10 Video Games So Good They Ruined Genres

2. Grand Theft Auto V

The Grand Theft Auto franchise has basically made a sport out of one-upping itself and redefining its genre with each new entry, especially since the series went the open-world route from GTA III onwards.

And truly, the most recent entry, GTA V, feels like Rockstar Games' most refined effort yet, striking an expert balance where the player has enormous amounts of freedom and very little of it invites tedium.

If San Andreas was a little too into its stat-management to the point of irritation, while GTA IV end up feeling a little bare, GTA V finds the sweet spot in-between.

But what really took GTA V to the next level for open-world shooters was the introduction of GTA Online and also the incredible character-switching gimmick, where players could swap between the game's three protagonists at the press of a button.

Throw in a deliciously entertaining cinematic story and arguably the greatest GTA protagonist of all time (Trevor, of course!), and you have a game that continues to smash sales milestones for damn fine reason.

Seriously, can there even be anyone left who doesn't own this game now?

And before you bring up Red Dead Redemption 2, it's fair to say that the game's lack of a character-switcher and its slower-paced, more pared-down approach to action means it doesn't quite have the definitive word on the genre.