# Grand Theft Auto V

Hacker Approved page: https://hackerapproved.com/p/grand-theft-auto-v/

9 people recommended Grand Theft Auto V in Hacker News comments, 10 had mixed feelings and 22 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 12 months, in 9 threads. It does not meet the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** Criticized more than recommended, mainly for multiplayer often does not work, and it runs poorly on Steam Deck; those who recommend it cite its acclaimed single-player story, open world and long life.

Summary written by Claude from the comments below.

## What people warn about

- Slow start and unskippable intro (2 comments in the sample): "by that time I was already sick from the unskippable in game intro" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49706871)) "Remember how GTA5 took 10 minutes to start and nobody cared?" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46392724))
- Multiplayer broken or unavailable (1 comment in the sample): "the multiplayer doesn't work anymore. Singleplayer works though" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45793359))
- Poor performance on Steam Deck (1 comment in the sample): "it ran so terribly on the Steam Deck that I refunded it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48662251))

## Why people recommend it

- Single-player works well (3 comments in the sample): "I've played through the whole of story mode with no more than a few rare world streaming issues" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48972544)) "Single player mode works beautifully, but multiplayer is verboten." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46369899)) "GTA5 singleplayer works but multiplayer does not" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46800514))
- Acclaimed and beloved classic (2 comments in the sample): "GTA V and Cyberpunk are some of the most critically aclaimed and beloved games ever made" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49643470)) "one of the most successful games in history, bringing joy to many people" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46503033))
- Strong graphics and physics (2 comments in the sample): "a passable story combined with top notch graphic and physic" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50268613)) "Look at the sheer quality of some of these" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47559050))
- Long-lasting, lots to do (2 comments in the sample): "Love the characters and the open world. So much to do." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48293257)) "GTA 5 lasted so long, it's a good buy" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48661752))

## Other open world games people recommend

- [Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas](https://hackerapproved.com/p/grand-theft-auto-san-andreas/): 7 recommend, 3 mixed, 5 criticize
- [Hedra](https://hackerapproved.com/p/hedra/): 7 recommend, 0 mixed, 0 criticize
- [Grand Theft Auto III](https://hackerapproved.com/p/grand-theft-auto-iii/): 6 recommend, 0 mixed, 5 criticize

## The badge

A product earns the Hacker Approved badge when at least 10 people recommend it, recommenders outnumber critics at least 2 to 1 (mixed feelings count toward neither side), it was recommended in at least 4 of the 12 months and in at least 5 different threads, and no single thread supplies more than half of the people who recommend it. Health and money products are never badged.

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Grand Theft Auto V", https://hackerapproved.com/p/grand-theft-auto-v/ (9 recommend, 10 mixed, 22 criticize; Hacker News comments, November 2025 to October 2026).

Counts updated 2 Nov 2026, with data through October 31, 2026.