10 Best Games Like GTA That You Should Know Update 04/2024

Games Like GTA

Through the eyes of Iain Wilson Written by Josh West on February 23, 22.

Here are the best games like Grand Theft Auto you should check out if you enjoy fast automobiles and armed robbers.

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You’re probably looking for alternative games like GTA to play now that GTA 5 was released nine years ago. There are plenty of things to do in Los Santos if you become sick of rampaging around. Even though GTA 6 is still in development, you’ll want to play one of the most popular games like Grand Theft Auto in the meanwhile to keep yourself occupied.

From Saints Row to Watch Dogs to Red Dead Redemption and everything in between, we’ve compiled a list of our top picks for you right here. There is no time like the present. Begin searching for games like GTA 5 that are currently available.

1. Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2

GTA and Red Dead are both developed by the same studio; you can probably guess why they’re both included in this list. GTA’s values of player freedom in an expansive open world that feels alive, a dedication to including even the most minute details, and morally questionable men and women doing morally questionable things are exemplified by Red Dead Redemption 2 (and its predecessor, if you feel like taking a step back in time). Even if you’re not a fan of Grand Theft Auto, you should definitely check out Red Dead Redemption 2 if you’re in the mood.

2. Saints Row: The Third

It all started with a feeble replica of GTA, desperately emulating Rockstar’s style. Cult followings were established for two games, but the whole effort failed to stand out. When Saints Row: The Third was released, the GTA games had become increasingly bleak and serious, prompting Saints Row: The Third to declare, “F that.” To begin the game, you’ll be clothed in unique costumes of your own characters, who are renowned and well-liked in the community. Burt Reynolds and a three-foot long melee weapon are just the beginning of the small-scale zombie apocalypse that awaits. While many GTA-likes get bogged down in being self-regarding, Saints Row is willing to just be the most ridiculous it can possible be. You may still play it on Xbox One and Nintendo Switch thanks to the game’s backward compatibility and recent release on the latter platform.

3. Just Cause 4

Just Cause 4

Unprecedented chaos is at the heart of Just Cause 4, which gives the player a crazy amount of control. Check. Grappling hook: yep, I’ve got it. Double-check your ability to ride atop moving automobiles during a massive tornado. Just wait until you see what you can do in GTA 5 with the ragdoll physics in the new Republic of Medici. Unlike Rockstar’s other games, Just Cause 4 doesn’t focus on plot or gameplay as much as its predecessors, but it does a better job at choreographing huge scale destruction.

4. Watch Dogs 2

Even Aiden Pearce’s tale of revenge in the original Watch Dogs was almost insufferable by the end, but Ubisoft heeded that criticism for the sequel. Rather than eschewing the themes and tone of more recent Grand Theft Auto games, Rockstar’s follow-up uses the setting as a backdrop for stinging satire. GTA 5’s “Life Invader” mission is a classic. That is basically what Watch Dogs 2 is all about, except on a much larger scale. Ubisoft has a better take on Silicon Valley than Rockstar, but Watch Dogs 2 is still a hoot for anyone who has endured an Apple keynote or a Facebook commercial. Using pool balls on bungee cords as weapons is an added bonus, to say the least.

5. Yakuza 0

Yakuza 0

Although Grand Theft Auto’s primary narrative is always the focus, the game’s virtual landscapes are filled with several side activities that may be enjoyed in addition to the campaign. Yakuza 0 goes all out with this design philosophy. There’s more karaoke and pool in Yakuza 0 than there is in Grand Theft Auto 5, and there’s also dancing and gambling in the game’s arcades, as well as wrestling and bowling. Although not all of the optional activities have been thoughtfully crafted, the sheer number and variety of options available is mind-boggling. Yakuza’s scope isn’t as vast as GTA’s, but what it lacks in quantity, it more than makes up for in quality (which is unique and wacky).

6. Sleeping Dogs

Even by the standards of the open-world criminal genre, Sleeping Dogs manages to live up to its name by becoming a surprise smash back in 2012. If you’ve ever wanted a Grand Theft Auto game dressed in Bruce Lee movie costume gear, this is it. Sleeping Dogs is a unique gem that deserves greater attention for the new ideas it brought to the table because the sequel, which supposedly contained a co-op campaign, was scrapped while still in the early stages of development. Since the game was re-released in 2014, there is really no reason to keep it on the store shelf any longer (sorry).

7. Mafia 3

Mafia 3

Since no Grand Theft Auto game has yet been released without some sort of encounter with the Mafia, 2K’s Mafia series is an excellent place to begin for open-world gamers interested in organized crime. You can clearly detect the influence of Grand Theft Auto games like San Andreas and Grand Theft Auto 4 on these games, which are more grounded than the GTA series. A war veteran (Niko Bellic?) is the protagonist of the latest Mafia game from Hangar 13, which is more in line with Rockstar’s style than the previous two games in the series. However, the story is as much influenced by the likes of The Godfather and Goodfellas as it is by Grand Theft Auto, written so well that you’ll occasionally forget you’re playing a video game and not watching a Scorsese film.

8. Lego City Undercover

Grand Theft Auto games have been labeled for mature audiences for good reason, but what about those of us who prefer to play cops and robbers without the sex, drugs, or rock & roll? Fortunately, in 2013, TT Games created the next best thing. Lego City Undercover’s hackneyed but successful marketing pitch is “Lego Grand Theft Auto,” but this delightful open-world platformer has much more up its plastic sleeve than mere mimicry. I loved the use of Lego as a visual medium, as well as the plethora of side missions and trinkets. The plot itself was also a lot of fun, with plenty of pop cultural allusions. Lego City Undercover is now playable in co-op on the Nintendo Switch, and it’s even more portable thanks to the game’s latest re-release.

9. Payday 2

Payday 2

The notorious ‘Three Leaf Clover’ mission from Grand Theft Auto 4 or Grand Theft Auto 5’s heists in Payday 2 will be just up your alley. It’s not as simple as stealing the money and running in Overkill Software’s multiplayer co-op game, which turns players loose on a series of high stakes heists. When it comes to Payday 2, gamers are urged to think through every aspect of their game plan before committing the crime, including allowing them to scope out their target location before completing the crime later that day. It’s hard not to be reminded of Grand Theft Auto Online’s 2013 introduction of multiplayer heists, although Payday 2 has none of the game-breaking lag.

10. The Simpsons Hit & Run

No, this isn’t the most recent entry on this list, and it’s not the first thing that springs to mind when you think of a GTA-style video game, but Radical Entertainment pulled off the impossible with this 2003 success. Of course, Homer and the crew can’t do as much damage as someone like Niko or Trevor, but you can still kick and punch your way through Springfield and wreck havoc. Fans of The Simpsons: Hit ‘n’ Run will find a lot to enjoy in the game’s campaign, which is peppered with nods to its serialized namesake. Simpsons Hit and Run is widely regarded as one of the best Simpsons video games ever made, if not the best. If you’re able to play it but haven’t yet, make the necessary arrangements.