For a modern city where you drive between missions and stir up trouble, start with Watch Dogs 2. If you want a sprawling outlaw story, pick Red Dead Redemption 2; for urban crime with martial-arts combat, try Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition. “Like GTA” can mean driving, roaming, crime, action, missions, or side activities, so the right choice depends on which part of the formula you want most.
Ten open-world games to try if you like GTA
This is an editorial selection, not a claim that there is one objective closest match. The games below range from contemporary city crime to historical stories, detective work, RPGs, and deliberately over-the-top chaos.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Open World: Video Games and Contemporary Art | $53.78 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Ghost of Tsushima - PlayStation 4 | $22.99 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Mad Max - PlayStation Hits (PS4) | $18.64 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Just Cause 4 - PlayStation 4 | $11.80 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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Elden Ring - PlayStation 4 | $33.15 | Buy on Amazon |
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Watch Dogs 2 — best for a modern city mission loop
Drive around a contemporary city, take on missions, and use hacking to create opportunities or cause trouble. It is the strongest pick here if you want a modern urban structure reminiscent of GTA V, but hacking is central to its identity, so it is not simply GTA with different characters. GameGeeker calls it the closest structural match to GTA V, while GamesRadar highlights its distinct setting and tone: GameGeeker’s GTA-like recommendations and GamesRadar’s alternatives.
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Red Dead Redemption 2 — best for a vast outlaw story
Choose this if the appeal is Rockstar-style freedom and a world to get lost in, but you are happy to leave the modern city behind. It is a historical Western with a slower outlaw narrative, rather than a contemporary crime sandbox. GamesRadar describes its expansive world as reflecting the player-freedom values associated with GTA; GameGeeker also recommends it for its outlaw saga (GamesRadar; GameGeeker).
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Sleeping Dogs: Definitive Edition — best for grounded urban crime and martial arts
For a compact city crime story with close-quarters martial-arts combat and action-film energy, this is a strong fit. Its urban setting and crime conventions may feel familiar to GTA players, but the emphasis on martial arts makes the action its own. GamesRadar describes that blend, and GameGeeker calls it a grounded match (GamesRadar; GameGeeker).
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Mafia: Definitive Edition — best for a cinematic period gangster tale
Pick this for a polished, story-led mob drama rather than the contemporary tone and broad sandbox freedom of GTA. Its period setting changes the feel of the experience: the draw is the gangster story, not a one-to-one recreation of GTA’s city-and-crime loop. GameGeeker recommends it as a cinematic mob tale: GameGeeker.
Rank #2
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Ghost of Tsushima - PlayStation 4- Available Now - Ghost of Tsushima: Legends, a new cooperative multiplayer experience inspired by Japanese folk tales and mythology.
- Beyond war, ancient beauty endures: Uncover the hidden wonders of Tsushima in this open-world action adventure.
- The rise of the Ghost: Forge a new path and wage an unconventional war for the freedom of Tsushima.
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Yakuza 0 — best for dense districts and side activities
Yakuza 0 trades a huge traversable map for tightly packed city districts, brawling, minigames, and memorable side stories. It suits players who enjoy wandering off mission to find distractions, but its world is smaller in scale than GTA’s. GameGeeker emphasizes its districts and side stories; GamesRadar notes both its many activities and its more compact scale (GameGeeker; GamesRadar).
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Saints Row IV: Re-Elected — best for absurd open-city chaos
If grounded crime is not essential and you want a gleefully exaggerated power fantasy, try this specific installment. Superpowers, wild weapons, and an alien plot push the open-world mayhem far beyond GTA’s more grounded crime stories. GameGeeker highlights those elements: GameGeeker.
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Mad Max - PlayStation Hits (PS4)- Be Mad Max - Become the iconic post-apocalyptic warrior, crafting and upgrading Max's equipment and weapons to survive by combining melee combat, gunplay and tactical techniques. Gamers must form alliances as they work towards the goal of building their "Magnum opus."
- Immersive savage Wasteland - Explore the gritty, dynamic world while braving the treacherous landscapes, hostile weather patterns and deadly marauders.
- survive the open-world landscape - Staying alive isn't easy. Players clash with deadly factions and gangs through scores of dangerous side-missions and quests in the dynamic open-world full of exploration.
- intense vehicular combat - Engage in dynamic inter-vehicular combat, taking down enemy vehicles with a range of powerful weapons. Car combat is entirely physics-based, so no two battles are ever the Same.
- build the ultimate survival machine - Players design, customize and upgrade their ultimate vehicle-the Magnum Opus-choosing from different car chassis and a slew of upgrades including mounted weapons, armour and engines to survive another day
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Cyberpunk 2077 — best for a futuristic city RPG
Cyberpunk 2077 offers a crime-world setting in a futuristic metropolis, but its mercenary protagonist and RPG progression make it different from a conventional GTA-style sandbox. PlayStation describes Night City as a bustling futuristic metropolis shaped by human modification, corporatism, and violence; that is the platform holder’s editorial description, not a quoted statement from a named individual. GameGeeker also frames the game as a crime-soaked megacity with deep RPG systems (PlayStation; GameGeeker).
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Mafia III: Definitive Edition — best for a gritty period crime drama
Choose this for a revenge story set in 1968 New Bordeaux, rather than a modern city or a free-roaming crime fantasy. Its period atmosphere and organized-crime focus make it a grounded alternative for players who want the dramatic side of GTA’s criminal worlds. GameGeeker identifies the setting and revenge arc, while GamesRadar describes it as a grounded organized-crime option (GameGeeker; GamesRadar).
Rank #4
Just Cause 4 - PlayStation 4- Day One Edition includes Neon Racer Pack with these DLC items Neon Racer Supercar, Neon Racer Wingsuit, Neon Racer Parachute; see description for full details
- Bring The Thunder Soar through the skies with your wingsuit Skydive, Base Jump and Free Dive, as you fight your enemies harnessing extreme weather to your advantage
- Rico’s Ultimate Mission Spearhead the rebellion and defeat a hi tech private military organization; Face off against the most capable adversary yet; Uncover the mystery behind Rico’s Father’s past
- Huge South American World 100 square kilometers to explore from rainforest to desert, and across snowy mountain peaks as you explore the world of Solis from bustling cities to rural grasslands
- Creative destruction at its best Customize your new grapple hook with evolved and new capabilities; Experiment with military jets, helicopters, turbo fueled sports cars, and construction vehicles
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Just Cause 4 Reloaded — best for stunts and destruction
Pick this when traversal and large-scale spectacle matter more than a believable crime story. Grapple-and-wingsuit movement lets you get around in a distinctive way, and the appeal is chaotic freedom and destruction. If you specifically want GTA’s grounded criminal life, look elsewhere. GameGeeker and GamesRadar both emphasize its high-chaos approach (GameGeeker; GamesRadar).
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L.A. Noire — best for investigation in an open city
For a crime setting without playing a criminal, try this detective-focused alternative. Its city provides a backdrop for crime scenes and interrogations; choose it for investigation rather than GTA-style driving chaos. GameGeeker describes it as a detective counterpoint to the genre: GameGeeker.
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Elden Ring - PlayStation 4- ELDEN RING is a fantasy action-RPG adventure set within a world created by Hidetaka Miyazaki—creator of the influential DARK SOULS video game series; and George R.R. Martin—author of The New York Times best-selling fantasy series, A Song of Ice and Fire
- Danger and discovery lurk around every corner in FromSoftware’s largest game to-date
- HIDETAKA MIYAZAKI: President and Game Director of FromSoftware Inc. Known for directing critically-acclaimed games in beloved franchises including Armored Core and Dark Souls
- GEORGE R. R. MARTIN: the #1 The New York Times bestselling author of many novels, including the acclaimed series A Song of Ice and Fire—A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, A Feast For Crows, and A Dance with Dragons
How to choose the right GTA-like game
Start with the part of GTA you want to keep, then decide what you are willing to change. These recommendations vary in setting, tone, gameplay, story emphasis, and world scale.
- Setting: For a contemporary city, look at Watch Dogs 2 or Sleeping Dogs. For a future metropolis, consider Cyberpunk 2077. For a historical period, choose Red Dead Redemption 2, a Mafia game, or L.A. Noire.
- Tone: Sleeping Dogs and the Mafia games lean toward grounded crime drama; Saints Row IV: Re-Elected is intentionally absurd, while Just Cause 4 Reloaded prioritizes spectacle and chaos.
- Gameplay: Choose Watch Dogs 2 for hacking alongside driving and missions, Sleeping Dogs for martial-arts combat, L.A. Noire for detective work, or Just Cause 4 Reloaded for traversal and stunts.
- World scale and structure: Red Dead Redemption 2 is the pick here for an expansive world; Yakuza 0 offers densely packed districts instead of a huge map.
- Story or sandbox: If a focused crime narrative matters more than free-form city chaos, try Mafia: Definitive Edition or Mafia III: Definitive Edition. For a more exaggerated open-world power fantasy, choose Saints Row IV: Re-Elected.
Platform and edition are separate practical considerations. The recommendation guides consulted report platform information, but do not establish current retailer stock or confirm every edition. Check the specific platform and edition you want before buying.
Quick Recap
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
