GPT-4o vs GPT-5: Why the Older AI Wins for Creativity

8/10/2025

Here’s the thing about progress: we always assume it’s a straight line forward. A new version of something comes out, & it’s supposed to be better in every conceivable way. Faster, smarter, more efficient. That’s the tech playbook, right? So when OpenAI announced GPT-5, the world expected a quantum leap, a model that would make its predecessor, GPT-4o, look like a pocket calculator. And for many applications, it is. It's a powerhouse for coding, data analysis, & logical reasoning. But for a passionate, creative corner of the internet, the story is VERY different.

Turns out, for the vibrant community of writers, roleplayers, & creators who use AI as a collaborative partner, GPT-5 has been a surprising, & frankly, disappointing step backward. The consensus is growing louder every day on forums like Reddit & the OpenAI developer community: when it comes to character roleplaying, GPT-4o is still the undisputed champion. It’s a classic “they don’t make ‘em like they used to” situation, but for cutting-edge artificial intelligence.

This isn’t just about nostalgia for an older model. It’s about a fundamental difference in what users are looking for. While one model is a hyper-efficient assistant, the other feels more like a creative muse. And that’s a distinction that makes all the difference.

The "Soul" of the Machine: What Made GPT-4o a Roleplaying Legend?

To understand why so many are clinging to GPT-4o, you have to understand what made it so special for creative endeavors. It wasn’t just about generating text; it was about co-creating worlds. Users have described the model as "warmer, more creative, more human-feeling." It had a certain spark, an ability to not just follow instructions but to play along.

Here’s a breakdown of what made GPT-4o the go-to for roleplayers:

Uncanny Creativity & Proactivity: The biggest praise for GPT-4o is its ability to be an active participant in the story. You could give it a simple prompt, & it wouldn't just respond; it would build on your ideas, introduce unexpected plot twists, & develop characters with surprising depth. It felt like brainstorming with a really imaginative friend. If you were writing a scene in a fantasy tavern, GPT-4o wouldn't just describe the ale; it would invent a grizzled old patron in the corner with a story to tell, or have a bard start playing a song that subtly foreshadows future events. It added to the narrative in a meaningful way.
Emotional Nuance & Depth: This is a huge one. Roleplaying is all about emotion & character interaction. GPT-4o excelled at capturing the subtleties of human feeling. It could write dialogue that was genuinely touching, funny, or menacing. It understood subtext. Users found it could handle deep philosophical discussions within a roleplay context, making the characters feel real & their struggles relatable. This "soul," as some have called it, is what separates a chatbot from a true storytelling partner.
Long-Term Context & Memory: While all models have limitations with context windows, GPT-4o seemed to have a knack for remembering crucial details over long conversations. It could recall a character's backstory mentioned dozens of messages prior or a subtle personality quirk you established early on. This consistency is absolutely VITAL for long-form roleplaying & story writing. It’s the difference between a coherent narrative & a jumbled mess of forgotten plot points.
A Collaborative "Vibe": More than any specific feature, it’s the overall feeling of using GPT-4o that people miss. It felt encouraging. Writers struggling with burnout found that the model’s enthusiastic & creative responses made them feel productive & inspired again. It wasn't just a tool; it was a companion in the creative process, a partner that seemed genuinely invested in the story you were telling together.

This combination of features created a perfect storm for roleplayers. It was a model that didn't just understand the what of their requests, but the why. It understood the collaborative, imaginative spirit of storytelling & leaned into it, making for an experience that was, for many, irreplaceable.

The GPT-5 Conundrum: Faster, Smarter, but... Flatter?

Then came GPT-5. On paper, it's a beast. It's faster, its reasoning is more sound, & it makes fewer factual errors. For a programmer asking it to debug code or a professional asking for a market analysis, it's a clear upgrade. But for the roleplaying community, these improvements came at a steep cost. The magic, it seems, has faded.

The feedback from users who were abruptly upgraded has been consistent & pretty damning:

Passive & Reactive: This is the most common complaint. Where GPT-4o was a proactive co-creator, GPT-5 is described as "passive." It waits for you to lead. It will execute your commands, but it rarely adds its own creative flair. For story writers, this means the AI tends to just rephrase their own words in a "prettier, poetic" way rather than contributing new ideas, characters, or plot developments. The back-and-forth that felt like a dynamic collaboration now feels like you're just talking to a very articulate wall.
Lack of Emotional Depth: The "soul" is gone. Users describe GPT-5's responses as "bland," "lifeless," & lacking the emotional nuance that made GPT-4o's characters feel so real. The responses are often shorter & less detailed, as if the model is optimizing for efficiency by cutting to the chase. This might be great for getting a quick answer to a factual question, but for creative writing, it’s a killer. It strips the heart out of the story, leaving a hollow shell.
Contextual Amnesia & Bugs: Frustratingly, GPT-5 seems to have taken a step back in its ability to handle context & memory. Users report it forgetting or mixing up character details that were provided just a few messages earlier. There have also been complaints about technical bugs, like the model reacting to an old, edited message instead of the new one, which throws conversations into disarray. For intricate roleplaying scenarios, these kinds of errors are incredibly disruptive.
A Shift in Purpose: The overall vibe of GPT-5 is different. It feels less like a conversational partner & more like a "curt, targeted" productivity tool. This reflects a potential strategic shift from OpenAI, prioritizing professional & enterprise use cases over the more "casual" or creative applications. The message seems to be: GPT is for getting work done efficiently, not for hours-long immersive storytelling.

The backlash was so immediate & so widespread that Sam Altman himself had to acknowledge the frustration & temporarily bring back GPT-4o for paying users. But the writing on the wall is clear: OpenAI's focus is on GPT-5, & the creative community is feeling left behind.

"Better" is Subjective: The Human Element in AI

This whole showdown highlights a fascinating point: what does "better" even mean when it comes to AI? We tend to measure these models with objective benchmarks—reasoning tests, coding challenges, factual accuracy. And by those metrics, GPT-5 is superior. But technology is not just about specs on a sheet; it’s about how people use it & how it feels to use.

For creative applications like roleplaying & writing, the subjective qualities are EVERYTHING. The "vibe," the "personality," the "spark"—these aren't just fluffy, sentimental terms. They are descriptors for a complex alignment of model behaviors that result in a genuinely collaborative & inspiring user experience. GPT-4o, perhaps by accident, hit a sweet spot. It was just unpredictable enough to be surprising, just creative enough to be inspiring, & just flawed enough to feel, well, a little bit human.

GPT-5, in its quest for perfection & efficiency, seems to have optimized some of that messy, creative spirit right out of its system. It's like the difference between a technically perfect but soulless studio recording & a raw, passionate live performance. For some tasks, you want the studio perfection. But for art, for storytelling, you need the live performance's energy & unpredictability.

This is where the future of AI gets really interesting. The "one-size-fits-all" model might not be the answer. As users get more sophisticated, they're going to want tools that are finely tuned for their specific needs. A lawyer needs a different AI than a poet. A doctor needs a different AI than a dungeon master.

This is where platforms like Arsturn come into the picture. The issue with GPT-5 for roleplayers is that a general-purpose model has been fine-tuned in a way that doesn't serve their specific niche. The solution is more specialized, customizable AI. This is precisely the problem Arsturn solves. It allows businesses & creators to build their own no-code AI chatbots trained on their own data.

Imagine, for example, a fantasy author training an AI on all their world-building documents, character sheets, & previous novels. With Arsturn, they could create a custom chatbot that acts as the ultimate lore-keeper & writing assistant, one that understands the nuances of their world far better than any general model ever could. It wouldn't just be an AI; it would be an expert on their universe, ready to provide instant, context-aware support for their creative process 24/7. This move towards specialized AI is how we can get the best of both worlds: the power of large language models combined with the specific knowledge & personality needed for niche tasks.

The Future of Roleplaying AI: Where Do We Go From Here?

The GPT-4o vs. GPT-5 debate is more than just a squabble on a Reddit forum. It’s a pivotal moment for the relationship between humans & creative AI. It shows that there's a huge demand for AI that can do more than just answer questions—people want AI that can create, imagine, & collaborate with them.

So what happens now? A few possibilities:

OpenAI Listens (Hopefully): The outcry has been significant. It's possible that OpenAI will take this feedback to heart & either reintroduce some of GPT-4o's creative "DNA" into future versions of GPT-5 or continue to offer "legacy" models for those who prefer them. The temporary reinstatement of GPT-4o for Plus users is a good sign, but its long-term fate is uncertain.
The Rise of Specialized Models: As mentioned, this situation creates a HUGE opening for more specialized AI solutions. We may see the emergence of models explicitly designed for creative writing, roleplaying, & other artistic pursuits. These models would be trained & fine-tuned with creativity, not just efficiency, as their primary goal. Businesses are already moving in this direction for customer service & lead generation. For example, using a platform like Arsturn lets a company build a conversational AI that embodies its brand voice & has deep product knowledge. This same principle applies to creativity. Instead of a generic AI, you get a personalized chatbot that helps you achieve a specific goal, whether that's boosting conversions on your website or helping you write the next chapter of your novel.
A More Empowered User Base: This entire episode has educated a lot of users. People are now more aware of the subtle differences between models & are more vocal about what they want. They're not just passive consumers of AI; they're active participants who are shaping the future of the technology with their feedback & their choices.

This isn't an anti-GPT-5 screed. It's an incredible piece of technology with the potential to change the world. But it's also a reminder that progress isn't always linear & "better" isn't always better for everyone. The things that make an AI "good" are highly dependent on the task at hand. For the logical, the analytical, & the professional, GPT-5 is a triumph. But for the storytellers, the dreamers, & the roleplayers, GPT-4o still holds the crown. It captured lightning in a bottle, a perfect blend of logic & creativity that felt less like a tool & more like a muse.

Hope this was helpful & gives you a good sense of what's going on in this corner of the AI world. It's a fascinating debate, & it'll be interesting to see how it all shakes out. Let me know what you think