Once Grand Theft Auto started resembling the dark underbelly of society more realistically, it quickly skyrocketed in notoriety. At the moment, it's one of the most divisive games out there for both critics and parents — especially those that are unaware of the ESRB or PEGI rating's purpose. Suffice to say, it's not a game for kids.
If that wasn't obvious enough, then the prostitution, the organized crime, and the violence committed with impunity should be indications. But to drive the point even harder, some GTA games had to go above and beyond with nasty scenes and traumatizing moments. Each new GTA games one-ups its predecessor when it comes to these disturbing stuff; these in-game moments are the biggest proof.
10 Marty Chonks' Dog Food Factory (GTA 3)
GTA is a franchise so dark and malicious that it considers cannibalism a running joke. That's how messed up the rest of its game world is. In GTA 3, players are given "The Crook" mission which is the first of four that sees Toni dealing with dog food business owner Marty Chonks.
It turns out Marty Chonks loves to cut costs and also cut his enemies down to size. So he combines both, and chops up human victims then turns them into dog food. He basically moonlights as a serial killer by night, dog food factory owner by day. It's this kind of twisted story and joke that GTA games just keep reiterating.
9 Butchering Giovanni Casa & Serving His Meat (GTA Liberty City Stories)
layers might want to be careful with New York — er, Liberty City — and its deli shops, since uninformed cannibalism is quite rampant. GTA Liberty City Stories follows up on that running joke in the mission "Dead Meat." The player, as Toni, is tasked to brutally slay Giovanni Casa, a deli shop owner.
That isn't enough for Toni's benefactor, as they also insist on his butchering Giovanni Casa and turning him into a sausage. Afterward, Toni delivers the Giovanni-flavored sausage to Giovanni's own deli shop; so his customers can get a taste of the butcher's own legacy of limited premium gabagool.
8 Zhou Ming Cuts Out A Man's Heart (GTA Chinatown Wars)
Even GTA Chinatown Wars isn't devoid of gross underworld crime overkill, as one mission in that game likely drove a lot of players away. That would be "Flatliner," where players are given a job to steal an ambulance with a bedridden patient inside. The only problem is, the patient's a criminal and is guarded by the police.
It's no biggie for a GTA protagonist, honestly. Once players deliver the package, Zhou Ming, the job benefactor, will have a "heart-to-heart" with the patient. Turns out they're old friends and Zhou Ming wants what he's owed, so he himself cuts out the poor man's heart and holds it with his hand like it was a trophy. The whole thing isn't animated, thankfully — just sounds and mild photos — but imagination can be quite the betrayer.
7 CJ Buries A Foreman Alive In Concrete (GTA San Andreas)
CJ is one of the kinder protagonists in GTA, and that makes some of the more ruthless missions questionable deeds for him. In particular, there is one mission called "Deconstruction" where CJ has to shake down a construction site. Only, the stubborn foreman hid inside a portable toilet.
Again, not a problem for a GTA protagonist — but the game got a little too malevolent and decided that knocking down the portable toilet wasn't enough. Instead, the player must bury the foreman in cement while he's still breathing inside the portable toilet. Out of all of CJ's victims and collateral damage, this man was likely the most unfortunate thanks to a slow, suffocating, and smelly death.
6 The Green Sabre Cutscene (GTA San Andreas)
One of the biggest twists in GTA San Andreas was when CJ finally discovered the traitors among the Grove Street Families in "The Green Sabre" mission. Turns out, the revelation was bigger than he thought, both figuratively and literally, as the Judas in the midsts was none other than Big Smoke. Ryder was also involved, but Smoke takes up so much screen that he's hard to see.
Regardless, this was quite the emotional rollercoaster not just for CJ, but also for players, as most of them would have felt close to the Grove Street members at that point in the game. Smoke not only sold out Grove Street but also murdered CJ, Sweet, and Kendl's mother, the Grove Street matriarch.
5 Killing Aiden O'Malley (GTA 4)
Niko Bellic isn't unlike CJ from San Andreas. He's also somewhat morally upright, and at times even questions or regrets his criminal actions. Among them would likely be killing Aiden O'Malley in the "Tunnel of Death" mission. That's the because the man truly believes he's finally free after Niko snags him out of a prison transfer.
Too bad Niko was only ordered to do this by O'Malley's former associate Derrick, who ratted him out and sent him to jail in the first place. Seeing an unfairly incarcerated man enjoy a few seconds of freedom before witnessing the horror in his face as he dies is a heartbreaking scene that ought to haunt Niko.
4 Full-Frontal Male Nudity (GTA 4: The Lost And The Damned)
Despite featuring sex workers in broad daylight and even actual implied acts of coitus, GTA never really crossed the line with nudity. That's why GTA 4: The Lost And The Damned came as a surprise with one of its missions, "Politics," boldly displaying full-frontal male nudity.
The man in question was Thomas Stubbs, who appeared undressed and proud of his primal self in the said mission's cutscene. The funny thing is, nobody asked for this. It wouldn't have cost the developer anything to exclude this scene, but they did it anyway, as a defiant act of pushing AAA gaming boundaries.
3 Michael's Death (GTA 5)
Out of all the GTA 5 characters, Michael stands out as one of the most conflicted yet forgivable, which is why a lot of players likely refrained from choosing the final mission option of killing Michael. Those who still chose to take it, however, were in for a ride.
That's because the character who will do the dirty work is Franklin, whom Michael considers the son he never had. In the dramatic stand-off, Michael doesn't put up much of a fight and succumbs to his sad death. Players can change their mind at the last minute, but it won't affect the outcome, as Michael decides he's as good as dead after getting betrayed by Franklin.
2 Torturing Ferdinand (GTA 5)
Truth be told, it's hard to pick the most disturbing scene in GTA 5 as they've crossed too many lines too many times. What might turn off even the most callous of gamers, however, would be the "By the Book" mission where Trevor helps an FBI agent extract information from a man named Ferdinand Kerimov.
But this is Trevor we're talking about. He performs all the standard military torture procedures such as electrocution, waterboarding, beating the man with a wrench, and tooth extraction. What's even more stressful is that players control Trevor; the game pretty much forces its players to go hard on the torture to complete the mission.
1 Trevor's Lifestyle (GTA 5)
The thing about Trevor is that he's a walking scandal and censorship lawsuit in GTA. His character is essentially the worst, most destructive GTA player character, but multiplied by ten, since he's a meth addict. One can imagine Trevor's lifestyle and his dwelling based on that, but the actual image is more disgusting.
He lives in a rusty trailer decorated by mold, drug syringes, condoms, pizza boxes, rotten food, and beer cans. The walls are plastered with sexy posters likely held in place by who-knows-what that has caked or dried up. Make sure to burn the whole dump in case the player chooses for Trevor to die in a fire.
