It’s still a while until GTA VI is released. According to the first trailer, the game will not be released until 2025. Nevertheless, the hype is already enormous. To help you pass the time until the release of Rockstar’s next gangster epic, we have five alternatives below that cover various aspects of a “GTA” and provide many hours of fun.
What makes GTA so special? Before we jump into the list, we need to clarify what exactly makes a game a GTA alternative:
- A sandbox open world where we can do whatever we want. It usually consists of a larger city where we can create chaos at will.
- A satirical exaggerated story set in the gangster milieu, or at least allows us to commit criminal acts.
- A large selection of vehicles, weapons, and outfits to customize our character.
- Diverse side activities such as sports or other leisure activities that give the game the flair of a life simulation.
Now that this is clarified, let’s dive straight into the list. Important to note: This is not a ranking. The games presented cover different aspects of a “GTA” and can therefore only compete with each other to a limited extent. All are available for current and last console generations and PC, predominantly as remastered versions.
Sleeping Dogs
- Released on: August 17, 2012
- Developer: United Front Games (with Square Enix)
- Platform: PC/Mac, PS, Xbox
Sleeping Dogs offers players a completely different scenario than what is expected from GTA 5 and similar games. It takes place in the underground world of Hong Kong. Playing as the policeman Wei Shen, we go on an undercover mission to infiltrate the notorious triads, basically the Chinese version of the Italian mafia.
In doing so, the player traverses an open game world that, in terms of design and presentation, is hardly inferior to GTA. In four different districts, we are on foot or in one of the many vehicles that we can, quite typical for the genre, take without asking. If we act criminally, the police are soon on our trail. Since we must not blow our cover during our undercover mission, we inevitably have to fend off our adversaries.
A special feature of “Sleeping Dogs” is the combat system. Unlike many other games of this type, the firearm here is not the first choice. Instead, Wei Shen uses his martial arts skills to kick and punch like in a fighting game, quickly reducing the number of his opponents.
Here’s the review of “Sleeping Dogs” on Gamestar.
Saints Row: The Third
- Released on: November 15, 2011
- Developer: Volition
- Platform: PC/Linux, PS, Xbox
The third part of “Saints Row” stands here as a representative for the entire series. It is the first point of contact when it comes to completely over-the-top mission design. The game is very similar to GTA at its core, but just cranks everything up to the max. By the way, the last part of the series was released in 2022.
The protagonists of “The Third,” part of a gang called “3rd Street Saints,” are pop culture phenomena. There are posters and merchandise (bobbleheads!) everywhere in the open world, the members of the gang have turned into stars and behave accordingly. It goes without saying that the rival gangs do not want to stand idly by. Quickly, a gang war breaks out in which we devastate the city of Steelport.
Highlights, alongside the absurd and sometimes surreal missions, are the weapons we use to shoot through the game world. For instance, the “Mollusk Launcher” fires small octopuses that run around singing. With the “Shark-O-Matic,” we spawn a shark that eats enemies, and what function the grenade “Fart in a Jar” has is something everyone can guess.
All in all, “The Third” is the perfect game for those who find “GTA” not crazy enough yet.
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