Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition

These are all great games, some of the most influential AAA sandbox games of all time. I cannot in good conscience recommend you play this version, especially if you wanted to check out the Nintendo Switch version. It’s quite ironic that unnecessary and ugly visual overhauls make these ports of PS2 games almost unplayable on this system. I hate to be cynical, but I don’t think you could salvage these things without redesigning everything from the ground up. Grand Theft Auto deserved better, and you deserve better than to waste your money on this.

I cannot currently recommend Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition on the PC, and a lot has to happen until I do. The truth is that I've had a decent amount of fun with this remaster; part of it is based on nostalgia, and part of it is based on some ridiculous, unavoidable bugs that weren't as frequent as I'd feared. Given all of these issues and the abysmal performance of the three games on the PC, I'd stay away from the trilogy until several major updates have been released. Even then, this remaster may not be for everyone.

The bottom line is you should wait whether you’re a new fan or an old fan returning. This Definitive Edition was a sad excuse for a re-release. Visual issues plagued the gameplay making it a frustrating experience with goofy looking models looking worse than the originals. The sounds still hold up and have aged well and there is longevity with these titles as they are brilliant when functioning. I have faith they will continue to update and fix issues, but game developers are getting away with dropping broken games and fixing it later.

Overall, Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition was set up to be one of the best things for GTA fans and it failed to hit that mark. It will now be remembered as a failure to launch title but I am sure Rockstar will step in and continue to fix some items within their game world. Released on November 11, 2021, this trilogy is listed at 59.99 USD and is available for all current and next-gen consoles and on PC as well.

When it comes to the Nintendo Switch version, as enjoyable as a portable version could be, the experience is heavily compromised and I can’t recommend players drop serious cash on this product. For those without a new generation console, I say wait and monitor the reception of potential future patches. It’s going to take a lot of updates to make this “Definitive Edition” actually feel definitive.

Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition can definitely give you a hit of nostalgia that you have been looking for. Once those rose-tinted glasses begin to fall away from your face, though, what you'll be left with is a bundle of three remastered Grand Theft Auto titles that are really starting to feel their age.