Grand Theft Auto V is one of those games that feels almost impossible to ignore when talking about open-world games. Originally released in 2013, Rockstar’s crime epic has remained relevant for more than a decade thanks to its memorable characters, huge open world, freedom of gameplay, and the constantly evolving GTA Online.
I have always found GTA V interesting because it manages to combine a cinematic story with the freedom of an open-world sandbox. You can follow the main missions and experience the story of Michael, Franklin, and Trevor, or completely ignore the objectives and spend hours exploring Los Santos.
A Story Built Around Three Characters
One of the biggest strengths of GTA V is its decision to use three protagonists.
Michael is a retired bank robber trying to live a quieter life, although his past clearly refuses to stay buried. Franklin is a young man trying to escape the limitations of his neighborhood and build a better life. Then there is Trevor, arguably one of the most unpredictable and chaotic characters Rockstar has ever created.
What I particularly like about this structure is how different the three characters feel. Switching between them keeps the campaign from becoming repetitive, while also allowing Rockstar to tell different types of stories within the same game.
The trio eventually becomes involved in increasingly dangerous criminal operations, bringing them into conflict with criminals, government agents, corrupt officials, and other dangerous characters. Rockstar describes the story as a series of increasingly ambitious heists in a city where trust is practically nonexistent.
Los Santos Is the Real Star
For me, one of the most impressive things about GTA V is Los Santos itself.
The city is not simply a collection of missions connected by roads. It feels like a place designed to encourage exploration. There are wealthy neighborhoods, industrial areas, beaches, mountains, highways, countryside, businesses, and countless small details scattered throughout the map.
I can spend an afternoon doing almost nothing related to the main story. I might steal a car, drive through the countryside, go to the beach, cause trouble with the police, or simply explore the city.
That freedom is one of the reasons GTA V has remained so popular for so long.
Rockstar originally described the game as an open-world experience centered on Los Santos, its surrounding countryside, hills, and beaches. That idea remains one of the game’s defining characteristics.
Driving, Shooting and Exploration
The basic gameplay is relatively easy to understand, but there is enough variety to keep things interesting.
Driving is a huge part of the experience. GTA V has everything from ordinary cars and motorcycles to sports cars, helicopters, airplanes, boats, and other vehicles.
Gunplay is similarly accessible. Missions frequently involve shootouts, robberies, escapes, and large-scale action sequences. The game also gives players plenty of freedom to approach the world outside missions however they want.
This combination of driving, shooting, exploration, and open-world freedom makes GTA V extremely easy to pick up.
The Heists Are Some of the Best Missions
The heists are probably my favorite part of the single-player campaign.
Instead of simply receiving a mission and following a linear sequence of objectives, some of the larger robberies involve preparation and decision-making. The player can feel like they are actually building toward a major criminal operation.
These missions also take advantage of the three protagonists, making the character-switching mechanic particularly useful during major action sequences.
It is one of those moments when GTA V feels less like a traditional open-world game and more like a playable crime movie.
GTA Online Changed Everything
If the single-player campaign made GTA V famous, GTA Online turned it into a long-running platform.
GTA Online allows players to create their own character and build a criminal career in Los Santos. Players can participate in missions, races, heists, businesses, competitive modes, and countless other activities.
The current version includes a huge amount of content added over the years. Rockstar describes GTA Online as a constantly evolving online universe for up to 30 players.
What makes it particularly interesting is the progression system. You can start with relatively little and gradually build up your collection of vehicles, properties, businesses, weapons, and other equipment.
There is also plenty to do with friends, from cooperative heists to races and various competitive activities.
Graphics and the Enhanced Version
Although GTA V is an older game, the newer versions have helped it remain visually impressive.
The PC Enhanced version introduces improved visual fidelity and performance, including ray-traced effects, improved textures, faster loading on compatible hardware, and support for technologies such as AMD FSR and NVIDIA DLSS.
This is especially noticeable when exploring Los Santos at night. The lighting, reflections, weather effects, and city atmosphere can still look surprisingly good.
The faster loading times are also a welcome improvement, particularly when moving between different parts of the game.
Is GTA V Still Worth Playing?
In my opinion, absolutely.
What makes GTA V special isn’t simply its graphics or its huge map. It is the combination of everything.
The campaign has memorable characters. The world encourages exploration. The missions provide plenty of spectacle. The driving is fun. And GTA Online gives players an enormous amount of additional content.
Even after all these years, I can understand why people continue returning to Los Santos.
The game has become more than just another Grand Theft Auto title. It has become one of the defining open-world games of its generation.
Final Verdict
Grand Theft Auto V remains an excellent open-world experience.
Its single-player campaign offers a memorable story centered around three very different protagonists, while Los Santos provides an enormous playground to explore. GTA Online adds another layer of content that has kept the game active for years.
If you have never played GTA V, I think it is still worth experiencing. And if you played it years ago, the Enhanced version offers a good reason to return, particularly on modern PC hardware.
For the legitimate PC version, Rockstar currently offers GTAV Enhanced and GTAV Legacy together through its official store.
Rating: 9/10
Pros
- Excellent open-world design
- Three memorable protagonists
- Huge amount of activities
- Great driving and shooting mechanics
- Strong single-player campaign
- Extensive GTA Online content
- Improved visuals and performance in the Enhanced version
Cons
- The single-player campaign can feel short compared with the enormous amount of GTA Online content
- Some mechanics show their age
- GTA Online’s progression can become grind-heavy
Grand Theft Auto V is still one of the easiest open-world games to recommend.
