5 underutilized characters in GTA 5

The GTA 5 story definitely could've used a bit more characterization of some of their characters.

While the gameplay is great and a few story moments stand out, GTA 5 underutilizes several characters. These can range from a weak selection of antagonists to a supporting cast that barely shows up.

It's like only eating a scrap of meat on a bone - there isn't much to enjoy.

GTA 5 definitely would've benefited from having stronger writing for these characters. As it currently stands, they are narrative weakpoints for the main protagonists.

These characters should've done way more in the main game and all that's left is wasted potential.

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Five characters from GTA 5 that weren't utilized properly

#5 - Tracey De Santa

Michael De Santa has to constantly deal with his dysfunctional family. He would rather come out of criminal retirement than contend with his cheating wife, lazy son, and bratty daughter.

Throughout the course of the GTA 5 story, he had to rebuild his relationships with them.

Sadly, Tracey gets the short end of the stick in terms of development. Some GTA players are rather disappointed she is relegated to a glorified background character.

While players can hang out with Amanda and Jimmy, the same cannot be said for Tracey.

Tracey does get a few moments to shine on missions, yet they are few and far between. She should've been available for friendship activities with the GTA 5 protagonists, especially her father. Given her bubbly personality, there's no way the interactions would've been boring.

#4 - Denise Clinton

Franklin's aunt isn't a popular character by any means. She not only annoys GTA players with her new age philosophies, she also gets on Franklin's nerves. They barely get along when they live with each other. She even considers his birth a mistake on her sister's part.

However, there should've been a better ending to her storyline role. Once Franklin moves out into a mansion, she prevents him from going back to his old house (despite him being a co-owner).

Despite her questionable mindset, she turns it into a center for women's empowerment.

Like most of Franklin's supporting cast members (besides Lamar), her screentime is very limited. Denise is just there, her contributions are rather minimal as she only serves as comedic relief.

Take her out of the story, and nothing really changes about Franklin.

#3 - Stretch

One of the biggest problems with the GTA 5 story is underdeveloped antagonists. Most of them barely get any screentime, while the ones that do (Steve Haines and Devin Weston) aren't particularly interesting.

Stretch is clearly meant to be a rival character to Franklin, in a similar vein to Ryder and CJ from San Andreas. However, Stretch barely shows up in a few select missions.

Half of his appearances were off-screen phone calls.

There is no way GTA players can get emotionally invested in his story - Stretch is no better than an unnamed NPC. He has all the potential to be a good character, given his interactions with Franklin and Lamar are funny.

Had he been there since the beginning of GTA 5, he would have been more familiar.

#2 - Wei Cheng

The same creative problems with Stretch also apply to the Triad leader. Wei Cheng has more post-mission phone calls than he does physical appearances. In fact, he only shows up twice in-game - Fresh Meat and The Third Way.

He's supposed to be Trevor's main rival, yet he rarely shows up.

At the very least, there are more personal stakes with the Triad leader. He tried to get the protagonists killed multiple times, including sending Michael to a meat grinder.

However, he also lacks an interesting personality - he's seriously cruel and nothing more. He's not particularly memorable as a result.

The Los Santos Triads are a consistent presence in the area, which Trevor has to deal with. Yet, there is a lack of development for Wei Cheng as even his son gets more screentime on GTA Online.

#1 - Floyd Hebert

GTA is a cruel world for kind-hearted people, as poor Floyd Hebert finds out. His biggest crime was stealing a pencil back in elementary school. Yet, he is constantly treated like a pile of garbage by everyone around him.

This includes Floyd's cheating wife Debra, who is rather unsupportive.

After a few missions, Trevor proceeds to kill Floyd (along with Debra) off-screen. There really wasn't any point to his character whatsoever, beyond providing GTA players with a safehouse to rest in.

One avenue Rockstar could've explored was Trevor slowly corrupting Floyd until he became a degenerate counterpart. Whether or not Trevor would be forced to kill him is another story.

However, it would've been an interesting dynamic between the two, especially if Floyd adopted Trevor's mannerisms.

Note: This article reflects the writer's personal views.