GTA 5's Mark On The Gaming Industry

More recently, another franchise with an even longer history devoid of sandboxes took the open-world direction: Ghost Recon: Wildlands. Upon launch, many reviewers likened the game to GTA 5 for numerous reasons, including player freedom and the lack of a linear progression. Again, it was an odd choice. However, Ubisoft managed to pull it off. They do, after all, have quite a bit of experience with open world games.

Another mechanic that, in spite of not really getting rooted and common, turned up a few times was that of multiple protagonists. The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt used this to a lesser extent, adding certain gameplay sequences where players took control of Ciri instead of Geralt. On the one hand, this made sense from a story perspective, as Ciri became a secondary protagonist in the book series, however, the similarities cannot be denied.

That said, a game which is more likely to have been inspired by GTA 5 is Assassin's Creed Syndicate. Since Syndicate wasn't adapted from a pre-existing story, it didn't have to add multiple playable protagonists; however players could choose between siblings, Jacob and Evie Frye. This move had more in common with GTA 5's mechanic than The Witcher 3 did, so it's more likely that GTA 5 had a hand in the decision.

More recently, Mass Effect Andromeda mixed up two of the previously mentioned mechanics. Mass Effect was never an open-world title up until now. However, all of Andromeda's locations are smaller, self-contained open worlds of their own. Additionally, at the beginning of the game players select which of the Ryder siblings they will play through with. While this can be changed on the fly, only with a new playthrough, the story is affected giving players incentive to go through the game at least twice.

GTA 5 is likely responsible, at least in part, for kicking off this rampant open-world trend in AAA gaming. On the one hand, these open world games offer a greater deal of player freedom without a whole lot of restrictions as to what to do when. Instead of sticking players on a rail and ferrying them from scripted set-piece to scripted set-piece, they're let loose into a vast virtual world just begging to be explored.

On the other hand, when done wrong, open world titles come across as messy, unorganized and shallow. While having freedom to do whatever is good in theory, it's only actually fun if there are activities of substance to engage in. Littering the open world with inconsequential collectibles and copy-paste fetch quests isn't riveting game design by any stretch.

GTA 5 managed to pull off its open world fantastically, filling it to the brim with engaging content. The various side activities, strangers and freaks missions, hidden collectibles (with actual meaning and reason to hunt them) and the vast amounts of little details that make Los Santos and the state of San Andreas feel real and alive contribute to the experience in droves.

For all the influence Grand Theft Auto 5 has had on the industry, we wish more developers would be inspired by the care and attention to detail the team at Rockstar put into the world of their game. Descriptors which are mere buzzwords in any other case like "vibrant", "alive", "realistic" and "visceral" all ring true in the case of GTA 5, and it's something we'd love to see more of in open world titles.

Somehow GTA 5 even made multiple protagonists work, though it would have been easy to mess things up and end up with a dysfunctional, unfocused narrative because of it. It's likely a risk that few developers choose to take, which is probably why the trend hasn't taken off and spread.

We're sure these games aren't the extent of influence GTA 5 has had in the years since its release, nor will they be the only games ever to be inspired by this masterpiece. It's certain that Rockstar's grandest achievement so far will leave a lasting mark on the industry and go on to inspire countless other titles in the future