Ludendorff, North Yankton. Nine years ago.
The screen is black, then suddenly you’re staring at a vault door in the middle of a blizzard. It’s gritty. It’s cold. It feels nothing like the sun-drenched, palm-tree-filled Los Santos we all expected from the trailers. This is "Prologue," the first mission on GTA 5, and honestly, it’s one of the gutsiest openings in the history of the medium. Rockstar Games didn't just give us a tutorial; they gave us a tragedy.
Most games start with a "press X to jump" pop-up. Not this one. Instead, you’re shoved into a high-stakes heist that’s already going sideways. You learn to aim because a security guard is literally holding a gun to Michael’s head. You learn to switch characters because Trevor is the only one with a clear shot. It’s frantic. It’s messy. It’s perfect.
The mechanical genius of the North Yankton heist
When you look back at how the first mission on GTA 5 functions, it’s basically a cleverly disguised manual. Rockstar had a massive problem to solve in 2013: how do you teach players to control three different protagonists without making it feel like a chore?
The answer was "Prologue."
By forcing the player to swap between Michael and Trevor during the shootout with the police outside the bank, the game cements the "Character Switch" mechanic as a core pillar of the experience. It isn't just a gimmick. It’s a tactical necessity. You realize quickly that Michael is your steady hand, the shooter, while Trevor is the chaotic force. Brad? Well, Brad is just there to be the catalyst for a decade of resentment.
The mission flows through several distinct phases. First, there’s the crowd control inside the bank, which introduces basic movement and interaction. Then, the vault explosion—pure spectacle. After that, the "Cover System" tutorial kicks in as the North Yankton State Patrol descends on the bobcat.
I’ve played this mission dozens of times. Every time, the transition from the snowy shootout to the getaway vehicle feels incredibly cinematic. You aren't just driving; you're desperately trying to reach a getaway chopper that—spoiler alert—isn't actually going to save you.
Why the first mission on GTA 5 feels so different from the rest of the game
The atmosphere is heavy.
If you compare the first mission on GTA 5 to the rest of the campaign, the color palette is the first thing that hits you. It’s grey, blue, and washed out. This isn't the vibrant, satirical version of California we see later. This is a crime drama. It feels closer to the tone of GTA IV or even Max Payne 3 than it does to the jet-skiing, selfie-taking chaos of Los Santos.
This contrast is intentional. Rockstar wanted to ground Michael De Santa’s backstory in something that felt real and painful. When that sniper bullet hits Brad, and then Michael, the stakes are set. You see Trevor’s genuine, albeit psychotic, distress. You see the betrayal in real-time.
A lot of people forget that you actually play as Trevor for a significant chunk of this escape. His "Rage" ability isn't active yet, but his handling feels heavier. The getaway drive is also a subtle tutorial on the game’s driving physics, which were a massive departure from the boat-like handling of the previous entry. You’re sliding on ice, fighting for traction, and realizing that 2013-era Rockstar was aiming for a "middle ground" between realism and arcade fun.
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The narrative lies we believed
What’s wild about the first mission on GTA 5 is how much it lies to you.
For the first thirty minutes of your first playthrough, you think you know what happened. You think Michael died or got lucky. You think the feds were just faster. It isn't until hours later—sometimes tens of hours depending on how much time you spend triking around the desert—that the truth about Dave Norton and the FIB deal starts to leak out.
The "Prologue" is a masterpiece of unreliable narration.
It sets up the "Michael is dead" myth that Trevor believes for nine years. Even the music, composed by Tangerine Dream, Woody Jackson, and The Alchemist, builds this sense of impending doom. The track "North Yankton Memories" is haunting. It doesn't sound like "heist music." It sounds like a funeral.
Small details you probably missed in the chaos
If you’re a perfectionist trying to get the Gold Medal on the first mission on GTA 5, you have to pay attention to things most casual players ignore. Most people just want to get to the city. But look closer.
- The Alien in the Ice: This is the most famous easter egg. If you drive off the road under the train bridge during the getaway, there’s a literal xenomorph frozen in the river. It was the first hint that GTA 5 was going to be weird.
- The Phone: Look at the mobile phones the characters use. They are "period correct" bricks for 2004. Rockstar didn't just skin the world; they changed the UI.
- The Guard's Face: If you don't kill the guard holding Michael, he actually has a unique set of dialogue lines.
- The Snow Physics: For 2013 hardware (PS3 and Xbox 360), the way the snow deformed around the tires was industry-leading.
Honestly, the mission is surprisingly short if you speedrun it. You can clear the whole thing in under 10 minutes. But those 10 minutes establish the motivation for the next 40 hours of gameplay. Without the failure in North Yankton, Michael never becomes the bored, retired dad in Vinewood, and Trevor never becomes the king of Sandy Shores.
Technical hurdles and the jump to Los Santos
When the mission ends, and the camera pans up from Michael’s "grave" to the sunny vista of Los Santos, the transition is jarring in the best way possible. You go from a funeral to a therapy session.
The first mission on GTA 5 also serves a technical purpose: it's a "level of detail" (LOD) gate. While you’re playing through the linear path of the bank robbery, the game is actually loading the massive world of San Andreas in the background. By the time the cutscene with Franklin and Lamar starts, the map is ready for you to explore.
It’s a trick developers have used for decades, but rarely is it integrated so seamlessly into the story. You don't feel like you’re waiting for a loading bar. You feel like you’re mourning a character, only to find out he’s been living a lie in a mansion with a pool.
How to get the Gold Medal on your next run
If you're jumping back into the game for the hundredth time, maybe on the latest "Expanded and Enhanced" version, you might want that 100% completion. To get the Gold Medal on the first mission on GTA 5, you need to hit these specific marks:
- Accuracy: You need at least 80% shots landed. Don't spray and pray at the cops.
- Headshots: You need 11 headshots. Use Michael’s focus if you’re struggling, though it’s not as "upgraded" here as it is later.
- Time: Complete the mission within 7 minutes. This means you have to move fast during the vault segment and don't linger during the shootout.
Most people fail the accuracy check because they try to blow up the police cars. Stick to the officers.
The first mission on GTA 5 remains a high-water mark for the series. It’s tight, emotional, and mechanically dense. While everyone remembers the "Big Score" or the "Turtle Trek," the Prologue is what made us care about these criminals in the first place. It proved that Rockstar wasn't just making a sandbox; they were making a crime epic.
Actionable Next Steps for Players
- Replay for the "Alien" Easter Egg: If you missed it, go to the pause menu, select Game > Replay Mission > Prologue. When you get to the drive, turn right before the bridge and look in the frozen water.
- Observe the Character Swap: Note how the game "locks" you out of characters at certain points to protect the narrative—this is a technique they perfected here and used throughout the "Blitz Play" and "Paleto Score" missions.
- Check your Stats: View your accuracy in the Social Club to see if you’re actually as good a shot as you think you are before heading into the harder mid-game heists.
- Look for Parallelism: Pay attention to the "final" mission of the game (Option C). You'll notice several visual and dialogue callbacks to this first snowy morning in North Yankton.