Why is GTA 5 so Violent? The Speed Run Ep.1

Welcome to The Speed Run, the 10 minute gaming podcast that is definitely worth listening to. Join Jay and Reilly for 10 minutes of horrible jokes, BS opinions, and everything you need to know about the gaming topic of your choice. This episode we talk about Grand Theft Auto 5 and try to answer the question: “Why is GTA 5 so violent?”

The verdict?

Grand Theft Auto 5 may have a lot of violence in it, but this game has so much more to offer. The engaging story, multiple main characters, plethora of mini-games, varied quests, and massive world to explore all give GTA 5 an incredible amount of gameplay diversity. The violence is still there and always will be, but is much less of a focus in this iteration of the series.

Violence always has context, and Grand Theft Auto 5 gives us context and perspective galore.

The violence that is in the game typically revolves around crime and criminal fame in a way that provides a satirical look at American culture. Before you get confused, I don’t mean the ha-ha kind of satire, I mean the Jonathan Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” kind of satire that provides pointed cultural criticism. The violence-worship and the #thuglife attitude currently glorified in modern Americana is a real issue and this game addresses this by really making you think about why your characters are resorting to violence.

The aggressive and atrocious acts of GTA 5 put you behind the wheel of Franklin, Michael, and Trevor’s ‘complicated’ lives. But is violence the only answer for these three men? Maybe. But you’ll just have to play the game for yourself to find out what the violence means to each character and, more importantly, what it means to you. Violence always has context, and GTA 5 gives us context and perspective galore.

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