{"id":98055,"date":"2026-11-07T10:22:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-07T02:22:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=98055"},"modified":"2026-11-07T10:22:00","modified_gmt":"2026-11-07T02:22:00","slug":"every-gta-game-ranked-by-metacritic-score","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=98055","title":{"rendered":"Every GTA Game, Ranked by Metacritic Score"},"content":{"rendered":"


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It\u2019s almost time. After more than a decade since Grand Theft Auto 5<\/em> was released, GTA 6<\/em> is mere days away from launching on PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. To mark the auspicious occasion, we\u2019re looking back on the critical legacy of the Grand Theft Auto series.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/section>\n

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With plenty of installments boasting Metacritic scores in the high 90s, GTA 6<\/em> has an exceptionally high bar to meet. That said, the series has had occasional growing pains over the years, even if true stinkers are a rarity among Rockstar Games\u2019 back catalog. These are the top 10 GTA games of all time, ranked according to their Metacritic scores.<\/p>\n

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A note on methodology: This list doesn\u2019t include expansions like GTA 4<\/em>\u2019s Ballad of Gay Tony<\/em>, and it doesn\u2019t include GTA Online<\/em>. (There aren\u2019t many actual reviews for the latter, because it\u2019s an evolving, always-on experience.) It also doesn\u2019t include the first three games in the series \u2014 GTA, GTA London 1969, <\/em>and GTA London 1961 \u2014<\/em> again because there aren\u2019t enough reviews for them to have a Metacritic score. Finally, we\u2019re not counting ports, either. This ranking is determined by the scores on their original release platforms. Where there\u2019s a tie, and there are a couple in this list, we\u2019ll give the edge to the game with more reviews.<\/p>\n

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\n 10 <\/span>
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\n GTA Advance (2004)
\n <\/span>
\n <\/h2>\n
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\"gta\n <\/picture>Image: Rockstar Games<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Metacritic score:<\/strong> 68<\/p>\n

Platform:<\/strong> Game Boy Advance<\/p>\n

Alternately called Grand Theft Auto Advance<\/em> or simply Grand Theft Auto<\/em>, this GBA game is actually a top-down prequel to GTA 3<\/em> that\u2019s set in Liberty City, rather than a remake or remaster of the first game. In a review for Eurogamer, Kristan Reed noted it felt out of step with the new direction of the series. \u201cIt’s just not the Grand Theft Auto experience most people will be gunning for, and certainly not for this price, not a chance in hell.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a recent retrospective, Polygon\u2019s Josh Broadwell said that this rare bum note for the series is more fun to talk about than it is to play, but GTA Advance<\/em> was also a vital stepping stone for the future of the series: \u201cYou’ve got your street races, firefighting missions, vigilante missions, all the stuff Rockstar loaded in modern GTA. Just in a much smaller, choppier package with worse radio stations. Those details may seem trivial, but Rockstar soon learned they were hugely important to its audience.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n 9 <\/span>
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\n Grand Theft Auto 2 (1999)
\n <\/span>
\n <\/h2>\n
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\"A\n <\/picture>Image: Rockstar Games<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Metacritic score:<\/strong> 70<\/p>\n

Platform:<\/strong> PC, PS2<\/p>\n

This top-down sequel was characterized as a mixed bag by critics, who largely considered it to be more of the same as the original Grand Theft Auto<\/em>. Reviews praised the soundtrack and early loyalty system, but the controls and overall gameplay left many players cold.<\/p>\n

IGN\u2019s Jeremy Dunham dismissed GTA 2<\/em> as \u201ca rental at best\u201d given its \u201cshoddy play mechanics.\u201d Writing for Gamespot, Jeff Gerstmann observed, \u201cThe graphics have been redone, the music is different, there is a slew of new weapons, the mission structure is a bit more complex, and the city feels a bit more alive. But at its core, GTA 2<\/em> is the same old game.\u201d At this point, the prospect of GTA being a multi-billion-dollar franchise and a global pop-culture phenomenon was nowhere in sight.<\/p>\n

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\n 8 <\/span>
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\n Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (2006)
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\"gta\n <\/picture>Image: Rockstar Games<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Metacritic score:<\/strong> 86<\/p>\n

Platform:<\/strong> PSP<\/p>\n

Welcome to Miami! This prequel to 2002’s Grand Theft Auto: Vice City<\/em> centers around the former soldier Vic Vance and his attempts to build up a criminal empire with his brother Lance in early \u201880s Vice City. Critics generally enjoyed the empire-building mechanics, but by this point felt the core GTA gameplay was getting long in the tooth. In an otherwise glowing 90-point review for 1UP.com, Kames Ransom-Wiley saidsaid, \u201cIt’s a shame Rockstar chose not to fix obvious flaws that have been called out repeatedly, but the weight of the total experience more than counterbalances this disappointment.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n 7 <\/span>
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\n Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories (2005)
\n <\/span>
\n <\/h2>\n
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\"gta\n <\/picture>Image: Rockstar Games<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Metacritic score:<\/strong> 88<\/p>\n

Platform:<\/strong> PSP<\/p>\n

This first installment of the Stories subseries follows GTA 3<\/em> side character Toni Cipriani\u2019s (yes, Toni with an I) efforts to rise through the ranks of the Leone crime family, getting caught up in a power struggle between the NYC-inspired city\u2019s Mafia organisations. Gamespot\u2019s Jeff Gerstmann said the game was a technical showcase for Sony\u2019s handheld console, even if the story was a little bit lacking: \u201cIt\u2019s really pretty amazing that GTA: Liberty City Stories <\/em>manages to cram in so much of the GTA experience that you\u2019re used to seeing on consoles. While the game is definitely a fine technical achievement and one of the best PSP games to date, the dull storyline and basic mission design do bring the whole thing down a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, IGN\u2019s Juan Castro praised the abundance of optional activities, and hinted at the low-pressure sandbox experience that would become a staple of open-world GTA. \u201cThere’s so much to see and do that finishing the main story portion leaves around 60% of the game to experience. Just driving around the city and taking in the sights packs about as much fun as most full-fledged games.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n 6 <\/span>
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\n Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (2009)
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\"GTA\n <\/picture>Image: Rockstar Games<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Metacritic score:<\/strong> 93<\/p>\n

Platform:<\/strong> Nintendo DS<\/p>\n

A hybrid of the series\u2019 original top-down presentation and its later open-world mechanics, Chinatown Wars<\/em> follows Huang Lee\u2019s journey to recover a stolen sword that was given to him by his late father, which sees him get caught up in a clash between Liberty City’s Triads. It drew widespread praise on launch, including from AV Club, who said, \u201cthe Nintendo DS may have forced Rockstar\u2019s hand. There\u2019s just no room for hours of talk-radio banality or stand-up routines. So Chinatown Wars<\/em> sticks to the basics: police chases and kill-crazy rampages.\u201d<\/p>\n

Elsewhere, in a perfect-score review, Eurogamer\u2019s Tom Bramwell called the game \u201ca triumph, not just in terms of bringing a difficult game to a new platform intact, but because it actually improves it in the process, and demonstrates a mastery of DS form and function.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n 5 <\/span>
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\n Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002)
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\"Tommy\n <\/picture>Image: Grove Street Games\/Rockstar Games<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Metacritic score:<\/strong> 95<\/p>\n

Platform:<\/strong> PS2<\/p>\n

We\u2019re in the big leagues, now. This glamorous \u201880s tale marked the first of many visits to Rockstar\u2019s Miami-inspired locale, and traces Tommy Vercetti’s rise to underworld power after he\u2019s released from prison and caught up in a drug deal gone wrong. Reviewers praised its more detailed open world compared to GTA 3<\/em>, the freeform approach to gameplay, and the music. As has been the case throughout the series\u2019 history, though, the controls and mission design were cited as areas for improvement.<\/p>\n

The Official US PlayStation Magazine deemed Vice City <\/em>\u201cthe PS2’s defining title,\u201d while a reviewer for Maxim magazine (holy 2002!) said, \u201cYou\u2019ll be sold the second you get into a gang bang with the song \u201cBeat It\u201d playing in the background. It just doesn\u2019t get any better than that.\u201d The kicker of Eurogamer\u2019s review sums up the consensus of the time: \u201cDo yourselves a large favour and buy this game, or as Rockstar once advocated, steal it.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n 4 <\/span>
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\n Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004)
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\n <\/h2>\n
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\"gta-san-andreas-tagging-up-turf.jpg\"\n <\/picture>Image: Rockstar Games<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Metacritic score:<\/strong> 95<\/p>\n

Platform:<\/strong> PS2<\/p>\n

Ah shit, here we go again. San Andreas<\/em> follows Carl “CJ” Johnson, a former gangster who returns home following his mother’s murder and works to bring his gang back to its old glory. PSM2, now part of GamesRadar, called it “the single most complete, unique, universe in console history” after Nintendo\u2019s The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time<\/em> and “the best entertainment console gaming can offer.” It earned a perfect score from Game Informer, whose reviewer Andrew Reiner breathlessly said, \u201cThis is more than a game. This is entertainment at its best.\u201d<\/p>\n

The New York Times\u2019 Charles Herold wasn\u2019t quite so impressed, giving the sequel a stingy three out of five stars, due to what he describes as an illusion of openness: \u201cIt would feel truer to the game’s open environmental design if you could have more general goals: kill an enemy when and how you like; raise money for an objective through any method available; challenge random people to races.\u201d He\u2019s not wrong, actually. And this sounds quite a lot like what we\u2019ll be able to do in GTA 6<\/em>.<\/p>\n

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\n 3 <\/span>
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\n Grand Theft Auto 3 (2001)
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\"The\n <\/picture>Image: Rockstar Games<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Metacritic score:<\/strong> 97<\/p>\n

Platform:<\/strong> PS2<\/p>\n

Twenty-five years later, the massive impact of GTA 3<\/em> can\u2019t be overstated. It established the foundation for open-world gaming, and made a compelling case for video games as a mature artistic medium for grown-ups. It follows silent protagonist Claude, who becomes entangled in the underworld in Liberty City while on a quest for revenge against his ex-girlfriend. Eurogamer\u2019s Tom Bramwell called it a \u201cluscious, sprawling epic of a game and one of the most complete experiences I have ever encountered. If this is what I’ve waited a year to see on my PS2, then I would have waited ten.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe makers of Grand Theft Auto 3 <\/em>have created a complete videogame experience like few, if any, before it,\u201d IGN\u2019s Doug Perry noted in a near-perfect 9.6 out of 10 review. \u201cThe game is absolutely, insanely good, and is truly one of the best titles of the year, on PlayStation 2, or on any system.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n 2 <\/span>
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\n Grand Theft Auto 5 (2013)
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\"Michael,\n <\/picture>Image: Rockstar Games<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Metacritic score:<\/strong> 97<\/p>\n

Platform:<\/strong> PS3, Xbox 360<\/p>\n

Taking players back to Los Angeles-inspired San Andreas, GTA 5<\/em> divides the story between three protagonists \u2014 Michael, Franklin, and Trevor. By and large, critics loved the multiple perspectives and praised the evolution in mission design. It became the second-ever game to get a perfect score from Japan\u2019s venerable gaming magazine Famitsu. (The first was Bethesda\u2019s The Elder Scrolls 5: Skyrim<\/em>.) Writing for IGN, Keza McDonald called it \u201ca preposterously enjoyable video game, but also an intelligent and sharp-tongued satire of contemporary America. It represents a refinement of everything that GTA 4 <\/em>brought to the table five years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

US Gamer\u2019s Mike Williams offered a more measured perspective, anticipating some later critiques of the game: \u201cIf you\u2019re absolutely opposed to torture, or you need a positive woman character in your game, Grand Theft Auto 5 <\/em>is a complete non-starter.\u201d Polygon\u2019s Chris Plante felt a similar ambivalence, noting that \u201cthere are more interesting female characters on Grand Theft Auto 5<\/em>‘s disc art than there are in Grand Theft Auto 5.<\/em>\u201d Rockstar seems to have taken this criticism to heart given Lucia\u2019s co-protagonist status in GTA 6<\/em>; it remains to be seen how well the notoriously \u201cedgy\u201d studio will pull it off.<\/p>\n

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<\/p>\n

\n 1 <\/span>
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\n Grand Theft Auto 4 (2008)
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\"GTA\n <\/picture>Rockstar Games<\/small><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Metacritic score:<\/strong> 98<\/p>\n

Platform:<\/strong> PS3, Xbox 360<\/p>\n

GTA 4<\/em> follows Eastern European migrant Niko Bellic\u2019s journey toward the American Dream. After hearing his cousin Roman boast about his lavish lifestyle, Niko arrives in Liberty City to find him mired in gambling debt in a shithole apartment. It doesn\u2019t take long before he\u2019s tangled up with the Russian mafia. And the Irish mafia. And the Italian one, too.<\/p>\n

Reviewers showered praise on New York-inspired open-world design, including Seth Schiesel of The New York Times, who called the city ” the real star” of the game. In a review for Computer and Video Games, Andy Robinson wrote: \u201cIn scope and scale, Liberty City is utterly unmatched. There’s seamless integration of interior and exterior (indoors doesn’t look like blurry boxes anymore) which is [GTA 4<\/em>‘s] most significant jump over San Andreas.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

They also really liked Niko, and enjoyed the darker, deeper, and less satirical tone of his story. \u201cRather than try to out-do the Crackdowns and the Saints Rows of the world with bigger land masses and more missions, Rockstar went the other way, and managed to craft an amazingly impactful story and weave it into an open-world game in an incredibly meaningful way \u2014 all without losing the heart and soul of what makes Grand Theft Auto so popular in the first place, said Gerstmann in Giant Bomb\u2019s review. \u201cThe end result is absolutely masterful and absolutely worth your time and money.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over time, it\u2019s Niko\u2019s affecting tale that\u2019s given GTA 4 <\/em>the edge over some very stiff competition. As Polygon\u2019s Josh Broadwell noted in an October 2026 retrospective, \u201cNiko’s story has no happy ending. Sure, he comes out on top and his place in Liberty City’s underworld is secured. This isn’t the life he wanted, though, and no amount of glitz and glamor can make up for what he’s lost.\u201d Can Jason and Lucia\u2019s tale top the all-time GOAT? We won\u2019t have to wait much longer to find out.<\/p>\n