10 boring and annoying missions from the GTA franchise

Grand Theft Auto boasts a world of freedom, cinematic narratives, and ingenuity. But it ultimately stumbles upon something many games share: missions that often break the game's rhythm and leave the player frustrated with wasted time. While not difficult missions, they fail to be fun, either due to poor execution or simply serving as a "filler" to extend gameplay time.

In this article, we'll examine some of these missions that force us to perform unnecessary tasks within the game.

Espresso 2 Go - GTA III

We begin our list with Espresso 2 Go, an extremely punishing and unfair time trial where the objective is to destroy all the coffee stalls scattered across the map—sounds simple—but the time is short and cruelly fast. The player must drive through all three islands, memorize the route, and any navigation error, collision, or confrontation with the police means starting all over again.

The anxiety of watching time tick by makes the freedom of the world feel like a pressure cooker about to explode, and every second is precious. This mission doesn't test combat skill, but rather the player's patience and tolerance in repeating the level multiple times until they get it right.

The Driver – GTA Vice City

The Driver is one of the most unfair missions in the franchise. The task, given by businessman Ken Rosenberg, seems simple: win a street race against a rival driver for Tommy Vercetti to prove his worth. But the execution is a test of skill, luck, and sheer persistence. The problem is the imbalance of the vehicles: while the player drives a regular Sentinel XS, the opponent uses a Cheetah – a faster sports car with superior acceleration and infinitely better traction.

This difference is exacerbated by the course that traverses the narrow, busy streets of Vice City, and the enemy AI seems immune to collisions with traffic, maintaining near-perfect driving. Another problem is the struggle against the unpredictability of the cars. To win, the player needs practically perfect driving, and often it's necessary to block the other driver during the race to cause an accident and gain an advantage.

Supply Lines - GTA: San Andreas

In this mission, the player must pilot a toy plane to destroy Berkley's delivery men. The idea is simple: provide air support to Zero using a remote-controlled plane. But here's something that will make any player nervous: the aircraft isn’t only fragile, its controls are unstable, imprecise, and poorly responsive, driving anyone crazy.

The player needs to destroy a series of ground vehicles, fast-moving enemies scattered across a large area, and, as if the bad controls weren't enough, we also have to fight against a fuel gauge (serving as time) that runs out quickly.

Every piloting error, a turn that's too tight, or a minor collision with a pole, and we're punished with the loss of precious time, sometimes having to restart the mission. The tension isn't narrative, it's mechanical: the challenge isn't in overcoming the enemy's AI, but in mastering an extremely poorly tuned mechanic.

Freefall - GTA: San Andreas

If you thought Supply Lines was a nightmare, don't worry, in Freefall it's a festival of pacing and design failures. Salvatore Leone's order is: intercept a plane in mid-air. The idea is cinematic and had everything to be something high-level, but its execution is an exercise in patience. The player must take off with a plane, synchronize the altitude and speed of their twin-engine aircraft with the target aircraft, following a radar marker that isn’t very intuitive for maneuvers.

It's a slow and repetitive process of minute adjustments, where an error of a few meters forces the player to restart the entire long approach process. It's a tedious wait, and when we finally manage to land the plane, the confrontation inside the aircraft is quick and doesn't have that GTA feel. When we expect an action sequence, we get a flight simulation with a very large break in the narrative rhythm, becoming an unforgettable point, but for the wrong reason.

Pilot School - GTA San Andreas

To progress through the main storyline of San Andreas, we must obtain a pilot's license, and in this mission the player is required to win at least four "Gold" medals in the tests – something that demands near perfection. The problem here lies in the flight physics and aircraft controls, especially the helicopters. The commands that should be precise, such as hovering or making smooth landings, are poor and imprecise.

The first mission, Circle Airstrip and Land, punishes any slight deviation from the trajectory or hard landing; in Destroy Targets, the Hunter helicopter's aim and missiles are limited; and the final test, Loop-the-Loop, demands acrobatic maneuvers with an aircraft that defies the laws of physics—the slightest mistake and all progress is lost.

Hunting 200 Pigeons - GTA IV

The 200 Pigeon Hunt is the formula for unnecessary content and useless collectibles. The mission doesn't unlock rewards like weapons or money; the pigeons are a pointless and arduous task. They’re randomly scattered throughout the Liberty City map, in obscure locations, on top of buildings, or in alley corners.

Eliminating the creatures (by shooting them) offers no gameplay satisfaction, doesn't advance the story at all, and doesn't reveal any secrets. But hold on, the best part is yet to come: the final reward is the "best" part—a pigeon statue in Niko's apartment and a trophy—something that could’ve been better utilized considering the time and effort spent hunting them.

Did someone say yoga? - GTA V

Did Someone Say Yoga? has an interesting narrative intention: to show Michael's midlife crisis and marital breakdown through a "search for balance". But its execution fails by forcing the player to control Michael in a series of yoga poses, using a strange mechanic with the analog sticks in an awkward way to align markers on the screen.

The mission's outcome is a psychedelic hallucination that leads Michael to destroy the yoga shop. Instead of feeling Michael's frustration and anger through actions, the player feels irritation with the controls and the mission's timing, experiencing only a few minor humorous moments during the mission.

Tonya's Towing Missions - GTA V

Tonya's Towing Missions feel more like unnecessary grinding. They're presented as early-career jobs for Franklin. Each mission follows an identical script: talk to Tonya, drive to a specific car (sometimes with a short chase), use the tow truck to tow it, and then drive to the garage to deliver it. There's no difficulty progression, and the dialogue is repetitive. The cash reward is so insignificant that it becomes irrelevant.

These missions do’ot develop Franklin's character, advance the narrative, or introduce new mechanics. They exist solely to fill time, serving as gameplay filler at the beginning of the game.

Scouting the Port - GTA V

Michael is tasked with conducting a photographic reconnaissance mission at the port. The mission's action is absurdly passive: positioned at a lookout point, the player only needs to point the phone's camera at three specific containers and press a button.

There are no enemies, no risk of being discovered, no time limit, and no tactical decisions to be made. It feels more like a tutorial for the game – and worse – the activity doesn't develop Michael's personality. It's a mission that doesn't advance the plot, serving only as a justification for the group's next action.

Triathlon - GTA V

And we've reached the pinnacle of nonsensical missions: the three Triathlon events. They're side missions, but that doesn't make them any less of a test of the player's endurance. It's an outdated game mechanic that starts with a short race in Vespucci, goes through Alamo Sea, and ends in the Coyote Cross Country.

The AI ​​uses a "rubber band" system, where opponents gain unrealistic speed boosts to keep them glued to you. But the real ordeal is running, cycling, and swimming at maximum pace, where the player needs to repeatedly mash the run button for up to half an hour.

This continuous action, besides being exhausting, causes real fatigue in the fingers and wrists – nobody likes mashing controller buttons for up to 30 minutes – and therefore the mission is heavily criticized by the community as a terrible design decision. The final reward is a triathlon suit in the wardrobe – but it gets worse – the event is mandatory for those seeking to achieve 100% completion of the game, becoming a test of patience and the health of your thumbs.

While there are other missions that many players dislike, these are examples of repetitive tasks and moments of gratuitous frustration. They serve as a benchmark for what is worthwhile and what isn't in a vast world like GTA.

This reminds us that true freedom in a game isn't just the ability to go anywhere, but also understanding what is or isn't significant to the plot and enjoyment. GTA is acclaimed for its ingenuity, its courage to push boundaries, and for making us lose hours within its universe, but even masterpieces can have irritating and boring moments that can be polished in the next game.

And you, what do you think of this list? Would you add or remove any missions? Leave your opinion in the comments and until next time.