There has been plenty of discussion as of late about the development of the next installment in the Grand Theft Auto franchise. While players are likely years away from experiencing GTA 6, it is worth noting that the latest iteration is still alive and well.

And while the online mode in Grand Theft Auto 5 has kept many players busy, the game's main story mode still stands out as one of the best the series has ever seen. One aspect of the main story that stood out was how incredible the story missions were, no matter how simple at times. Here is a look at a few of the best missions in GTA 5's single-player mode.

Updated on April 23, 2024, by Ritwik Mitra: Grand Theft Auto 5 is one of the most popular open-world video games ever made. While it's reputation as a cash cow courtesy of GTA Online may leave a sour taste in the mouths of many single-player Rockstar fans, this shouldn't take away anything from the legendary and ambitious campaign of GTA 5, which is still spectacular in every way. The idea of controlling three separate protagonists across a wealth of action-packed missions makes for a great time, with some being arguably better than others at highlighting the many strengths of this impressive video game.

27 Prologue

Shows Michael And Trevor's Past

• Mission Giver: None (the game opens with this mission)
• Protagonist(s) Involved: Trevor Philips, Michael Townley

It's only fitting that GTA 5 starts off with a heist that introduces players to two of the game's three main characters. Both Michael and Trevor are criminals at odds with each other, leading to the former staging his death just to get away from the craziness of Trevor's antics.

Before that point, players are introduced to the game's many mechanics and have to run away from the law as they flee with the haul they've stolen. It's a fun mission set against a snowy backdrop that serves as a strong and impactful introduction to the world and characters of GTA 5.

26 Mr. Philips

Introduces Players To The Madman, Trevor Philips, After A Brief Appearance Early On

• Mission Giver: Michael De Santa (indirectly)
• Protagonist(s) Involved: Trevor Philips

After a series of mishaps forces Michael to stage a heist and get the money required to fix a powerful rich man's house, news of his exploits reaches his former companion who had believed Trevor to be dead for the longest time. While in the middle of something totally not PG, Trevor hears one of Michael's iconic lines: "You forget a thousand things every day, pal. Make sure this is one of them."

This line makes it clear to Trevor that his former partner in crime is still alive, letting players finally control this psychopath after the longest time. Trevor is one of the most entertaining GTA protagonists of all time, and this mission is memorable simply because of the unique nature of his re-introduction into the game's main narrative.

25 Complications

Michael And Franklin Meet For The First Time

• Mission Giver: Simeon Yetarian
• Protagonist(s) Involved: Franklin Clinton, Michael De Santa

Most of the early missions of the game revolve around Franklin repoing cars for his boss Simeon Yetarian. This mission asks the player to sneak into a fancy house and drive a yellow SUV out of the garage and back to the dealership.

Part of the way through, however, Michael awakes from the back seat and points a gun at Franklin, telling him to drive the car into the dealership. It's a fun stealth mission, which leads to cutting ties with an annoying boss. The player even gets to beat up Simeon as Michael.

24 Friend Request

Michael Gets A Job At Lifeinvader

• Mission Giver: Lester Crest
• Protagonist(s) Involved: Michael De Santa

Sometimes, the best missions are the ones where most of the activities are small and mundane but lead to a funny series of events. That is the premise of "Friend Request," which is the player's introduction to Lester in the main story. Here, Michael will be asking for Lester's help with a heist, but Lester wants a favor in return.

Michael then is tasked with going to the Lifeinvader office to bug a phone prototype that will explode if a certain number is called. The mission involves Michael getting dressed up in casual work clothes and hanging out in an office of weird tech dudes as he is asked to clear viruses off a desktop and pretend that he's just one of them.

23 Marriage Counseling

Michael And Franklin Literally Pull Down A House

• Mission Giver: Michael De Santa
• Protagonist(s) Involved: Franklin Clinton, Michael De Santa

This mission starts with Michael finding his wife cheating on him with a tennis coach. The mission involves him and Franklin chasing the tennis coach to a house on the side of the cliff. The insane aspect of this mission is that Michael destroys the house by hooking the foundation and pulling it down.

This leads to a chase where Franklin needs to avoid gangs that are shooting at them. Michael and Franklin learn later that they destroyed the house of Cartel leader Martin Madrazo's mistress, which sets off a whole new chain of events.

22 Minor Turbulence

Land A Plane Inside Another Plane

• Mission Giver: Michael De Santa
• Protagonist(s) Involved: Trevor Philips

There are quite a few flying missions available in GTA 5, especially if players buy the McKenzie Field Hangar to run smuggling missions. These are all possible due to Trevor Philip's experience as a pilot, though he was discharged from the army before receiving his license.

"Minor Turbulence" sees Trevor flying a small jet to intercept a large Merryweather cargo plane while also avoiding radar. Not only do players get to land a plane inside of another plane, but they can also ride a jeep out of the crashing plane Fast And Furious-style, further elevating the solo mission.

21 Friends Reunited

One Of The Few Stealth Missions

• Mission Giver: Trevor Philips
• Protagonist(s) Involved: Trevor Philips

After living in San Andreas for many years, Trevor has realized that his old pal Michael is actually alive. So, he and Wade go on a road trip to Los Santos to pay him a visit. Along the way, they take care of some loose ends with the remaining members of the Lost MC.

There aren't many stealth missions throughout GTA 5, but one of the best ones is in "Friends Reunited." It tasks the player to place sticky bombs on many of the trailers in the Lost MC's park and set them all off as Trevor gets away. The reward is a hilarious back-and-forth between Trevor and Wade on their trip south.

20 Crystal Maze

Trevor Goes To War With The O'Neil Brothers

• Mission Giver: Tao Cheng
• Protagonist(s) Involved: Trevor Philips

Through the first few missions with Trevor, it's easy to see how he's a lot more impulsive and has a lot more people after him, than Franklin and Michael. This is seen in Crystal Maze as he goes after the O'Neil brothers. After the family steals Trevor's business, he decides that he's going to take out every last one of them.

This is a typical shootout mission where players must kill all the targets after them. The cherry on top, though, is being able to blow up their house at the very end in a dramatic fashion.

19 Did Somebody Say Yoga?

Going On The Wrong Type Of Trip

• Mission Giver: Michael De Santa
• Protagonist(s) Involved: Michael De Santa

Michael has a lot of family drama throughout the game as it is a consistent theme, but it all boils over in "Did Somebody Say Yoga?" The mission starts with Michael being invited to do Yoga with Amanda by the yoga instructor Fabien. After the players do a few poses, things go haywire when Michael gets jealous of Fabien's touching Amanda.

After Amanda and Fabien storm away, Michael convinces Jimmy to spend time with him. They stop at a Burger Shot for Jimmy to pick up a drink, but when Michael goes to sip that drink after driving away, he realizes he has been drugged by Jimmy. This leads to a series of hallucinations that end with Michael being truly alone.

18 I Fought The Law...

Features High-Speed Races And Hilarious Fake Cops

• Mission Giver: Devin Weston
• Protagonist(s) Involved: Franklin Clinton, Michael De Santa, Trevor Philips

Franklin's special driving ability comes in handy during the "I Fought The Law..." mission as players are forced to race a couple of supercars that have been targeted by Devin Weston, one of GTA 5's main antagonists.

However, players also get the chance to play as Michael and Trevor, who are hilariously posing as fake motorcycle cops to pull over the speeding supercars. Both angles to the mission offer different ways to enjoy the three main characters while taking part in a high-speed chase on the freeway that is instantly memorable.

17 Deep Inside

Franklin Steals A Stunt Vehicle

• Mission Giver: Devin Weston
• Protagonist(s) Involved: Franklin Clinton

Continuing with Devin Weston's obsession with collecting cars, he tasks Franklin with breaking into Backlot City and stealing a JB 700. In other words, a stunt car that is used in the movies being filmed there. What follows is an absurd yet hilarious mission that gives players a choice.

While players can come up with their own way of getting to the vehicle, they also can steal the costume of the main actor to get the easiest access to the JB 700. When Franklin drives away, there will be an actress in the passenger seat. Luckily, the vehicle is equipped with a unique eject button.

16 Caida Libre

Michael And Trevor Team Up To Take Down A Plane

• Mission Giver: Martin Madrazo
• Protagonist(s) Involved: Trevor Philips, Michael De Santa

The "Caida Libre" mission is one of the many jobs to come from Mexican Cartel leader Martin Madrazo. He enlists Michael and Trevor to help him take out his cousin Javier, who is flying into Los Santos to testify against Madrazo.

Players get the chance to first shoot Javier's incoming plane out of the sky using a high-powered mounted sniper rifle. The mission only gets better when it switches to Trevor, who hastily follows the crashing jet on a dirtbike to finish the job, which includes an amazing in-mission jump.

15 Three's Company

The First Mission That Unites All Three Protagonists

• Mission Giver: Dave Norton
• Protagonist(s) Involved: Franklin Clinton, Michael De Santa, Trevor Philips

This is the first mission that involves all three playable characters in the main storyline. The mission is to help the FIB steal Ferdinand Kerimov, an individual the FIB presumed was dead but turns out is alive and is being interrogated by the IAA.

This mission is a blast because each character serves a different role in the mission and the player gets to experience each of them. Trevor flies the helicopter while Michael rappels down to kidnap Kerimov. Meanwhile, Franklin is on standby for backup with a sniper rifle.

14 Nervous Ron

Trevor and Ron Take On The Lost MC's Airplane Deliveries

• Mission Giver: Trevor Philips
• Protagonist(s) Involved: Trevor Philips

The player first meets Trevor as he kills Johnny Klebitz, ticking off The Lost MC. This leads to a series of missions of taking them out, but one mission, in particular, goes from zero to 100 in a way not many missions do in GTA 5. In Nervous Ron, after finding out that the gang went through his trailer, he decides to intervene in a weapon shipment the gang was going to receive.

At the Sandy Shores airfield, Trevor uses a sniper to take out gang members and lights that would catch Ron planting a bomb on a gas tank. This leads to an epic shootout on the airstrip, Trevor and Ron hijacking the two planes, and killing numerous gang members including one hanging on a wing. The rest of the mission gets players used to flying around the map.

13 The Wrap Up

Michael And Trevor Fight In A War Between The FIB, IAA, And Merryweather

• Mission Giver: Dave Norton
• Protagonist(s) Involved: Trevor Philips, Michael De Santa

There are a number of different organizations at play in GTA 5 that get involved in the affairs of Michael, Trevor, and Franklin. "The Wrap-Up" sees these various factions ignite in a violent, action-packed war that finds Michael caught in the middle.

As players are forced to escape the Kortz Center museum, they get the chance to play as both Michael and Trevor at a unique point in their relationship. The dual-perspective mission gives both sniper and duck-and-cover shooters ample opportunities amidst the chaos that includes an air-to-ground battle with a helicopter.

12 Blitz Play

The Crew Is Involved In A Shootout Of Major Proportions

• Mission Giver: FIB
• Protagonist(s) Involved: Franklin Clinton, Michael De Santa, Trevor Philips

In another FIB mission, the three protagonists are tasked to rob an armored truck filled with funds for the IAA. Michael decides to go with a blitz play approach, where they block the path for the armored vehicle with a garbage truck right before it pulls up.

Then, while it's parked, they ram the car with a tow truck to destroy the vehicle and collect the money. If the player is successful with this, they then will need to deal with a shoot-out of major proportions. The joy of it is being able to choose which character to use during the fight, occasionally switching to a character in need of help.

11 Father/Son

Franklin Helps Michael Rescue Jimmy Off A Boat

• Mission Giver: Michael De Santa
• Protagonist(s) Involved: Franklin Clinton, Michael De Santa

After losing his job at the dealership, Franklin goes to Michael to get tips on how to get into a better position in life. This is interrupted when Jimmy calls to say Michael's boat has been stolen with Jimmy on it. The two jump into Amanda's car and go speeding after it.

Players will chase the truck that has the boat down but will never be able to pass it, which is the point. Players will need to get close enough to get Franklin on, then be able to drive alongside it, so Jimmy can fall into the car and for Franklin to get off as well. The car will eventually break down, which leads to lots of frustration and a bitter back-and-forth conversation.

10 Legal Trouble

Chasing Down An Important Film Reel

• Mission Giver: Solomon Richards
• Protagonist(s) Involved: Michael De Santa

Michael's relationship with Solomon Richards becomes one of the few things he actively cares about during the storyline of GTA 5, and Solomon needs him the most during the "Legal Trouble" mission. Devin is looking to cancel Solomon's latest film and tear down the movie studios, and Michael is tasked with chasing down Devin's assistant Molly to get the film back.

The chase sequence takes place almost entirely in the airport, with many set-piece moments that require Michael to dodge incoming debris from Molly's reckless driving. Succeeding at the mission will have players witness a gruesome scene while finding out it was all for nothing. Also, the chase sequence can be viewed from the perspective of a news broadcast if players go to that view.

9 Lamar Down

Highlights The Benefits Of Strategically Working With A Team

• Mission Giver: Franklin Clinton
• Protagonist(s) Involved: Franklin Clinton, Michael De Santa, Trevor Philips

Lamar Davis is one of the best characters in GTA 5 who first appears as a long-time friend of Franklin's before he also befriends Trevor. However, after Lamar was betrayed and taken captive by the Ballas gang, all three crew members teamed up to assault the gang's sawmill hideout in the "Lamar Down" mission.

Michael, Trevor, and Franklin launch a three-way attack on the sawmill that allows players to strategically take out the Ballas and rescue Lamar. "Lamar Down" is fun to play repeatedly because it is one of the best-developed non-heist missions in the game.

8 The Jewel Store Job

One Of The Most Authentic Feeling Heists In GTA 5

• Mission Giver: Lester Crest
• Protagonist(s) Involved: Franklin Clinton, Michael De Santa

This heist gives players the first taste of what heists are like in the game, including preparing for the heists in mini-missions and choosing their crew. This is one of the many heists in the game that give players multiple options on how to approach it.

Michael and Franklin can rob the jewelry store by either posing as a fumigation company after they knock everyone out with sleeping gas ("Smart" approach) or by approaching it head-on as an old-fashioned stick-up robbery ("Loud" approach). Regardless, be prepared to drive away quickly from the cops.