12 Problems Nobody Wants To Admit About GTA
2. It's A Little Too Dark At Times
On the subject of Rockstar going too far, this is really just a natural consequence of keeping Grand Theft Auto what it is: shocking, controversial, adult content and then some. The team have to move the goalposts just a little bit more, take things a stage further each time.
How far is too far? That’s the key question.
Many hardened fans who have been playing since the original launched in 1997 probably thought they’d seen it all. When things got dark in the latest game in the series, however, they got really, really dark.
The infamous torture scene in the mission By the Book is deeply uncomfortable to play through, seeing Trevor in his sadistic element as he pulls teeth (a delightful stick-twiddling minigame), swings a wrench and electrocutes his way to the information he needs from Ferdinand Kerimov.
What was truly disturbing about this scene was Trevor’s reaction to what he was doing: “Torture's for the torturer...or for the guy giving orders to the torturer. You torture for the good times - we should all admit that. It's useless as a means of getting information."
This mission was entirely bereft of the series’ usual black humour. Without that to ‘dilute’ what was happening, this was a grim new darkness for the series that resulted in fresh controversy.