Players can direct characters to smoke marijuana and drink alcohol. Effects of pot include the character commenting on how weed doesn't faze him, even though his vision becomes brighter and objects become haloed with light. In one instance, the player's character hallucinates alien monsters. Imbibing alcohol results in a wonky camera meant to simulate dizziness and loss of balance. Players can drive while drunk.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Grand Theft Auto V is an adult action game for Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Windows platforms. It brims with gang violence, nudity, extremely coarse language, and drug and alcohol abuse. Playing as hardened criminals, players kill not only fellow gangsters but also police officers and innocent civilians using both weapons and vehicles while conducting premeditated crimes, including a particularly disturbing scene involving torture. Women are frequently depicted as sexual objects, with a strip club mini-game allowing players to fondle dancers' bodies, which are nude from the waist up. Players also have the opportunity to make characters use marijuana and drink alcohol, both of which impact their perception of the world. All of the main characters are criminals who think of themselves first and others rarely at all. Online modes allow players to create their own avatar and embark on a criminal career that includes armed robberies, corruption, and murder. There's some diversity within the cast, including people of varying skin colors, backgrounds, and sexual orientation, but virtually no characters here could be considered appropriate role models. Few games are more clearly targeted to an adult audience.
Positive Messages
none
Missions glamorize and sensationalize criminal life and illegal activities including thievery, murder, and drug use. The game's aim is to entertain players by allowing them to role-play as criminals carrying out acts that are frequently extremely violent, including torture.
Positive Role Models
none
No playable or secondary characters serve as decent role models. All are actively involved in or otherwise connected to the criminal world. Most of their decisions -- to shoot police officers, take advantage of women, kill fellow hoods, and even torture -- are driven by greed, self-interest, and a lack of respect for other people and their rights as humans.
Diverse Representations
very little
Among three playable anti-heroes, one is a Black man. He falls into a stereotype as an ex-gangster, though the White protagonists also have criminal backgrounds. Gender balance skews heavily male; women are largely treated as sex objects and disposable. Characters also strongly skew White, despite fictional setting of Los Santos being based on Los Angeles, where White residents are the minority. But non-White and non-Black characters of color do arrive through appearances by a Mexican cartel and a Chinese gang. Homosexual characters (and references to them) pop up now and then, though they're rarely cast in favorable light -- such as a pair of brothers having sex in a van.
Violence & Scariness
a lot
In the role of criminal characters, players employ an extensive array of realistic weapons ranging from pistols and shotguns to machine guns and grenades, killing hundreds of people including gangsters, police, and innocent bystanders. Cars can be used as weapons too, both purposefully and accidentally, as players race through crowded streets slamming into anyone who gets in the way. Blood often sprays from injured and dying characters, staining clothing and environment. One scene involves the player's character graphically torturing another, using methods including waterboarding and pliers. Screams and moans of pain are frequent.
Sex, Romance & Nudity
a lot
An optional strip club mini-game shows women naked, save skimpy panties. They push their breasts toward the camera, and players can direct their avatars' hands to touch the strippers' bodies when bouncers aren't looking. Sex workers attempt to sell themselves on the street. Many female characters are clad in revealing clothing. Men and women are shown having sex, though they aren't naked. Some scenes imply masturbation, fellatio, even necrophilia, including pleasured moaning sounds. Men's genitals are shown, though in nonsexual context.
Language
a lot
Frequent coarse language includes very strong words, including hundreds of instances of "f--k" and the "N" word. Other words, including "s--t," "c--t," and "c--k," appear frequently as well.
Products & Purchases
a little
Players can spend real-world money on in-game money, letting them buy things within the game without earning money by completing tasks and missions. This is the latest and most updated title of a game originally released in 2013, which is also the latest chapter of a long-running franchise.
Drinking, Drugs & Smoking
a lot
Players can direct characters to smoke marijuana and drink alcohol. Effects of pot include the character commenting on how weed doesn't faze him, even though his vision becomes brighter and objects become haloed with light. In one instance, the player's character hallucinates alien monsters. Imbibing alcohol results in a wonky camera meant to simulate dizziness and loss of balance. Players can drive while drunk.
Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Grand Theft Auto V is an adult action game for Xbox 360, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Windows platforms. It brims with gang violence, nudity, extremely coarse language, and drug and alcohol abuse. Playing as hardened criminals, players kill not only fellow gangsters but also police officers and innocent civilians using both weapons and vehicles while conducting premeditated crimes, including a particularly disturbing scene involving torture. Women are frequently depicted as sexual objects, with a strip club mini-game allowing players to fondle dancers' bodies, which are nude from the waist up. Players also have the opportunity to make characters use marijuana and drink alcohol, both of which impact their perception of the world. All of the main characters are criminals who think of themselves first and others rarely at all. Online modes allow players to create their own avatar and embark on a criminal career that includes armed robberies, corruption, and murder. There's some diversity within the cast, including people of varying skin colors, backgrounds, and sexual orientation, but virtually no characters here could be considered appropriate role models. Few games are more clearly targeted to an adult audience.
