GTA 5's Worst Mini-Game Is Worth Bringing Back In GTA 6
There are a few good reasons as to why Grand Theft Auto 6 should bring back its predecessor’s yoga mini-game, even if the activity’s critical and fan reception has been dismal. GTA 6 provides the perfect opportunity for Rockstar to improve Grand Theft Auto V's yoga mini-game so that it better meets its intended purpose and provides an entertaining opportunity for players.
Players can enjoy yoga sessions in Grand Theft Auto V once they have completed the "Did Somebody Say Yoga?" mission, in which Michael gets into an altercation with Fabian, his wife’s yoga instructor, leading her to finally leave him with their two children. Afterwards, Michael can perform yoga at two locations — at home, or at the top of Mount Gordo. During yoga sessions, players must get Michael to achieve three different positions — Warrior, Praise the Sun, and Triangle. Players are rewarded with an increase in Michael’s special ability (slow motion while shooting) if they performed the moves well.
Unfortunately, however, many GTA fans have complained that the yoga sessions are boring, considering players must repeat the same controls over and over simply to witness Michael strike the same repetitive poses. It understandably gets monotonous after a while. But since completing all nine yoga sessions is necessary for 100% completion, many players feel forced into completing it, even though it takes a couple of hours in total. It’s easy to see why some players feel strongly about yoga sessions being gotten rid of in Grand Theft Auto 6.
However, it may not be a wise move to completely forget this activity. Many players forget that this is an easy way to improve Michael’s special ability. Doing a bit of yoga to re-center Michael before a big mission in Grand Theft Auto V or attempting something challenging in the open world environment is a smart strategy, as a few extra points in the special ability bar can make a world of difference. The mini-game itself is pretty easy to master after a try or two, and even though it gets repetitive quickly, this also makes it easy to excel at. It’s one of the easiest ways to increase special ability in a hurry, so forgoing this mini-game, in a way, would be disadvantageous to players in GTA 6.
There is much room for improvement should Rockstar reintroduce yoga to GTA 6 players. In GTA 5, only Michael can perform yoga and get a boost. But it would be even better if all playable characters could benefit from this activity. The mini-game should also clearly be less repetitive. Introducing a greater variety of yoga poses that players can choose from rather than being forced to perform the same three multiple times would solve the problem. More freedom of choice would incentivize players to complete yoga sessions, too. Of course, if no one wants to do yoga in GTA at all, players should be able to gain the same benefits by performing some sort of more active mini-game. There's no reason both yoga and some other, more intense activity (like going to the batting cages) couldn't offer players the same special boost benefits.
Although Rockstar hasn't revealed any information on Grand Theft Auto 6, one thing that is clear is that incorporating yoga sessions, or at least their benefits, wouldn’t be the worst thing it could do.