Why is GTA V held up as one of the pinnacles of the open-world game?

[Firmament1]

This is a praise of the game that I seriously don't understand. Yes, it certainly looks nice, but that's really about all I can say about it.

Random encounters aren't particularly interesting, unlike, say, an Arkham game.
There aren't many interesting ways to traverse the city, like in inFAMOUS.
There aren't plenty of interesting sidequests with tons of cool storylines like The Witcher 3.
It's not as dense with neat content as a Yakuza game.
It doesn't feel as alive as Sleeping Dogs.
The mechanics aren't there to support more varied forms of fucking about in the open world, like Prototype.

And it's not like the shooting or driving in the game is so polished, that I can forgive everything else about it; Hell, Rockstar made a better 3rd-person shooter one year before GTA V was released; Max Payne 3.

So, to reiterate, I don't understand why GTA V's open world is so highly praised, when there are games that came before it out there that, in my opinion, were doing open-worlds better, so I can't even understand it as a case of "Seinfeld is Unfunny".

 

[Einchy]

It's one of the only cities in a video game where it feels like a real city and not just a video game city.

 

[Deleted member 7051]

It's fun. I think that's ultimately what it boils down to. I know a lot of people who can happily screw around for hours in that game doing whatever they feel like doing and they never get bored of it. Most other open world games exist only to do stuff the map points you to, but in GTA5 you really kinda make your own fun.

 

[Fat4all]

it's a jack of all trades open world

switching between characters is neat

 

[HustleBun]

Because it's a jack of all trades even though it's a master of none.
It's massive open world sandbox with lots of stuff to do, extremely easy to use mechanics and fun traversal.

...but I agree that it's insanely overrated.

In my opinion, it's a fun game but it's not the best open world game, it's not the best Rockstar game and it's not even the best GTA game.

Though I say that because I'm mostly annoyed that it had such an under baked, nothing story without any remotely interesting character arcs. Even GTA IV, for all of it's flaws, had some really interesting characters. I realize I'm alone in this opinion. Most people don't play GTA for the characters or the story.

 

[KoopaTheCasual]

It's big.

 

[Deleted member 51539]

Absolutely agreed on games doing open world better, but none of them had the scale of GTA V. I remember playing that around launch being baffled that the PS3 could run that.

 

[Hilarious_Bearious]

Yeah I think it's just fun, and looks convincing as a city so long as you don't look too closely. I don't think I've ever seen somebody praise GTAV as some kind of amazing template for how open world games should be. It's just technically adequate I'd say.

 

[Gentlemen]

Rockstar puts in a lot of work into interactions. Your character, your car, random objects etc. all interact with the npcs in the world better than most every other sandbox game. People still play modded gtaiv for this reason.

 

[nsilvias]

the world is the game. in other open world games the world is just there to move the game along. you can play a gta game without ever touching the story and still be entertained

 

[SirMossyBloke]

It's one of the new cities in a video game where it feels like a real city and not just a video game city.

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Basically. Nothing comes close to its feel of being fairly natural.

 

[Jazar]

No other game has the amount of size/scope/variety combined with the amount of detail.

 

[HustleBun]

it's a jack of all trades open world

switching between characters is neat

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Because it's a jack of all trades even though it's a master of none.
In my opinion, it's a fun game but it's not the best open world game, it's not the best Rockstar game and it's not even the best GTA game.

Though I say that because I'm mostly annoyed that it had such an under baked, nothing story without any remotely interesting character arcs. Even GTA IV, for all of it's flaws, had some really interesting characters. I realize I'm alone in this opinion. Most people don't play GTA for the characters or the story.

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We posted that at the same exact time. High five.

 

[Lowrys]

No idea, the production values are insane but the world is as shallow as it is wide. There's almost nothing to do in single player, it's all like a movie set where the buildings are just the front.

I appreciate I'm an outlier on this.

 

[Betty]

It's the benchmark for a living/breathing open world along with RDR2. Everything else is so far below the bar Rockstar set.

Every other open world feels like window dressing, but walking around Los Santos it looks and feels alive.

 

[Era Uma Vez]

Red Dead Redemption 2 completely blows it out of the water.
But it's from the same team, so they learn as they go along.
I'm sure GTA VI, when it does come out, will also make RDR2's world seem dull.

 

[Abi]

It has some of the best mission design in open world games.

 

[Playboi Carti]

Only RDR2 tops it, so basically only R* can outclass R*

 

[Dead Man Typing]

Impressive scope for a game that runs on a PS3/360.

 

[Fat4all]

Red Dead Redemption 2 completely blows it out of the water.
But it's from the same team, so they learn as they go along.
I'm sure GTA VI, when it does come out, will also make RDR2's world seem dull.

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i'm waiting for gta7, that's gonna have sephiroth in it

 

[Jawbreaker]

Unmatched world building in an open world sandbox title where the city is a character in itself.

 

[OutofMana]

They were able to make that game run on a PS3 and 360. With all of its systems that made that world feel alive. Red Dead Redemption 2 is the evolution of that and despite my issues with it, no open world game has topped that open world yet.

 

[Deleted member 10629]

it's not the best Rockstar game

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You're right, Max Payne 3 is the best R* game.

I think it was very well done for 2013, and the three characters give it a lot of variety

 

[CloseTalker]

None of the games you mentioned do emergent gameplay as well as GTA does. It's easily one of the most fun games to just fuck around in the open world of all time. And that's the big reason it's stood the test of time, because of an online mode that built itself on emergent fuckery.

There's a reason why to this day r/gaming is still littered with GTAV gifs and videos. It's got flexible systems, a variety of biomes/vehicles/weapons/gameplay types. The OP is a bit ignorant of what the game clearly does well. Doesn't have interesting ways to traverse like Infamous? Lol what does that even mean, Infamous is game where you fly and shoot lasers from your hands, why would you even compare the two in that sense

 

[-Tetsuo-]

When you break down any game, especially an open world game, to all of its individual pieces and pair them off against other games at their best then it is pretty easy to make a breakdown like you did in the OP. Open world games, more than most, are greater than the sum of their parts. So while all that stuff may be better in other individual games, GTAV generally was not that far behind them and it managed to do this with an insane amount of detail and interactivity. Put on top of that production values that other games 1/4th its size or complexity can not match, and you get why people like it.

 

[Stooge]

The GTA games for better or worse are the absolute kings of sandbox "everything is fun" design. Other open world games have very specific gameplay systems that they place on top of an open-world design. In GTA the open world IS the design, and its insanely detailed and big and lets you hit lots of different sorts of areas all in one game and where you are actually changed gameplay.

Like, I love the AC games, but the worlds in them are largely decoration and where you are is largely irrelevant, the only thing that matters there is combat and assassinations. The going between places is so boring you can literally press a "do it for me" button.

 

[Deleted member 21709]

RDR2 should be held as the new standard. The world feels so alive, and other than connection issues (I'm talking about the online game) it doesn't ever glitch out for me or breaks that immersion.

 

[Linus815]

because it is an incredibly good game and still the best when it comes to open world set in modern times

in terms of depth, rdr 2 has it beat, but its a totally different setting, so its not appealing to as many people as gta

 

[Nexus2049]

I don't think it's the best open world, but it is the most realistic depiction of a city. I remember playing on launch on PS3 and being amazed how real it all looked and sounded.

 

[Lobster Roll]

Red Dead Redemption 2 completely blows it out of the water.
But it's from the same team, so they learn as they go along.
I'm sure GTA VI, when it does come out, will also make RDR2's world seem dull.

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To be fair, GTA V is an Xbox 360 / PS3 game, and for that time, was an absolute wonder as far as a large, sprawling open world goes. It's funny to think that it's traffic and NPC behavior is still miles ahead of You-Know-Which recently released open world game.

 

[ZeroX]

The world design is massively ahead of any game you mentioned.

 

[Aldo]

It was genuinely jaw-dropping when it came out on PS3/X360, especially for things that have never been matched since, like police AI.

 

[Dyle]

It was pretty excellent for 2013. Open world games have grown a lot since then but it's still a pretty strong jack of all trades

 

[nachum00]

All open world video games feel static except for Bethesda games and RDR2.

 

[Frunkalicious]

The mechanics aren't there to support more varied forms of fucking about in the open world, like Just Cause

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FTFY

 

[The Benz]

Any open-world game that utilizes euphoria is the pinnacle of its respective genre by default.

 

[N.47H.4N]

The world feels alive and independent of your existence
NPCs interact between them and react to your presence
How the aren't interesting ways to traverse? on foot, vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles, boats, airplanes, helicopters , there is many ways to traverse and I am probably forgetting others.What does InFamous have? superpowers
GTA focus is not sidequests and you are comparing only to a RPG with some of the best sidequests ever
Yakuza is dense because its small
I don't agree

GTA has the most impressive open worlds, iconic characters, feels more organic and alive than others, insane attention to details , only beaten by Rockstar last game, and its just so accessible and fun to play.

 

[HustleBun]

You're right, Max Payne 3 is the best R* game.

I think it was very well done for 2013, and the three characters give it a lot of variety

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I would take that, gladly.

Again, because I'm biased towards story, I would say:

GTA Vice City
GTA San Andreas
GTA IV
GTA IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony
Red Dead Redemption
Max Payne 3
Red Dead Redemption II
and probably Bully (haven't played it yet)

are better games with better stories. I enjoyed my time with GTA V- the world was fun, the heists were exciting and it played great... but the characters sucked and the story was incredibly uninteresting. Franklin is likable but he doesn't get the attention or writing that he deserved. Trevor is fun but sometimes too vile to enjoy- he's almost written into situations that might flesh out his character but the game makes sure to avoid that. Michael is a boring Tony Soprano-light. Again, they tease at a dramatic turn during that mission with his family but then it's basically dropped and completely underutilized.

No lessons will be learned either. GTA V is one of the best selling games of all time and earned widespread critical acclaim. Even the reviews that warned the story was especially weak, still gave the game 9/10 scores.

I hope that the next GTA has a more interesting plot or characters but we'll see.

The world feels alive and independent of your existence
NPCs interact between them and react to your presence
How the aren't interesting ways to traverse? on foot, vehicles, motorcycles, bicycles, boats, airplanes, helicopters , there is many ways to traverse and I am probably forgetting others.What does InFamous have? superpowers
GTA focus is not sidequests and you are comparing only to a RPG with some of the best sidequests ever
Yakuza is dense because its small
I don't agree

GTA has the most impressive open worlds, iconic characters, feels more organic and alive than others, only beaten by Rockstar last game, and its just so accessible and fun to play.

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I agree. These are the reasons why GTA V was still fun to play.

...except iconic characters obviously.

 

[dancingphlower]

I've always held Rockstar open world games in pretty low regard, and GTA V is no exception. Poor character movement, poor gunplay, mediocre driving, and truly awful characters. Multiplayer was fun I guess but because it was with my friends.

 

[hydruxo]

GTA V is a great game but I never really felt that the open world was particularly interesting to explore. I don't think it's one of the pinnacles of open world games. RDR 2 absolutely is though with all the exploration, NPC interactions, hunting, and random events that you can come across.

 

[TheBaldwin]

The GTA games for better or worse are the absolute kings of sandbox "everything is fun" design. Other open world games have very specific gameplay systems that they place on top of an open-world design. In GTA the open world IS the design, and its insanely detailed and big and lets you hit lots of different sorts of areas all in one game and where you are actually changed gameplay.

Like, I love the AC games, but the worlds in them are largely decoration and where you are is largely irrelevant, the only thing that matters there is combat and assassinations. The going between places is so boring you can literally press a "do it for me" button.

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Yeah This is it for me. Many open worlds exist simply as a backdrop setting to the main quest or as just visuals in between whatever the next 'activity is'. Yakuza for example looks great but you can't exactly interact with the NPC'S or world in a non scripted way, plus it's very small and can get tiresome very fast

In GTA there a so many hidden areas and the layouts of the city actually feel like a city rather then an area that's designed to be a video game. A lot of other games also don't want you to mess around with there world, like you can't go around killing or stealing from random npc's without big consequences and immediate attacks from towns folks. In GTA it's basically encouraged and you die and the whole game basically resets without any story or quest consequences.

even things such as the fire department and ambulances coming out just add so much to the dynamics of thegame.

 

[Kinthey]

When it comes integrating scripted events into their world Rockstar I think Rockstar does it better than anyone. Like the boat chase sequence in GTA V



Just nothing breaks the flow of the actual world. Nothing feels like it's magically placed into the players path, it's all just there, super organically. At times it's even hard to tell if some annoying truck during a chase mission was scripted to appear there or if it just happened randomly.

 

[Era Uma Vez]

i'm waiting for gta7, that's gonna have sephiroth in it

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It's already in the works:

To be fair, GTA V is an Xbox 360 / PS3 game, and for that time, was an absolute wonder as far as a large, sprawling open world goes. It's funny to think that it's traffic and NPC behavior is still miles ahead of You-Know-Which recently released open world game.

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Oh, yes, GTA V, for it's time, was out of this world. But the way OP framed the thread, it made it seem like GTA V is still the game "to beat", when it's not, especially after 7 years.
It is a miracle that it runs as well as it does on PS3/360, just as it's a miracle how well RDR2 looks and runs on OG PS4/XBox One.

And yes, with you-know-who's fall from grace, Rockstar is still the company that sets the standard on open-world games.

 

[DeliciousSunnyD!]

Because of its art, really.

But IV is better.

And yeah, I agree with everyone saying the world/world-building and the sense of it being a real place and getting immersed in it. Noone can beat Rockstar when it comes to open worlds like this, noone.

There's plenty of imitators, but they are all just that, imitations.

 

[Sylvestre]

It doesn't feel as alive as Sleeping Dogs.

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please exlain this
what do you mean by "feeling alive" ?

 

[nachum00]

I wish they would make Bully 2 instead of GTA6.

 

[skeezx]

GTA has never been my forte, you could drop a hype ass GTA6 trailer on me right now and i'm not sure i'd give two shits. but i don't think i've played an open world game as intricately designed as GTAV this day

i guess what is argumentative is when you get into open world dynamics, exploration, if it's particularly "fun"

 

[GamingHobbyist]

As someone playing and enjoying Cyberpunk 2077 right now, the traffic AI and general NPC interaction in comparison to GTA makes it feel Xbox360/Ps3 gen in that regard.

I am not a fan of the story of GTAV but it does provide the semblance of a world happening around you instead of a theme park. Red Dead 2 really harkened to WestWorld when just goofing off.

GTA is one of those franchises that doesn't resonate with me but absolutely recognize is deserving of its technical praise. Just wished it was more thoughtful in it's satire and more progressive.

 

[Jaaake]

I don't think it's 'held up' much by people these days, but remember it came out on Xbox 360 and still compares to modern open world titles

 

[HustleBun]

I've always held Rockstar open world games in pretty low regard, and GTA V is no exception. Poor character movement, poor gunplay, mediocre driving, and truly awful characters. Multiplayer was fun I guess but because it was with my friends.

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Really? Though I agree that GTA V is overrated, I do agree with popular opinion that the gunplay and driving were both really strong. I hated the boat-like "realistic" driving physics of GTA IV and was so relieved when GTA V went back to smoother, arcade-style physics.

But you're spot-on about the characters.

I'll always take Yakuza, Horizon, Zelda, Infamous, Spider-man, even mid-tier games like Far Cry and Assasin's Creed over GTA V when it comes to open-world because those characters are actually interesting.