Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition Reviews
Two of the three games are still pretty great, but this is one of the most brazenly offensive cash grab releases I've seen in recent memory.
While it has its rough edges, Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition is a worthwhile remaster of three classic titles. Its visual overhaul prevents these games from feeling overly dated, and the quality-of-life improvements modernize the experience in a way that meets today’s standards. Sure, its new art style and character models won’t mesh well with everyone, but it may grow on gamers as time goes by. And sure, while these aren’t the “definitive” editions we expected, this is an admirable attempt to introduce three groundbreaking games to a new generation, and I’m glad it exists.
So, to recap my advice at the beginning: stick to your original copies if you still have them. If you need to see this mess in action for yourself, either wait until developer Grove Street Games heavily patches this collection or wait for a deeply discounted sale.
All three mainline GTA games from the PS2 era are seminal pieces, and they still hold up to modern scrutiny – the outstanding GTA San Andreas especially. But as remasters these are weak: they chug on modern hardware and are undone by questionable artistic decisions. Rockstar built its reputation on attention to detail, and while all three of these games still come highly recommended, this disappointing compilation will go down as a stain on the label's record.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition is inferior to the original games and represents these phenomenal titles in the worse way possible.
The remaster of three of the most important games in video game history in Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition fails in almost everything that it proposes, even if you can ignore a few contextual merits. However, this definitive version is far from the respect it owes to the originals and, mainly, to the audience.
Review in Portuguese | Read full review
After a campaign of threat and terror against the mod makers who had kept these titles alive for the better part of two decades and de-listing the original versions, we are offered this magnificent piece of failure and while playing it, you just keep wondering about the inner workings of QA departments of the publishers and console manufacturers that time and again have let titles this functionally broken, slip past them.
Review in Persian | Read full review
CJ’s return to Grove Street in the opening sequences of San Andreas feels like a metaphorical foretelling. You’re returning home, much like he is, but things feel different. There’s an uncanniness to it all. You know the places and the faces, but they’re not the same. Rockstar Games has swooped in like Officer Tenpenny and taken your money from you, too, so you’re bitter about it all. To make matters worse, you’re stuck with what you’ve got. The Definitive Edition of these games is all we have now. Grand Theft Auto 3, Grand Theft Auto Vice City, and Grand Theft Auto San Andreas are worth playing if you can - but we’d find it hard to recommend the Definitive Edition versions over hunting down an old PlayStation 2 and booting up the originals. The improvements just aren’t worth the price.
GTA: The Trilogy is an acceptable but loveless remaster that incorporates some welcome updates, but also new quirks.
Review in German | Read full review
Rebuilding GTA Trilogy could have taken a variety of ways, and the builder chose the worst.
Review in Persian | Read full review
The new version of the GTA Trilogy is still able to offer fans hours and hours of nostalgic "play", as long as they are able to overlook the obvious roughness within the offer.
Review in Italian | Read full review
There are great stories here, memorable characters, fun missions, and the tools players need to create countless hours of their own entertainment. The foundation of GTA Trilogy is comprised of three of the best games ever made, and so there is inherent value, especially for newcomers. But while the core gameplay of GTA Trilogy is truly incredible, the overall package feels rushed and haphazard. Those desperate for old school GTA on modern consoles should check the collection out, especifically if the promised Grand Theft Auto Trilogy fixes come through, but everyone else can safely skip it.
These remasters feel less stable than the glitchy originals, with a lack of attention to detail that undermines the games' character
GTA Trilogy Definitive Edition is defective, disappointing, and surprisingly disrespectful to three classic games and their many legions of fans.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - Definitive Edition is anything but definitive, with too many issues that simply cannot be overlooked.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition is definitely ... a disappointment. The technical restyling on the three chapters of the saga was half successful but does not pay the right homage to the original trilogy, while the improvements to the gameplay are not enough to make us forget the many bugs and glitches of this unsuccessful collection.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Unfortunately, Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition is proof that nostalgia will only get you so far. It'll get you to boot up the game with rose tinted glasses, there waiting for you are the GTA experiences we have all loved from years ago. They aren't the same though. Improvements are masked by flaws, and they don't truly feel elevated close to "definitive" edition status. The CEO of Grove Street Games has promised updates and hopefully these can fix the qwirks, the bugs and the oddities, which chip away at those rose tinted glasses. We all wanted Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition to allow us to once again sink hours into those glorious games of old. Perhaps they will get there, it's been a rocky start and currently it's not the hidden package we were looking for.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition collects some truly groundbreaking games that still provide their share of nostalgic fun, but little has been done to make them shine here in 2021. Ultimately, a shoddy visual upgrade, choppy performance, and a lack of meaningful updates or extras may leave you questioning why you loved them in the first place. Perhaps this collection can be brought up to snuff with updates from Rockstar (or modders), but for now, its Wanted Level remains low.
Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy Definitive Edition isn't exactly the disaster it's been made out to be, but it is still a frustrating, underwhelming attempt to modernize three very important games. The quality of life improvements are generally welcome, and in many places, there's a faithful upgrading of the iconic visual style of the PS2 era titles. Unfortunately, not every change is welcome, and in the case of San Andreas, perhaps a little less of it might have done it a few favours.
Lazy, amateurish, and half-finished are not how you usually expect to describe a Rockstar game, but this easily avoided mess shows three classic games in the least flattering way possible.