Pretty easy to see why GTA is overall super popular.
GTA's open-world cities are not just large, but feel alive and interesting, with something happening every few minutes. Unlike games like just cause which have large but sparsely populated maps, GTA creates vibrant, dense environments, making exploration rewarding. Red dead follows the same approach with exploration and random encounters keeping things interesting.
It's been around since 1997, consistently evolving with each new title. Each installment has managed to improve on the previous one, offering more depth in terms of story, gameplay, and world-building.
The franchise blends driving, third-person shooting, and storytelling in ways that few other games match. Each release refines these elements, making them more accessible and enjoyable and Rockstar does it properly where it doesn't have jankiness.
While it doesn't have the best story ever it has compelling characters, and dark humor, which set it apart from other games. This narrative richness keeps players engaged beyond simple gameplay mechanics.
Rockstar prefers to create fictional cities based on real-world counterparts, giving them more creative freedom. For instance, Liberty City is inspired by New York but has its own unique flavor and depth, which makes it feel like a character in the story. Looks like VI might be in Florida which should be fun adding in all the cultural references over the past couple years.
Online has become a massive success, continuously evolving with new content, which keeps players invested in the game long after they've completed the single-player story. I was never big on online but got sucked in with the heists and had a group that consistently would login every week to do a few, each playing out differently each time.
The series has always managed to reflect and respond to societal trends, making its themes feel current and engaging. The mature, often satirical tones of the stories resonate with a wide audience.
Rockstar's ties with the film and music industries have helped them secure great voice acting talent, licensed music, and cinematic quality production values, which enhance the overall experience.
Clearly after all the success they have the biggest budget for this next game and they seem to be the only ones to get the whole mix right each time.
And it's absolutely fine to not like the game for whatever reason. We all like different things.
I never understood why so many love final fantasy games. I tried it, thought it was ok but not really my type of game; to me it's cheesy and I'm not overall big on the fantasy world setting in many games.