GTA Online is a chaotic fever dream in 2022

In Grand Theft Auto Online, Rockstar has built an elaborate theme park around the fantasy of being a criminal with unlimited wealth. Players can commit daring heists in heavily guarded casinos and on private islands rich in cocaine and gold; they can buy expensive sports cars and race them on Hot Wheels-style tracks; they can also hang out with Dr. Dre. It’s a picture of mercenary, rich and stable that feels downright surreal in 2022.

At a purely technical level, GTA Online still looks great, and with tools like the Oppressor flying motorcycle and the nuclear-powered Koastka submarine, Rockstar can keep players focused on new content over old content. There is only one notable exception: feel of the world itself. Every Grand Theft Auto game is full of references, commentary, and jokes relevant to the era in which the campaign is set. But while car theft 5The single-player story is still comfortably incorporated into the 2010s. GTA Online clumsily move forward.

Some of this isn’t Rockstar’s fault, because 2022 is a hell that none of us could really have predicted. But the other parts are great number of Rockstar’s fault, like the city’s own ambient atmosphere.

Image: Rockstar Games

The running joke about the proposed legalization of medical cocaine is still very good, even though it’s not particularly funny after seeing it for nearly a decade. Others, like much of the civilian barking and idle lines, were awkward and uncomfortable to launch and persisted stubbornly into the game. The women on the street make jokes on the couches and talk animatedly about all the hashtag selfies they love to take. Fat hikers brag about how they love to lie to their doctors about what they eat and talk about the next culinary adventure they’re planning. One prominent delivery brand is ‘Post-Op’ with taglines like ‘It’s not just mail anymore.’ The brand name of a silly set of scooters? Faggio. Do you understand. You have get it?

Playing GTA Online It feels like the disgusting experience of sitting at the same table with a sharp guy who wants to tell you all his terrible jokes, accompanied by the reassurance that he’s not obstinate – he hate everyone equally.

While, GTA Online The main story missions seem to aim to get the player interested in the characters and stakes of the world. Lester, a minor character in the main game, is featured in GTA Online. He helps the player’s character establish their crime empire, provides a lot of useful gadgets (like clearing wanted levels, for one) and then is the main logistics behind the heist Diamond Casino. He’s actually one of the few clearly disabled characters in the Grand Theft Auto canon, using both a cane and a wheelchair as mobility devices and it’s actually pretty cool to hang out with him and see a side of him. his side that the campaign never showed. The player even plays the matchmaker between him and investor Georgina Cheng.

Image: Rockstar Games

Our main character in GTA Online silent; most of the world’s modern storytelling and textures come from hanging out with characters like Lester, Georgina, and Dr. Dre. This lengthened the immersion, as our protagonist just observed and gestured at all the over-the-top, cartoonish personalities they encountered. Other characters even comment on it, talking about how quiet and creepy we are. Players can read it as their character is captivated by ludicrous antics, or play as a quiet and professional mercenary. But when you break out of a cutscene and into the proper world, filled with cruel jokes and immature punches, it’s hard to come up with something bad about the world. , let alone save it from the apocalypse, financial collapse, or Elon Musk-style supervillains.

At this time, GTA Online It feels like falling into some strange alternate history loop, where some of the world-changing historical events of the past decade or so actually happen. Instead, it’s set to be a big forever land where the little ones can still become heroes by being outlaws in a corrupt and broken system. . It’s a pity that the world itself is so concerned with boxing, for the atmosphere of petty, wacky jokes makes any gravity or weight GTA Online can gather mostly unimportant.