Published Oct 25, 2026, 9:00 AM EDT

Paulo Kawanishi is a Brazilian freelance writer and contributor on Polygon. He's been writings guides, features, and reviews since 2022 for publications like Eurogamer, Game Informer, Nintendo Life, PCGamesN, and Into the Spine. He's part of the guides team at Polygon, working on projects that cover from long explaners to quick tips on how to complete specific tasks in games. In addition, he also writes features, analysis, and reviews especially about JRPGs and games like Path of Exile 2. He holds a master's degree and a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics.

"Ah shit, here we go again."

Image: Rockstar Games

With the imminent release of Grand Theft Auto 6 , I decided it was time to revisit what was probably the biggest game of my childhood: Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas . In 2005, GTA: San Andreas was one of the first four games I bought for the PlayStation 2, alongside Final Fantasy X , Kingdom Hearts , and Devil May Cry 3 .…