Grand Theft Auto V on PC review: Rockstar outdoes itself in world-building

Stunning landscapes with dizzying visual detail, and a tool that lets you record and edit in-game footage and upload it to YouTube, puts this open-world game lightyears ahead of its competitors

Rockstar Games / PC / 40 / PEGI rating: 18+

After multiple delays, Grand Theft Auto V has finally been released on PC - and it was well worth the wait. Rockstar's open-world crime epic was released for last-gen consoles in 2013, and a remastered HD version was released on PS4 and Xbox One in 2014, making this, essentially, the third version of the game. Taking advantage of modern PC hardware, it brings yet more visual improvements, as well as a suite of new features exclusive to the PC version, including the remarkable Rockstar Editor.

It's a tale of three criminals: Michael, Franklin, and Trevor. Michael is a retired bank robber living a life of luxury with his family in witness protection, but who misses the excitement of his old life. Franklin is a streetwise repo man who wants a better life for himself. Trevor is an unhinged meth dealer with a seriously broken moral compass. They're three very different characters, brought together by a shared desire to break as many laws - and make as much money - as possible.

Michael is the most interesting of the three. Grand Theft Auto games typically chart the rise of a criminal, but in Michael we see the bleak hangover of that success. He has a palatial mansion, a luxury car, and all the comforts that wealth brings, but he's also deeply unhappy, spending his days reclining by the pool, drinking whisky, and listening to Phil Collins. But a chance encounter with Franklin, whose career has only just begun, triggers an extreme midlife crisis that sees him returning to a life of crime.

The characters are colourfully written and acted, but they're frequently overshadowed by their surroundings. The game's setting is the fictional state of San Andreas, an analogue of southern California that's several times bigger than GTA IV's Liberty City. To the south lies the city of Los Santos - a satirical reimagining of Los Angeles - and to the north you'll find Blaine County, a rural expanse of desert, mountain and forest. You can traverse this vast space in a broad selection of vehicles, from muscle cars, motorcycles and eighteen-wheelers to jet skis, fighter jets, and speedboats.

It's a wonderfully varied and stunningly beautiful landscape, and the attention to detail is dizzying. Rockstar's world-building is among the best in the business, and this is their greatest work. In the poor, rundown areas of Los Santos, gangs loiter on corners and the searchlights of roving police helicopters hunt suspects through alleyways.

In Vinewood - Rockstar's version of Hollywood - expensive sports cars glint in the sun, tourists pose for pictures, and aspiring actors yap into their phones about auditions. In the countryside you'll be passed by hikers, cyclists, and dog walkers. Extras in costumes wander around movie studio lots and biker gangs roam the desert highways. The sense of place these details evoke is lightyears ahead of other open-world games. This is a product of both Rockstar's keen eye for detail and their limitless budget.

And the fact you can share it with other players makes it all the more exciting. GTA Online is a game in itself, mixing GTA's sandbox chaos with elements of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs). You can take part in elaborate, multi-mission bank heists with friends, or just crash around the open-world causing trouble. It's a thrilling online playground with a compelling level progression system and hundreds of missions, including bicycle races, death matches, destruction derbies, and skydiving competitions. There are some problems with lag, but no high-profile PC game is immune from this on launch week.

Related: Ten places every Grand Theft Auto V player should visit