Take To The Streets In Other Games
Despite its everlasting controversy with the pop culture and news media, Grand Theft Auto (GTA) is still alive and kicking at this time. Many fans hold a soft spot for Grand Theft Auto despite its latest entry GTA V. What started off as a top-down world gravitated to a fully expansive experience enriched with incredible gameplay, dramatic narratives, and appealing architecture and design.
If you’ve finished playing Grand Theft Auto and are looking for alternatives – fret not! We’ve combed through the archives and saved you the hassle with our top 8 picks.
Of course, for all the games we’ve reviewed, we’ve also added a handy link, so you can check out our full thoughts on that and see if it’s something you want to invest your time with.
So without further ado, we present 8 games to check out if you’re looking for a game like Grand Theft Auto.
Red Dead Redemption 2
Red Dead Redemption 2 is a follow-up to the critically acclaimed game by the same name. Like Grand Theft Auto, Red Dead Redemption 2 was developed by Rockstar Games and features a vastly open world for players to explore.
Despite taking place in an earlier time period, this game evokes the same exhilarating and outlandish fun fans come to expect from the Grand Theft Auto titles. Red Dead Redemption 2’s world is full of life and offers a slew of activities for the players to take part in.
Whether it’s hunting down a variety of opponents or traveling the world in search of new sights, the whole world is at your disposal. Furthermore, Red Dead Redemption 2 offers a slew of online activities for players to compete in against friends or strangers.
Saints Row: The Third
Saints Row: The Third is the third instalment of the experimental Saints Row franchise. Despite starting off as a knock-off Grand Theft Auto clone, the franchise picked itself up and crafted itself a wonderful identity with its third entry.
Unlike Grand Theft Auto, Saints Row: The Third delivers a more bonkers and silly experience compared to the gritty and serious tone established by its inspiration. For example, you’ll find yourself in outlandish scenarios like skydiving in a tank or defending yourself from the military while armed with a sensual toy.
Though you can perform some heinous acts in Grand Theft Auto, this Saints Row title amplifies it to a million. That’s not to say that the silliness makes Saints Row: The Third entirely original. The game features the same open world as Grand Theft Auto and approaches its gameplay from a similar angle.
However, if you’re looking for a goofier time, we’d definitely recommend Saints Row: The Third.
Just Cause 4
As with Saints Row: The Third, Just Cause 4 delivers a similar gameplay format to Grand Theft Auto, but tackles it from a humorous angle. While it has its fair share of realistic visuals, the game aims to satisfy players with its comedic yet enjoyable approach to action-packed gameplay.
Just Cause feels like the heroic counterpart to Grand Theft Auto, as you’ll find yourself performing heroic-like stunts and actions throughout most of the game. Like Grand Theft Auto, players can visit remote locations at their leisure, steal and travel through different vehicles, and utilize a bunch of neat weapons and gadgets.
However, the main characters utilize specific items more for story purposes. These items involve his parachute, grappling hook, and wing-suit. These three items are integral to your exploration of the game and allow you to zoom past locations at quick speeds.
Just Cause 4 also offers a fair share of unlockable items to collect and achievements for players to complete. If you’re up for a more heroic endeavour, check out Just Cause 4.
Yakuza: Like A Dragon
If you ever wondered what Grand Theft Auto would be like if it had JRPG mechanics, then look no further than the Yakuza series. It’s a game full of comedic dialogue and wondrous action and is sure to get you riled up during a play-through.
It tackles some serious topics like Grand Theft Auto but does so in the most hilarious methods possible. The game is a great breath of fresh air for those that find themselves bored with robbing stores and beating up NPCs or others offline or online in Grand Theft Auto.
Despite its comedic approach, Yakuza: Like A Dragon offers stellar turn-based combat. The action scenes in particular are immaculate and harken back to classic Kung-Fu films. Like Grand Theft Auto, Yakuza: Like A Dragon offers other activities for players to take part in. These range from kart racing to crane games you’d see at arcades.
Lego City Undercover
Looking for a Grand Theft Auto clone that’s targeted toward children, look no further than Lego City Undercover. This game offers a similar open world but with a more child-like and imaginative atmosphere. In it, you will help an undercover cop named Chase McCain stop an evil criminal named Rex Fury’s horrible city-wide antics.
Despite being a child-friendly game, Lego City Undercover’s narrative is fascinating and compelling. It features incredible dialogue, wonderful jokes, and a plethora of police pop culture parodies. There are some adult jokes sprinkled throughout the game that are sure to get a chuckle out of hardcore gamers. The story’s pacing can be slow at times, but it will leave an impression on you.
The gameplay feels imaginative but slightly repetitive. The mechanic you’ll end up using in this game features you swapping between Chris’s different outfits, each holding a special ability. There are many levels tailored around these specific outfits. While its gameplay loop will feature similar animations, sound effects, and quick time events, the developers did a fine job at crafting the levels around those abilities.
The gameplay gets quite repetitive by the end of the story. The core mechanic has you switching between multiple different outfits to use each outfit’s special ability. What that really means is that you’ll be faced with a series of obstacles that require different outfits with the same animations, sounds, and QTEs throughout.
The Simpsons Hit & Run
At its time, The Simpsons Hit & Run was a remarkable licensed video game. Besides following the trend of dishing out mediocre television and movie-based games, its developers opted to deliver fans a stellar experience from The Simpsons universe. This game is a classic action-adventure title everyone can enjoy.
The Simpsons Hit & Run takes place in the show’s hometown of Springfield. Many strange incidents occur in the city involving crime and supernatural mischief. While playing as Homer, Marge, Lisa, Bart, and their friend Apu, you will complete many missions that will help you uncover the perpetrators behind this weird phenomenon.
This game feels like a clone of Grand Theft Auto in every regard. Similar to GTA’s realistic cities, players can traverse Springfield in many ways. You can walk, run, or drive past Springfield’s iconic buildings, side streets, and other locales. The game also features simple action commands that allow you to punch or kick fellow citizens. The violence is overly brutal as it feels more comical and cartoon-like than GTA.
If you’re looking for a wonderful licensed game with a hint of GTA elements, find yourself a copy of this game.
Retro City Rampage DX
Although titles like The Simpsons Hit & Run and Lego City Undercover copy the ideas and formula established in modern GTA titles, this game aims to bring you back to that franchise’s roots. Before making, its jump into the 3D space, GTA was a top-down game where you’d hijack cars, run from cops, and complete missions.
Retro City Rampage DX is an action-adventure title with a fascinating world, stellar storyline, and a slew of immersive and crime-centric activities. Like GTA, you’ll find yourself completing multiple missions, outrunning the law, and rampaging through its 8-bit city landscape.
The violence is on par with current Grand Theft Auto games. You can attack enemies and civilians using your fists or a variety of weapons, power-ups, and vehicles. The landscape in Retro City Rampage DX is full of life and freedom. There are many shops, minigames, collectibles, and customizations for you to seek out in this game.
Unlike GTA, Retro City Rampage includes crossovers with beloved mascots from Meat Boy to CommanderVideo to Microsoft’s Minecraft Steve. If you’re a retro gamer that misses GTA’s retro gameplay formula, I’d recommend Retro City Rampage DX.
Bully
Bully was released during Rockstar’s experimental phase. While it features the same GTA game mechanics fans grew to adore, the atmosphere, setting, and characters leaned toward a more young adult route. The game features its share of mature violence and themes–it feels like a younger sibling version of GTA, but in a good way.
This game takes place in the fictional town of Bullworth. The game follows a juvenile delinquent named Jimmy Hopkins. Due to his disorderly behavior, Jimmy forcefully enrolled at Bullworth Academy for a year. As Jimmy, players will experience their life at this educational institution. With his desire to climb the ranks and end bullying, it’s up to you to help Jimmy survive in this unruly establishment.
Like GTA, Bully features an incredible storyline with several chapters. Each chapter contains a slew of missions for you to complete. Some will have you racing fellow delinquents in bicycle races, while others involve you fighting various problematic students. The vehicles and weapons you can utilize in this game appear more child and teenager-like than GTA’s selection.
The weapons you will attain range from stink bombs to slingshots. These weapons can damage or stun foes, but the animations never delve into the realm of gore or brutality as GTA (kind of) does. On the other hand, this game offers you the freedom to live Jimmy’s life the way you want.
Like GTA, there are consequences for your horrible actions, though.
GTA fans looking to experience a game with similar mechanics in a teenager-like setting will appreciate what Bully delivers.
So there we have it, our 8 video game picks to keep you busy after playing Grand Theft Auto.
What do you think of our picks? Do you agree? Are there any notable omissions? Let us know in the comments below!