Grand Theft Auto V

Grand Theft Auto V arrived on PlayStation 5 in 2022 in an enhanced and improved edition offering higher resolution, 60 frames-per-second support, and faster loading thanks to the SSD. The game remains a vast open world set in the fictional Los Santos and its surroundings, where the player alternately takes control of three characters — Michael, Franklin, and Trevor — moving through an interwoven story of heists, betrayal, and life on the fringes of the law. The core of the gameplay is cover-based shooting, car chases, and planning big heists that unfold in several phases from preparation to execution, with the player switching between the three heroes on the fly and tackling situations from different points of view.

The PS5 version adds a range of graphical improvements — denser traffic, better lighting and shadows, and support for 3D audio through headphones, which heightens the atmosphere of a city full of neon, traffic, and radio stations with their own selection of music ranging from electronic to hip-hop to country. The DualSense controller uses adaptive triggers and haptic feedback when shooting or driving various vehicles, giving the action a tactile dimension on the new generation of consoles. The online multiplayer mode GTA Online is also present, running more smoothly on the new-generation consoles, with shorter wait times and a steady stream of new content. Technically, it's one of the best-optimized versions of the game, even though the core gameplay remains unchanged since 2013.

Grand Theft Auto V was critically praised on its original release for the scope of its world, its dark humor, and the sophistication of its three parallel storylines, and this acclaim carried over with the arrival on PS5. The game influenced the direction of the entire open-world action genre and is still often cited as an example of what a living virtual world with a believable daily rhythm, traffic, and inhabitant behavior should look like. Even more than a decade after its PS3 debut, GTA V remains, thanks to updates, an active online community, and its media reach as a satire of American society, one of the most-played titles on PlayStation 5.

Why play it: Even more than a decade after its debut, Grand Theft Auto V is worth playing for the scope of its world, its dark humor, and its lively online community, which make it one of the most-played titles on PS5.