5 Best Video Games Like Grand Theft Auto 5

One of the biggest open-world titles around is Rockstar Games' "Grand Theft Auto V," which has been thrilling players since 2013. For the uninitiated, players get to navigate the fictional state of San Andreas and its major cities, living life as a crook carrying out crimes of varying scale. While "Grand Theft Auto V" does have an entire story behind it, the real appeal is getting to explore its sprawling open-world map. Players can take on side missions or just indulge themselves in chaotic freewheeling experiences that the game provides.

Of course, "Grand Theft Auto" is far from the only open-world game on the market for players to dive into. From science fiction futures to period piece epics, there are plenty of similar environments allowing players to channel their inner bad side. Many of these games also possess their own distinct sense of humor, like the kind that "GTA" has been bringing for years. Here are the five best video games like "Grand Theft Auto V" to help tide you over as we wait for Rockstar's "Grand Theft Auto 6."

While initially starting out as a more grounded open-world crime game like "Grand Theft Auto," the "Saints Row" series quickly veered into over-the-top action and irreverent humor. This is especially true of 2013's "Saints Row IV," which opens with the player character becoming President of the United States after stopping a terrorist attack. This is followed by Earth being invaded by a hostile extraterrestrial empire known as the Zin, who abduct the player and most of his associates. The player must escape from the Zin and thwart their plans of destroying the Earth, all within the franchise's typical wacky humor and explosive spectacle.

"Saints Row IV" miraculously amps up the franchise's goofiest elements without somehow getting lost in its own campiness. The action remains as engaging as ever and the comedy, including actor Keith David memorably playing himself, never overstays its welcome. After the harsh reception to the 2022 "Saints Row" reboot, "Saints IV" remains the pinnacle of the franchise. For anyone looking for a considerably less self-serious open-world experience, "Saints Row IV" delivers on that score.

Sega had been producing "Yakuza/Like a Dragon" games since 2005 and decided to go back to the beginning of the franchise's timeline with 2015's "Yakuza 0." Set in 1988, 17 years before the events of "Yakuza Kiwami," players control a younger Kazuma Kiryu (Takaya Kuroda) after he's framed for murder. This places Kiryu at odds with his yakuza clan, forcing him to find a way to clear his name without their help. The game also reveals the history of another yakuza figure, Goro Majima (Hidenari Ugaki), who struggles to earn his place back in his clan after a prior disgrace.

Critically acclaimed, "Yakuza 0" was also a huge commercial success that also sold well overseas, prompting Sega to escalate its localization efforts for the franchise. As a prequel, the game is perfectly accessible to players who haven't tried out a "Yakuza" game before as a fantastic starting point. The game offers an immersive and vibrantly '80s vision of Tokyo for players to explore, complete with its own side activities and missions to dedicate countless hours toward. Refining the series' fan-favorite hard-hitting action while providing players with a lovingly throwback version of its open-world, "Yakuza 0" is still one of the best games in the franchise.

The other big open-world franchise published by Rockstar Games is "Red Dead Redemption," with 2018's "Red Dead Redemption 2" primarily set in 1899. In the final days of the Wild West, the player controls outlaw Arthur Morgan (Roger Clark) is part of a gang run by Dutch Van der Linde (Benjamin Byron Davis). Sensing that their way of life is coming to an end, the gang plots one last major heist to pull off before retiring. However, while facing increased pressure from the authorities and getting pulled into brutal local conflicts, internal friction threatens to tear the gang apart.

"Red Dead Redemption 2" expands upon the level of freedom and wealth of experiences available from its predecessor. The game also introduces mechanics similar to the "GTA" games, with players maintaining peak performance by eating regularly (and healthily) and cleaning their weapons. The title's online experience was also significantly revamped, offering a standalone experience from the main game with its own line of gameplay modes to try out. A full expansion of what made the preceding game so wonderful, "Red Dead Redemption 2" changed gaming and rivals "Grand Theft Auto V" as Rockstar's greatest achievement.

CD Projekt's wildly ambitious techno-punk action game "Cyberpunk 2077" has come a long way since its shaky 2020 launch. Set in the sprawling metropolis of Night City, the game features a dystopian future where cybernetic enhancements are common and megacorporation malfeasance is an accepted way of life. The player character, known simply as V, is implanted with a biochip containing the digital memory of legendary terrorist Johnny Silverhand (Keanu Reeves). As Johnny begins overwriting V's personality and memories, the two must work together to separate themselves, which involves taking on the sinister Arasaka Corporation.

The level of immersion that CD Projekt created for Night City is all the more impressive when you realize how much "Cyberpunk 2077" had to cut before launching. Like "Grand Theft Auto," players can focus on the main questline, but the real joy is in exploring Night City and interacting with its darkly thrilling world. Expanding the game further was its well-received 2023 expansion "Phantom Liberty," placing V on a mission to rescue the President. A game that completely overcame its shortcomings by reinventing itself through patches and other post-release content, "Cyberpunk 2077" eventually lived up to its own ambitions.

After the "Mafia" trilogy channeled classic mob movies like "The Godfather" and "Goodfellas" to deliver its period piece thrills, 2025's "Mafia: The Old Country" looked to the narrative's roots. Set in Sicily in the 1900s, the game follows Enzo Favara (Riccardo Frascari) as he joins the crime family of Don Bernardo Torrisi (Johnny Santiago). As Enzo works his way up the ranks of the Torrisi family, he grows closer to the Don. This is complicated by Enzo's growing disillusionment with the constant violence and the Don's murderous paranoia as he strikes up a romance with the Don's daughter, Isabella (Carina Conti).

The big thing that sets "Mafia: The Old Country" apart from its counterparts is how sumptuously its Sicilian setting is brought to life. While more linear than its predecessors, the prequel does offer chapters where the player can explore and appreciate the wider environment. The third-person perspective and combat certainly echoes "Grand Theft Auto," while adding its own flair to the gameplay mechanic. A beautifully rendered, if somewhat truncated, entry in the series, "Mafia: The Old Country" is a solid title for "GTA" fans.