As someone who can't stand R* tbh. GTA5 looked impressive from a typical consumer POV. I've never made a game unless you count like 2 levels;s in RPG Maker lol. Gameplay-wise wise it honestly was pretty standard fair with some bad aiming for shooting. Invisible walls on boundaries not marked. I'm not doing a direct comparison as they are different games overall. But BoTW and XCX did a better job of that one aspect of the boundaries are clearly marked without needing a map or flying a plane into an invisible wall.
GTA to me is popular because taking place in a realistic city and has common crime elements with edgy humor. It takes no real risks in setting or gameplay. It's very accessible and so it doesn't have much depth. TBH GTA mission design is dated. You have to do the mission as it wants you to despite being called "Sandbox" and you have to do the story missions in an order. This is a PS2-era logic. I don't think what you can do in the open map has changed much in 20 years down its core. Again fundamentally different games not comparing overall. But BoTW is closer to a true sandbox. Approach the problem how you want. Solve it how you want. In any order you want. Not faulting anyone who likes GTA. I liked Vice City a lot. I just get bored of open city games despite a large map. They're structured as linear games.
Bite my shiny metal cockpit!
