Grand Theft Auto 5 is one of Rockstar's weaker games. but after the great Red Dead Redemption 2. GTA 6 could bring the crime series back to its best.
Rockstar shows American and western culture in a clear and strong way through Niko's eyes. Even though his morals are influenced by his past he still has his own sense of right and wrong. GTA 4 isn’t just about how everything is bad there is good but it’s being squeezed out by the bad. That makes for a powerful and honest story.
Grand Theft Auto 5 (just the single-player story) has two big problems. First the script. For about 40 hours, Michael, Franklin and Trevor just shout at each other and argue. They do this when they first meet during every mission and even at the end of the game. Steven Ogg gives an amazing performance but Rockstar wastes it by having him (along with Ned Luke and Shawn Fonteno) repeat the same scenes over and over.
In GTA 5 everyone hates each other and acts badly with no real meaning behind it. Michael's wife is cheating on him his therapist just wants money and to sell his story and Franklin argues with his aunt. Trevor's mom doesn't like him. It's all a mess with no depth to the characters. This makes the game feel shallow and unimpactful like a simple kind of satire.
Red Dead Redemption released by Rockstar three years before and Max Payne 3 from 2012. both feature characters who are driven and have goals. In contrast Grand Theft Auto 5 has one main message everything and everyone is bad and it repeats this throughout the game from start to finish.
I get why it might seem unimportant or even like the main point of the game. GTA 5. like San Andreas is all about doing whatever you want without caring about the results. So, it makes sense that the world in the game feels like nothing really matters. It's a playground. If you want to shoot people and blow up their cars that's okay because the people in the game and your character aren't good either.
The second big problem with GTA 5 is its combat system. It makes it hard to have fun because the guns are weak enemies are smart and you die quickly. While the game’s story lets you enjoy all the chaos the gameplay makes you play carefully. So, GTA 5 doesn’t have the depth of GTA 4’s story nor does it have the fun freedom of GTA 3 and Vice City. Even if I accept that GTA 5 is meant to be cynical and not take itself seriously it still doesn’t work.
GTA 5 came out 12 years ago and since then Rockstar has created the amazing Red Dead Redemption 2. Since these games are made by hundreds of people. it feels odd to credit Rockstar as just one person. It’s hard to track the studio’s style or voice like you would with a writer or musician. However between GTA 5 and Red Dead Redemption 2. it feels like Rockstar if it could be seen as one entity went through a big change and emotional growth.
It’s surprising to compare scenes from GTA 5 and RDR 2 because they feel so different even though they might come from the same people. It's not just about the dialogue and drama it’s how the games feel to play. GTA 5 feels restricted and stiff While Red Dead Redemption 2 feels natural and full of life. The best part of RDR 2 is that even though you can go anywhere and do anything Arthur Morgan’s character is so real that you naturally want to play the way he would. Every choice you make helps build his character and the story making the game feel open yet purposeful.
What gives me hope for GTA 6 is that So far we know the game focuses on the relationship between Jason and Lucia. In GTA 5 the characters act like they don't care about anything making many of the missions feel pointless or without direction.
One of the reasons RDR 2 works so well is because Arthur cares about the van der Linde gang and wants to protect them. When he does something bad it feels like he’s doing it for a moral or noble reason which makes everything more meaningful. The same goes for Niko Bellic in GTA 4 though the game loses this focus later on in the beginning. it feels like Niko is trying to build a better life for himself and Roman. This gives him more depth and makes what you do in the game feel more important.
If Jason and Lucia have love and depend on each other. I hope everything you do in GTA 6 connects to that. In open-world games where you can do anything without caring about the story or characters it quickly gets boring and feels pointless just junk gaming. The relationship between Jason and Lucia could give GTA 6 a sense of purpose something that makes the whole game feel more meaningful. It makes me think GTA 6 won't feel as empty as Grand Theft Auto 5.
I think Rockstar in 2025 will be more like the one that made Red Dead Redemption 2 than the one behind GTA 5. But it's tricky because both Grand Theft Auto 4 and the first Red Dead seemed like the start of a better Rockstar then they made GTA 5. There's a chance that Grand Theft Auto has become the series where Rockstar focuses less on quality. But I hope that’s not the case.
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