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Top Games Like GTA 5 To Play While Waiting For GTA 6

Discover 9 exhilarating games like GTA 5 to keep you entertained while waiting for GTA 6. These alternatives offer engaging narratives, open-world mechanics, and thrilling gameplay.

If you’re an ardent follower of the Grand Theft Auto series, there’s no doubt you appreciate the thrilling gameplay that’s made GTA 5 one of the most celebrated open-world games of all time. As you eagerly anticipate the release of GTA 6, don’t miss out on the fun! There are other riveting games, brimming with adventure and action, that bear a striking resemblance to GTA.

In this engaging piece, we will explore nine games similar to GTA, meticulously highlighting their unique features and how each game captures the essence of GTA 5’s unparalleled gaming experience. Let the gaming spree begin!

9. Red Dead Redemption 2: Experiencing the Remarkable

Red Dead Redemption 2

The Wild West never looked so good. Red Dead Redemption 2 is an open-world tour de force, showcasing immersive environments, complex characters, and a captivating narrative.

Overview of Red Dead Redemption 2

Set in the late 1800s, you play as Arthur Morgan, a notorious Van der Linde gang member. Your journey through the heart of America is both a gripping tale of survival and a commentary on the death of the Old West.

Similarities with GTA 5 Gameplay

Like GTA, Red Dead Redemption 2 thrives on an open-world experience. It maintains a steady balance between engaging storytelling, character development, and exploration. The game’s legal mechanics, weapons system, and honor system all mirror GTA’s own mechanics, allowing players to immerse themselves fully in the game world.

Focus on Crime and Outlaw Life

Underlining both games is an exploration of crime and its implications. Like in the concrete jungle of Los Santos in GTA, the wilderness of America in Red Dead Redemption 2 is fraught with danger, where lawlessness reigns, and survival means participating in criminal activities.

8. Watch Dogs 2: Delving Into A New World 

Watch Dogs 2

In the tech-focused open world of Watch Dogs 2, embrace your inner hacker and use your wits to navigate the seedy underbelly of a digitally transformed San Francisco.

Synopsis of Watch Dogs 2

As the game unfolds, you step into the shoes of Marcus Holloway, a talented hacker associated with the hacker group DedSec from the San Francisco Bay Area, whose mission is to take down the city’s advanced surveillance system.

How Watch Dogs 2 mirrors GTA 5

Much like GTA 5, Watch Dogs 2 thrives on its open-world environment. The game allows extensive exploration and interaction with an environment brimming with life, fun distractions, and side missions. It also delves into criminal undertones, albeit in a digital sense.

Appreciating the tech-focused open world

The tech-centric storyline sets Watch Dogs 2 apart, allowing players to use various hacking skills to manipulate the city’s infrastructure. The freedom to choose how you proceed—whether going guns blazing or tactically hacking your way to success—offers a fresh and unique spin on the open-world format pioneered by GTA.

7. Just Cause 4: Getting to Know the Chaos

Just Cause 4

Are you a fan of chaos and destruction? Meet Just Cause 4 an open-world game where creativity meets mayhem.

Introduction to Just Cause 4

In Just Cause 4, you take on the role of Rico Rodriguez in his journey through the fictional South American country of Solis to hunt down the truth about his past while taking down an infamous private army.

Similarities with GTA 5 mechanics

Like GTA 5, Just Cause 4 puts a great emphasis on the freedom afforded to players within its open-world structure. You can explore the vast environments at your own pace, formulating unique strategies to approach the game’s challenges.

Recognizing the freedom of destruction

While GTA 5 allows property destruction and law-breaking, Just Cause 4 takes it further and lets the player wreak havoc on a much larger scale, setting it apart from the GTA series yet still keeping it relevant to fans looking for similar experiences.

6. Saints Row The Third: Immersing Volition’s

Saints Row The Third

Dive into the unabashedly wacky and over-the-top world of Saints Row: The Third–an open-world game that doesn’t shy away from absurdity.

Basics of Saints Row: The Third

Stepping into the shoes of the leader of the Third Street Saints gang, you are tasked with taking over the city of Steelport—and facing off against rival gangs, the military, and a corporate entity bent on taking you down.

Comparison with GTA 5

While not as grounded as GTA 5, Saints Row: The Third shares its open-world mechanic, engaging narrative, and focus on criminal activity. However, it sets itself apart with its humorous tone and outrageous gameplay elements.

Appreciating the humor-filled narrative

Saints Row: The Third is loaded with humor and parody, which adds a unique flavor to its narrative and differentiates it from the more serious undertones of the GTA series while offering a similarly engaging experience.

5. Mafia III: Playing with Morality

Mafia III

Immerse yourself in the world of organized crime and explore the depths of morality in Mafia III, a game that challenges your choices at every turn.

A Look Into Mafia III

You play as Lincoln Clay, a Vietnam War veteran on a mission to avenge his family, navigating your way through a reimagined New Orleans filled with crime, corruption, and violence.

The parallels with GTA 5 gameplay

Like GTA 5, Mafia III includes an expansive open-world setting filled with tasks, missions, and choices that shape the world around you. It also delves into criminal undertones and incorporates similar third-person shooting mechanics.

Paying attention to the moral choices made in-game

One distinguishing feature, however, is Mafia III’s emphasis on moral choices. Your decisions will significantly impact the narrative and the world at large—a twist that fits seamlessly with the overall tone of the game, offering a new layer to the open-world experience that GTA fans would appreciate.

4. Sleeping Dogs: Taking A Breath Of Fresh Air

Sleeping Dogs

Sleeping Dogs takes you deep into the undercover world with a dramatic storyline, intense combat, and a richly detailed environment.

Introduction to Sleeping Dogs

Sleeping Dogs thrusts you into the boots of Wei Shen, an undercover cop trying to dismantle the notorious Triads from within their ranks, set against the bustling backdrop of Hong Kong.

Describing the similarities with GTA 5

Sleeping Dogs mirrors several gameplay mechanics of GTA 5. It offers an open-world experience, an engaging plot, and a criminal-focused storyline. The city of Hong Kong feels alive and bustling, with plenty of mini-games and side missions that provide a much-needed break from the intense main storyline.

Distinguishing the unique martial arts-based combat

A critical distinction between GTA 5 and Sleeping Dogs is the combat system. While GTA 5 relies heavily on gunfights, Sleeping Dogs features a martial arts-based hand-to-hand combat system. This gives the game a unique flavor and sets it apart from others in its genre.

3. L.A. Noire: Riding Through A Los Angeles Storyline

LA Noire

L.A. Noire is a compelling tale of crime and deduction in the noir-drenched backdrop of post-war Los Angeles—sure to appeal to fans of the GTA series.

Decoding the mystery of L.A. Noire

You play Detective Cole Phelps as you rise through the ranks of the L.A.P.D., solving a series of gruesome crimes and battling the unforgiving world of Hollywood’s Golden Age.

How L.A. Noire compliments the GTA series

At first glance, L.A. Noire and GTA might seem worlds apart, but they share nuances that bridge the gap. Like GTA, L.A. Noire follows a character-driven narrative set in a meticulously reconstructed open world—an integral part of the gaming experience.

Appreciating the detective-inspired story

What sets L.A. Noire apart is its focus on detective work and interrogation—relying more on the player’s deductive skills than conventional action sequences. This change of pace adds to the richness of the open-world genre, providing a breath of fresh air for fans looking for similar yet distinct experiences.

2. Gun: Conquering the Wild West

gun video game

Journey back to 1880s America as you battle for survival in the unforgiving world of Gun— an open-world game that captures the essence of the Old West.

Discovering the gameplay of Gun

As Colton White, a vengeful gunslinger, you set out on a quest to uncover the truth about your past and take control of the West—a narrative that’s certainly steeped in drama and high stakes.

Comparison with GTA 5’s Open World Approach

Like GTA, Gun is an open-world journey, allowing players to explore a vast landscape filled with towns, deserts, and mountains. Side missions, quick draw duels, and town defense events provide numerous distractions from the main narrative, much like GTA 5’s infinite list of activities.

How Gun captures the essence of the cowboy lifestyle

Gun provides an authentic cowboy experience, from horseback riding to frontier justice. It all adds up to an unforgettable Wild West adventure. It’s rough, gritty, and uniquely entertaining—much like GTA, but with a cowboy hat.

1. Far Cry 5: Savoring the Insanity

Far Cry 5

Welcome to Hope County, Montana—a seemingly idyllic county that holds a dark secret. Far Cry 5 is a testament to chaotic, free-spirited gameplay and narrative depth that would resonate with GTA gamers.

An overview of Far Cry 5

Far Cry 5 puts you in the shoes of a rookie deputy, where your mission to arrest the charismatic cult leader, Joseph Seed, spirals out of control, leading to a full-blown resistance against Seed’s cult.

Identifying the shared themes with GTA 5

GTA and Far Cry share thematic similarities. Both delve into a world chock-full of dangers and adventure at every turn. Like GTA 5’s Los Santos, Far Cry 5’s Hope County is a colorful and dynamic open world brimming with life and threats, ensuring that no two players will have the same experience.

Why Far Cry 5 is known for chaotic fun

While GTA games are known for their chaos, Far Cry 5 takes it to the next level. The game is notorious for its explosive and wild gameplay—from aerial dogfights and close-quarters combat to wild animal attacks—the insanity never ends, promising a thrilling ride for GTA fans waiting for the next installment.

The Grand Theft Auto Series Phenomenon

There’s no denying that the Grand Theft Auto (GTA) series is a titan in the gaming industry. The franchise has successfully etched its name into the annals of gaming history, showcasing unprecedented creativity, innovation, and depth rarely seen in the gaming world.

The popularity of the GTA series

The GTA series has cemented itself as a beloved franchise among gamers worldwide due to its expansive open world, riveting storylines, and raw, unfiltered portrayal of crime, violence, and anarchy. Few games even come close to emulating the raw vivacity and flare of the series. Renowned as emotionally gripping, impactful, and controversial—the GTA series has mastered the art of keeping gamers on the edge of their seats.

The impact of GTA 5 on the gaming community

GTA 5, in particular, has taken the gaming world by storm. It pushed the boundaries of what was possible in an interactive medium. From its sprawling metropolis, numerous side quests, and highly detailed and immersive environments—to its engaging narrative and memorable characters—GTA 5 has left an indelible mark on the gaming landscape. It challenged the norms of game design and storytelling and influenced how interactive narratives would be created, viewed, and appreciated.

Why fans are eagerly anticipating GTA 6

Given this immense success, it’s a no-brainer that fans are eagerly awaiting the release of GTA 6. The uncanny ability of the GTA series to merge world-building, tension-filled narratives, and intense gameplay mechanics into a coherent, cohesive gaming experience leaves fans yearning for more. The anticipation surrounding GTA 6 is palpable, and gamers are looking forward to seeing what new innovations will shape the franchise’s future.

But while we all wait for GTA 6 to hit our screens, several other games share gameplay mechanics similar to GTA 5 and offer similar excitement and blow-your-mind moments.

Concluding

In conclusion, while the wait for GTA 6 continues, you can appreciate and enjoy the bevy of fantastic open-world games that offer a deviation from the usual GTA flavor while still holding on to similar elements like an engaging narrative, character-driven plot, and deep exploration of criminally charged worlds—all wrapped up in expansive, immersive worlds that beg to be explored. So, buckle up because an amazing adventure awaits!

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By Jupiter Hadley

Jupiter is an avid indie gaming journalist that covers lesser titles. She highlights thousands of game jams and independent games on YouTube. She judges several jams and events and oversees indiegamejams.com, a global game jam calendar.