Best PS5 Games Like Grand Theft Auto, Ranked

Grand Theft Auto has been a cultural phenomenon since Grand Theft Auto 3 defined open-world video games back in 2001. The brand was redefined further with the hugely successful launch of GTA Online, which spawned an entire livable world full of dedicated players. Due to the runaway success of GTA Online, however, Rockstar somewhat neglected the single-player experience, allowing a whopping 12 years to pass between GTA 5 and the highly anticipated GTA 6.

Related

5 Grand Theft Auto Games That Changed The Franchise The Most

The following Grand Theft Auto games deserve recognition and respect for the innovations they brought to the franchise.

Posts

By  Ritwik Mitra

With money on the table for so long, publishers would presumably be scrambling to fill that void, but there has actually been a stark lack of successful alternatives. That's not to say a few titles didn't forge their own paths for the latest console generation. Any gamers looking to fulfill that crime power fantasy can certainly do worse than these great PS5 games similar to Grand Theft Auto's single-player offerings.

8 Crime Boss: Rockay City

Star-Studded Roguelite

Crime Boss: Rockay City pares down Grand Theft Auto 5's signature heists to their core elements with a roguelike progression system that sees players level up with minor perks across multiple run-throughs. The game attempted to differentiate itself by adding star power, casting iconic names like Michael Madsen, Chuck Norris, Danny Trejo, and Kim Basinger.

Sadly, that seems to have consumed the majority of the development budget with no meaningful planning options and missions mainly consisting of shooting wave after wave of bullet sponge goons. It falls more into the camp of so bad, it's good. For fans looking for a B-movie gangster epic starring the above, it's more than worth its moderate price tag.

7 Saints Row

The Great Imitator

It's fitting that a series that began life as a shameless GTA clone has gone full circle after venturing out into some insane territory to forge its own identity. Saints Row is, unfortunately, another game that promises more than it delivers, although it is still one of the closest game to that GTA formula on the PS5.

When Volition rebooted the series in this fifth installment, they returned to turf wars and an open-world crime sandbox. It lacks the depth and character of its inspiration, but it does sprinkle an extra dose of chaos and customization options in keeping with the series' roots for anyone looking to experiment.

6 Payday 3

Multiplayer Heists

Likely a more direct inspiration for Crime Boss: Rockay City, the Payday series has cornered the market of multiplayer heist simulators. Payday 3 was not as well received as its predecessor largely due to a familiar problem with bugs and connectivity issues that have plagued previous launches.

Fans felt rightly aggrieved at another lack of overall polish on a Payday product, but like the previous entries, the developers have supported it well post-launch. With a dedicated fanbase and a slew of technical improvements and DLC over the past year, there's never been a better time to jump into Payday 3.

5 Far Cry 6

Guerrilla Combat

Moving back to the open world but away from adverse crime, we find another latest in a popular series, Far Cry 6. Set in what is essentially a reimagined Cuba, players take on the role of a freedom fighter attempting to overthrow the oppressive regime.

Related

GTA Online: 10 Cars With The Highest Overall Rating, Ranked

No matter if it's a Muscle, a Super, or a Sport, these cars are the must-haves in the garage of any Grand Theft Auto Online player.

Posts

By  Chynna Mansfield

For those who enjoyed the compelling narratives and moral ambiguity of the GTA series, Far Cry 6 is arguably the best option. It perhaps doesn't quite match the hype of those pre-launch trailers, but it's still a great villainous performance from Giancarlo Esposito.

4 Watch Dogs: Legion

Hacker Crime Syndicate

Ubisoft's Watch Dogs is another series that has long-drawn parallels with GTA. The latest entry, Watch Dogs: Legion, was slightly less well-regarded than the previous entry, but it's easily the most ambitious game in the series — and maybe the genre, making every NPC recruitable.

Watch Dogs: Legion has impressively fleshed-out hacking mechanics to differentiate it while retaining that open-world GTA feel. It also features a very well-realized near future London map to explore for any players looking to relive the thrill of the lesser-known Grand Theft Auto: London 1969.

3 Teardown

Sandbox Heist Simulator

It's worth clarifying, that this list is attempting to rank games on the overall quality of the experience they aim to provide, as opposed strictly to their likeness to GTA, which would likely have seen Saints Row as the unwarranted top recommendation. Teardown bears little mechanical resemblance to GTA, but it does offer a very different take on one of its most popular features, the heists.

The indie hit features a series of destructible maps with players given unlimited planning time to prepare their route. Once the heist begins, the timer drops to just 60 seconds to grab all the loot and reach the getaway vehicle. Players are essentially limited only by their imagination.

2 Cyberpunk 2077

Colossal RPG

Given the enormous hype during the build-up of Cyberpunk 2077, CD Projekt Red would have hoped it would have been talked about as an industry juggernaut of its own, but it instead serves as an apt substitute for GTA. To be fair, much of the damage was done in an infamously disastrous launch with the game released in a frankly unacceptable state.

Related

20 Awesome Side Quests Hidden In Cyberpunk 2077

Cyberpunk 2077 scatters great side quests across Night City, and it's up to players to find these amazing stories hidden around the map.

Posts

It's a shame how frequently that has come up in this small subsection of AAA games. Like the aforementioned, though, the game has received enormous support post-launch and is in a much better state today. Cyberpunk 2077 offers a hugely dense open world to explore and some deep character progression options — not to mention an incredible narrative running through the dark streets of Night City.

1 Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealth

Yakuza In Hawaii

The Yakuza series began life as a melee-focused GTA alternative based on the infamous Japanese crime syndicate, but it truly has taken on a life of its own, becoming one of the best-regarded AAA series around. Yakuza: Like a Dragon successfully reinvented the series as a turn-based RPG, and the sequel, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, is the best of all worlds.

A rich open world, an engaging if convoluted narrative, a healthy dose of wackiness, and a more fluid combat system that highlights the perfect blend of approaches across the series. Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth is an excellent game in its own right.

More

28 Best Open-World Games With Third-Person Shooter Gameplay, Ranked

Open-world games are inescapable, but which are the best titles that also have third-person shooter gameplay?

Posts