By the time Grand Theft Auto 4 launched in 2008, Rockstar had carved itself an unassailable niche and a reputation for innovation. And yet for all that praise, it was pretty easy to guess what a new GTA game would be like. The formula changed little from the time the series went 3D. Some vaguely sympathetic character would encounter hardship and then embrace a life of crime as a little treat. That life might look different from game to game, but the general idea remained the same. GTA 4 defied that pattern, and it’s one of the reasons it’s still an excellent game.
GTA 4 follows Niko Bellic, a former soldier traveling to America both for a better life and to find the man who betrayed his unit in the past. One of GTA 4‘s biggest surprises at the time was how small Rockstar made this version of Liberty City, a barely disguised post-September 11 New York City. (One of the plot reasons why you can’t explore further is that the bridges are up following terrorist threats.) Where the settings of previous mainline games kept getting bigger, Liberty City was comparatively small. And yet it felt more alive than Vice City and Los Santos. It’s dank and dark, a pretty miserable place really, and yet captivating and unique. That’s by design, and not just the level of verticality and sense of scale Rockstar managed to squeeze into the geographically small(ish) space. Rockstar co-founder Dan Houser said at the time he wanted no dead space in Liberty City. Everywhere had to feel important.
But it’s also an example of Rockstar treating a GTA setting with more thought and care. Liberty City seems alive, yes, but it’s living the kind of life that mirrors its protagonist. Nico, like countless others in real life, came here expecting a better and brighter future. What he got was embroiled in the city’s criminal underworld. No matter his good intentions — no matter what he should’ve received after a life of service — he just ends up dragged through the mud and forced to set his own wants and ethics aside to get by.
It’s one of Rockstar’s most mature attempts at satirizing the American Dream (at least in GTA) and it’s a marked step up from how previous games treated its characters. Sure, you feel sorry for C.J. in San Andreas after what happened to his mom. And Tommy’s friends did him dirty in GTA Vice City. But there’s not much more emotional depth here or in most other GTA games. It’s hard to see these characters’ trajectories and feel sympathetic, when the outcomes (becoming a crime lord, invariably) are so exaggerated compared to the event that pushed them down this path.
Nico’s story has no happy ending. Sure, he comes out on top and his place in Liberty City’s underworld is secured. This isn’t the life he wanted, though, and no amount of glitz and glamor can make up for what he’s lost. That’s not the ending you expect from a modern GTA. With GTA 6, it looks like Rockstar is leaning heavily into the lovable rogue setup. There’s not a lot of room for introspection in that kind of story, but I hope Jason and Lucia at least have to grapple with the consequences of their actions like Niko does.