hit and I realised I’m listening to Cliff Richard.
Bll

Email your comments to: gamecentral@metro.co.uk

The small print
New Inbox updates appear every weekday morning, with special Hot Topic Inboxes at the weekend. Readers’ letters are used on merit and may be edited for length and content.

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MORE: Games Inbox: Was the GTA 6 Netflix show a disappointment?

MORE: Games Inbox: What will be in the Netflix GTA 6 show?

MORE: Games Inbox: What was the best game at Opening Night Live 2026?

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