Grand Theft Auto V, First Time in 2026: Ace's Unpopular Verdict
The community hijacked Ace and made him play one of the most popular games ever made. He gave it a fair shot, and he's ready for the comments.
AceBy Ace
Here's how this happened. We told the community that if they got five new Patreon supporters, they could hijack one of us and make us play a game. They asked, "What about 15 supporters for all three of you?" We said sure, figuring that would take a while. It took a few days. Shout out to Bobby and DaZombie for running the vote, complete with spreadsheets and hype posters.
Ace's assignment: Grand Theft Auto V. To say he was reluctant would be an understatement. Ace is our indie guy, open-world cityscapes aren't usually his thing, and he went in worried that GTA V was just driving around committing crimes with flimsy gunplay. In fairness to him, he's a man of democracy, and he played it.
What worked
I think planning the heist and doing all the parts for the heist and bringing that together into an actual big moment was really cool.
The heists were Ace's favorite part by a mile. Gathering the knockout gas, choosing the quiet approach or the loud one, and recruiting crew members you unlocked through side missions all clicked for him. In the jewel store job, the hacker he picked up from a side quest held off the alarms long enough to clean out every case. The submarine-and-military-helicopter job was a highlight too. He just wishes the game leaned into that criminal-mastermind side more.
He also calls Los Santos one of the most detailed open worlds ever built, from the NPC behavior to the radio reacting to things you've done. And Trevor is, in Ace's words, the most unpredictable character in video game history. Every time he swapped to Trevor, he had no idea where he'd be. Once it was naked in an alley next to a trash can.
Honestly, most of his fun came from just cruising around at night listening to the radio. To which Ryan replied: "Welcome to GTA, bro. That's the game."
What didn't
This is where Ryan had to be talked off a ledge.
- The characters never grow. Ace loves a strong character arc, like Edward in Black Flag or Aiden Pearce in Watch Dogs. Michael never becomes a better person, Trevor doesn't need to change because he's Trevor, and Franklin, who had the most potential, mostly rides on handouts from Michael and Lester instead of earning his rise.
- The story feels disjointed. Jumping between three characters made it hard to follow how you got from point A to point B.
- The missions are repetitive. Drive here, shoot this, chase that. Each one pulls you out of the open world into a linear segment, and some fail you instantly. Ace got out of his car a second too early once and failed on the spot.
- The gunplay is basic. Josh agrees it's just functional. Even Red Dead 2 does it better, and gunplay isn't Red Dead's strongest suit either.
- It shows its age. It's a 13-year-old game, and the animations are stiff.
The verdict
I don't think GTA V is a bad game. It's an incredibly polished game built around design that just doesn't prioritize things that resonate with me.
Ace landed on a 7.5. Is he hyped for GTA VI? "No. I'm not." (Ryan needed to breathe into a paper bag at this point.)
Josh's take is the fair middle ground: GTA V is a fantastic game, but it's no Red Dead Redemption 2, and if the open-world-sandbox fun isn't your thing, it won't win you over on story alone. We disagree with Ace, but we get it.