GTA 5 vs Cyberpunk 2077: 3 major differences between the games based on their maps

2020 has so far been one of the biggest years for gaming, with some of the biggest and most anticipated titles of the last few years finally released. However, with no news of a GTA sequel in sight, 2020 remained a somewhat quiet year for Rockstar Games, with only the news of a next-gen release for GTA 5 making the headlines.

CD Projekt Red, on the other hand, has been firing on all cylinders to get Cyberpunk 2077 out to the public. The game has now been confirmed to have "gone gold", which means it will finally be out to the public.

Due to the fact that the GTA games and Cyberpunk 2077 are both open-world titles, comparisons were inevitable. While the comparisons seem unfair as the two games are vastly different from one another, the map is a key area to draw comparisons as it is perhaps the only common ground between GTA 5 and Cyberpunk 2077.

GTA 5 vs Cyberpunk 2077: 3 differences in their maps

1) Size of the maps

(Image Credits: altchar)

Rockstar Games have prided themselves when it comes to the amount of detail packed into the maps of the GTA games. It is truly an astounding feat of game development as the company has been able to push the boundaries of detail in the GTA maps.

The purpose of the map in GTA is to provide, first and foremost, a playground for the player to explore. It introduces the player to a sprawling and immersive game world that adds to the narrative themes of satire with its detail. The maps are, therefore, understandably large - much larger than that of Cyberpunk 2077.

Cyberpunk 2077 is not all that bothered with size as much as it is with detail. The objective of CDPR was to create a dense map, packed with more information and detail, which, in turn, makes the game feel bigger with more things to do.

Ultimately, size matters very little as the amount of things the player can do in the Cyberpunk 2077 will eventually dwarf everything the player can do in GTA 5.

2) The genres of the games

While the open-world structure opens up the room for comparison, the fact that both the games are in completely different genres should put an end to any comparisons.

GTA, for the large part, has been an action/adventure open-world game that occasionally borrows elements from RPG games. It is not an RPG title and has never had hopes of becoming one. GTA excels at creating cinematic narratives and letting the map feel like a living-breathing film set.

Meanwhile, Cyberpunk 2077 is, first and foremost, an RPG game, therefore making it more comparable to games like Skyrim, The Witcher or even Fallout.

The world of Cyberpunk 2077 isn't a film set as much as it is a virtual playground for the player to interact with on a much deeper level. Every street corner in Cyberpunk 2077 represents opportunity, not just thematically or for the narrative but in terms of gameplay as well.

3) Tone

Los Santos from GTA 5 and GTA San Andreas will go down in history as one of the most accurate representations of real life in video games. The streets are inspired by real-life locations, and the satire simply jumps through the screen.

The world of GTA 5 and its map are grounded in reality in an attempt to poke fun at modern-day society and media. Its tone is reflected in the construction of the map as every detail adds to the humour and commentary of the game.

Cyberpunk 2077 takes the concept of a dystopian future and cranks up the volume to a 100. It isn't bothered by a pretence of reality and would much rather take creative freedom with many of its elements. That's not to say that the game isn't grounded in reality but it certainly makes a lot of deviations.

Cyberpunk 2077 isn't a representation of the current state of affairs but one that might be likely in the future. Therefore, Cyberpunk 2077 is a dystopian vision of the future while GTA is a satirical take on modern society.