Open-world games sell you this big promise: do what you want, when you want. And most of the time, GTA V plays along. You can ignore random weirdos, mess about in the hills, or spend an hour chasing a better life the same way players chase GTA 5 Money—not because it's noble, but because it feels like progress. Then the game pulls the rug out. Franklin meets Tonya, laughs her off, and suddenly you're stuck in her mess in a way that doesn't feel like choice at all.
A required detour that doesn't earn it
Here's the part that bugs people: Tonya's towing job is the one "Strangers and Freaks" thread you can't fully dodge if you want to finish the main story. That's a wild call in a game stuffed with optional distractions. If you're going to force a side activity on the player, it should be the one you'd proudly show off first. A mission with bite. A moment that makes you go, "Okay, I get why this world matters." Instead, it's the gaming version of being asked to run an errand right when the party's getting good.
The towing loop is chores, not character
The actual gameplay is as plain as it gets. Drive to the marker. Line up the tow arm. Winch the car. Crawl back to the lot. Repeat. The "challenge" isn't danger or skill, it's patience—slow steering, awkward reversing, listening to metal clunk while traffic rolls by like it's judging you. You're not pulling off a slick getaway or testing Franklin's rise; you're doing manual labor because a mission prompt told you to. After a couple minutes you start thinking, "Wait, is this meant to be funny, or am I being punished for playing."
What it does to pacing and to Franklin
Franklin's story is supposed to be about getting out. Bigger scores, cleaner clothes, a future that isn't the block. Tonya drags him right back into the grind, and not in a thoughtful way. It's not a moral lesson, it's friction. The game wants realism, sure, but realism isn't always fun, and it's definitely not always smart storytelling. You feel it most when you've got momentum in the main plot and the game taps the brakes for a slow, low-stakes job that doesn't match the tone.
Why players still talk about it
People remember this mission because it exposes the awkward truth of "freedom" in open worlds: the map is huge, but the leash can be short. You can laugh at Tonya's half-committed promises and still feel a bit called out, because we do the same thing—one more mission, one more task, then we'll stop. And when players want to skip the grind and get back to the good parts, it makes sense they look for shortcuts, boosts, and reliable marketplaces like RSVSR that focus on fast delivery and straightforward service so the time goes into the fun stuff, not the busywork.
Comments