this post was submitted on 30 Mar 2025
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The format of these posts is simple: let’s discuss a specific game or series!
Let's discuss the Grand Theft Auto series. What is your favorite game in the series? What do you like about it? What doesn't work for you? Are there similar games you like or even prefer to the original series? Feel free to share anything that comes up and react to other comments. Let's get the conversation going!
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I came very late to this series. I only played GTA V last year and I have yet to start another one. While I felt it was an impressive experience and had some great moments, I was also quite baffled at some of the design choices: the game often felt quite clunky and seemed to ignore logical steps in game design that other developers have made (constantly tapping a button to sprint, some of the ways the menus behave).
This is going to sound a bit silly, but I also genuinely had issues constantly doing these reprehensible things in missions. The game is very cynical and constantly makes you do selfish acts for the protagonists. While it is at times extremely funny and is on par with some of the best crime comedies out there, doing this stuff for hours on end was really exhausting for me. I play games to relax and started to feel that this game wasn't giving me that. Compare this to Red Dead Redemption, a game I absolutely adored, where the protagonist is also morally questionable but at least tries to do the right thing within their frame of reference. I have no problem with morally gray protagonists, but something about the dial being turned up to 11 in GTA V really hit me the wrong way.
Right now I am playing Sleeping Dogs on my Steam Deck. It is clearly a GTA clone, but has an interesting twist in setting: Hong Kong is a really cool environment and the combat focusing more on melee and martial arts is also a fun change of pace. The story is quite simple and again you have to look past some ethical implications, but at least the game has some genuine characters and the events and relationships within the organized crime world are exciting to watch. In almost all respects it is clearly a lesser GTA, but I am having fun with it for the time being.
I also started with GTA V in the last few years. I sometimes describe it as an interactive movie rather than a game.
That's not meant to be insulting. It's a very well told story with perfect social satire. The characters are excellent. If you judge it the way a movie is judged, it's very good. The one thing is that the story should have finished with the big three-way shootout instead of Franklin's choice. Otherwise, very well put together.
As a game, though, it's mid. There are several mechanics where they teach you to do a thing, but it never comes up again. Money is no longer a limitation after the first heist is done. Owning a business isn't likely to be profitable for the length of a likely playthrough.
I accepted most of the morally questionable stuff. It comes with the series, and you'll either have to accept it or not play. It's balanced out with obvious social satire; it's aware that this is not how people should act in real life. It's a game for mentally mature players who understand that none of these are good people. That mental maturity doesn't necessarily come with age.
However, I drew the line at the paparazzi storyline. Just felt too sleezy. The FIB torture bit also came close to me, but in-game, even Trevor didn't feel comfortable with that, and he's a monster.
Only other part I skipped was that damn yoga bit. Glad the game let you skip it while still progressing, because I don't know what it wanted me to do.
I'm a little surprised it got so many 10 out of 10 reviews at launch. I guess the draw distances are impressive for a game that worked on the Xbox 360, and it uses those draw distances for important artistic effects. It makes it feel like a real city. But there are bugs that prevent progression years after release (albeit with workarounds most of the time), and some of the mechanics are bolted on. It's a 9/10 movie and a 7/10 game that averages to 8/10.
I 100% see that it is satire and respect almost all of its narrative choices, even the torture scene. But that doesn't mean that it is fun to play. It just felt really draining to have to inhabit these characters for dozens of hours, rather than watching a film about them. Something about playing a game forces you to empathize more closely with "your" character, and it is so draining for me when that character is a dick.
I think it gets 10s because of the attention to detail and vast amount of stuff in it, but I agree that underneath all the polish and glamour it is just an average game with some very dated mechanics.
Weirdly enough, it is the story that makes it worthwhile, even though it was not relaxing to me it did have some amazing moments of both satire and just hilarious situations. I also really enjoyed Franklin as a character and the contrast with Michael (who you could argue is actually a worse person than Franklin).