GTA 4 review retrospective: GTA 4 may be getting a remaster this year, and this is why you should play it. Inspired by huge mid-noughties HBO crime dramas The Wire and The Sopranos, Rockstar would pivot from cartoon nonsense to Serious Themes, laying solid foundations for Red Dead Redemption, GTA 5, and beyond. But GTA 4’s success was never a guarantee: it was a risky proposition, a major departure from people’s expectations, and there are parallels with the upcoming GTA 6. So what can current Rockstar learn from the company that made GTA 4?
GTA 4 is considered to be the best and most mature GTA, however many players disliked its more realistic driving, dour tone, and muted colour palette, preferring the vibrant, arcadey look and feel of GTA 3, Vice City, and San Andreas. A lot of its audience preferred the Saints Row games as an alternative. But ultimately, GTA won: where is Saints Row now? Grand Theft Auto remains the king of the open world crime sim and the GTA 6 trailer shows that it will remain so on the GTA 6 release date in May 2026. This GTA 4 review retrospective celebrates Rockstar’s best game.
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