The Big Secret You Missed In GTA 5

GTA V marked a major departure for the series in a number of ways - most notably in introducing the ability to switch between three protagonists at will, and also its noted shift away from the more realistic tone of GTA IV.

If you've ever gone back to play GTA IV after V, the differences are quite shocking: the fourth game feels far more tactile and recognisably "realistic" in basically ever fiber of its being.

From the physics of the cars to the animations of the NPCs - who react more believably to your actions - to the way characters swim even, it all had a palpable weight to it, while GTA V scales this back somewhat.

This is likely due to the fact that GTA V takes a couple of big, surreal swings which amp up the cartoonishness far beyond anything that was featured in GTA IV - even that Statue of Happiness Easter egg.

GTA V, among many other things, has Trevor wake up in his underpants on a train track, leaves a ghost at the top of Mount Gordo, and perhaps best of all has Michael take an epic drug trip after his son Jimmy poisons his soda.

Here, Michael imagines he's hanging out with chimps, gets abducted and experimented on by aliens, and goes for a flight over Los Santos in his underwear.

This delirious insanity is a major tonal ramping-up compared to GTA IV and indeed all previous games in the series, and so perfectly prepares players to accept the fact they're able to hop into the body of animal...