32 Shooter games like Grand Theft Auto III: The Definitive Edition that you should try

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Ranking compiled by Lluis Enric Mayans, Founder & Head of ContentUpdated May 19, 2026How this is calculatedOrdered by an attribute-similarity model, not editorial opinion.

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We filtered the 50 games similar to Grand Theft Auto III: The Definitive Edition down to the 32 that fit the “Shooter” category. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - The Definitive Edition, Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Mafia III top the list, ranked by affinity and similarity score to Grand Theft Auto III: The Definitive Edition.

iRank63/ 100

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GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

The best shooter games like Grand Theft Auto III: The Definitive Edition

32 similar games foundUpdated May 2026

Handpicked by our similarity algorithm, these are the titles with the highest gameplay match to Grand Theft Auto III: The Definitive Edition. Each one has been evaluated across 10 real attributes — from combat style and progression mechanics to world structure and visual perspective — so every recommendation is based on how the game actually plays, not just its genre label.

#1Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - The Definitive EditionClosest overall match

iRank79

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeDarkOpen WorldExplorationThird Person

Steam👍 79%· 14K

Year 2021Dev Grove Street Games · Rockstar GamesOn Xbox · PS4 · Android

✓ Fits the open-world action games cluster, with adventure storytelling, shooter and third-person shooting

≠ Its own twist: horror tension, sandbox freedom and strong narrative focus

Same studio: Grove Street Games.

Genre100Combat100Game mode100Progression100Visuals100World89

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Steam Epic PS

#2Grand Theft Auto: Vice City

iRank93

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeDarkOpen WorldExplorationThird Person

Steam👍 93%· 30KRAWG👍 93%· 3.1KMC94IGDB94· 4

Year 2002Dev Rockstar North · Rockstar GamesPlaytime ~2hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Fits the open-world action games cluster, with third-person shooting, adventure storytelling and shooter

≠ Stands apart with sandbox freedom, puzzle design and strong narrative focus

Tighter and more focused than the open worlds that followed it, with a compact city you learn by heart rather than by map marker. Driving carries most of the game. The shooting has aged badly — no proper cover, stiff aiming — and missions restart from the beginning, which turns a late failure into a long redo.

It predates Grand Theft Auto III: The Definitive Edition by 19 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Progression100Visuals100Game mode85Combat77Tone73

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeDarkOpen WorldExplorationThird Person

Steam👍 57%· 63KIGDB68· 23

Year 2016Dev Hangar 13 · 2K GamesOn PS4 · PC · Mac

✓ Fits the open-world action games cluster, with adventure storytelling, shooter and third-person shooting

≠ Its own twist: first-person shooting, sandbox freedom and strong narrative focus

New Bordeaux and its period soundtrack are exceptional, and the story handles race and its era with more seriousness than the genre usually manages. Driving feels heavy and right. The structure undercuts all of it — the same racket-clearing loop repeats across every district, and the mission variety runs out long before the map does.

Genre100Progression100Visuals100World90Game mode79Combat75

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeOpen WorldExplorationThird Person

Steam👍 66%· 5.2KRAWG👍 48%· 446MC75IGDB60· 1

Year 2006Dev Avalanche Studios · Square EnixPlaytime ~1hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Both are open-world action games — sharing third-person shooting, adventure storytelling and shooter

≠ Stands apart with sandbox freedom, sandbox world and procedural generation, while skipping dark, oppressive atmosphere

The first outing for the grapple-and-parachute traversal the series became known for, though far cruder here — the hook is limited and stunt-jumping between vehicles is the main trick. The island is large and mostly empty, missions repeat a handful of templates, and the driving physics are loose enough that chases become guesswork.

It predates Grand Theft Auto III: The Definitive Edition by 15 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Progression100Visuals100Game mode85Combat68World56

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeOpen WorldExplorationThird Person

Steam👍 91%· 51KRAWG👍 64%· 1.4KMC84IGDB85· 4

Year 2010Dev Square EnixPlaytime ~3hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Fits the open-world action games cluster, with third-person shooting, adventure storytelling and shooter

≠ Where it differs: brings sandbox freedom, sandbox world and ranged combat, while skipping dark, oppressive atmosphere

A physics sandbox first and a shooter a distant second. The grapple and parachute let you chain traversal indefinitely, and most of the fun comes from improvising with them rather than from any mission. Expect repetition: the island is enormous but the objectives recycle a handful of templates, and the story is barely present.

It predates Grand Theft Auto III: The Definitive Edition by 11 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Progression100Visuals100Combat72World70Game mode67

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Steam GOG Xbox

#6Agents of MayhemClosest on tone

iRank64

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeDarkOpen WorldExplorationThird Person

Steam👍 58%· 4.9KIGDB73· 19OC67· 131

Year 2017Dev Volition · Deep SilverOn PS4 · PC · Xbox

✓ Same family of open-world action games: shooter, third-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Its own twist: first-person shooting and setting scifi, while skipping racing gameplay

Genre100Combat100Game mode100Tone100World100Progression100

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Steam PS

#7Destroy All Humans!

iRank80

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeDarkOpen WorldExplorationThird Person

Steam👍 92%· 11KIGDB67· 11OC69· 13

Year 2020Dev Black Forest Games · THQ NordicOn PS4 · PC · Xbox

✓ Same family of open-world action games: adventure storytelling, shooter and third-person shooting

≠ Its own twist: sandbox freedom, sandbox world and setting scifi, while skipping racing gameplay

Genre100Combat100Game mode100Tone100Progression100Visuals100

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Steam GOG Epic

#8Mafia II: Definitive Edition

iRank70

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeDarkOpen WorldExplorationThird Person

Steam👍 74%· 37KIGDB61· 4

Year 2020Dev D3T Limited · 2KOn PS4 · PC · Xbox

✓ Same family of open-world action games: adventure storytelling, shooter and third-person shooting

≠ Stands apart with first-person shooting and strong narrative focus, while skipping racing gameplay

Genre100Combat100Game mode100World100Progression100Visuals100

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Steam GOG Epic

#9Control

iRank85

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeDarkOpen WorldExplorationThird Person

Steam👍 86%· 60KIGDB83· 15OC84· 183

Year 2019Dev Remedy Entertainment · 505 GamesOn Xbox · PS4 · PC

✓ Same family of open-world action games: adventure storytelling, shooter and third-person shooting

≠ Where it differs: brings horror tension, first-person shooting and Metroidvania exploration, while skipping racing gameplay

Genre100Combat100Game mode100World100Visuals100Progression73

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Steam Epic Xbox

#10Postal III

iRank34

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeDarkOpen WorldExplorationThird Person

Steam👍 46%· 6.1KIGDB10· 1

Year 2011Dev Running With Scissors · AkellaPlaytime ~2hOn PC

✓ Same family of open-world action games: shooter, third-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Stands apart with first-person shooting, horror tension and sandbox freedom, while skipping racing gameplay

Good or Insane? The choice is yours. Following the Apocalyptic end to the Postal Dude’s week in Paradise, we follow him and his insane pitbull Champ as they emigrate to its appropriately named sister city, Catharsis.

It predates Grand Theft Auto III: The Definitive Edition by 10 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Game mode100Progression100World84Tone81Combat65

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeDarkOpen WorldExplorationThird Person

Steam👍 62%· 32KIGDB69· 15OC68· 134

Year 2018Dev Avalanche Studios · Square EnixOn PS4 · PC · Xbox

✓ Both are open-world action games — sharing adventure storytelling, shooter and third-person shooting

≠ Its own twist: sandbox freedom, first-person shooting and strong narrative focus, while skipping racing gameplay

Genre100Combat100Progression100Visuals100Tone79Game mode78

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Steam Xbox PS

#12Driver Parallel Lines

iRank74

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeOpen WorldExplorationThird Person

Steam👍 90%· 1.5KRAWG👍 64%· 106MC61IGDB66· 3

Year 2006Dev Ubisoft · Ubisoft EntertainmentPlaytime ~2hOn PC · PS · Xbox

✓ Same family of open-world action games: racing gameplay, third-person shooting and shooter

≠ Stands apart with ranged combat, while skipping adventure storytelling

Driving is where the series always delivered, and the handling here is heavy and satisfying in a way most open-world games skip. The 1978-to-2006 time jump changes the whole city halfway through, which is a strong structural idea. On-foot sections and shooting are stiff and unwelcome, and the difficulty spikes without warning.

It predates Grand Theft Auto III: The Definitive Edition by 15 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Game mode100World100Progression100Visuals100Combat80

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Steam GOG Nintendo

#13Grand Theft Auto 2

iRank85

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeDarkOpen WorldExploration

Steam👍 92%· 491IGDB70· 1

Year 1999Dev DMA Design · Take-Two InteractiveOn PC

✓ Both are open-world action games — sharing shooter, racing gameplay and adventure storytelling

≠ Where it differs: brings first-person shooting, multiplayer gameplay and visual isometric, while skipping third-person shooting

Where it drifts furthest from Grand Theft Auto III: The Definitive Edition: visuals.

It predates Grand Theft Auto III: The Definitive Edition by 22 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Combat100Tone100World100Progression100Game mode56

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeDarkOpen WorldExplorationThird Person

Steam👍 90%· 14KIGDB82· 16OC83· 89

Year 2014Dev Insomniac Games · Microsoft StudiosOn PC · Xbox

✓ Both are open-world action games — sharing shooter, third-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Stands apart with precision platforming, first-person shooting and sandbox freedom, while skipping racing gameplay

Where it drifts furthest from Grand Theft Auto III: The Definitive Edition: game mode.

Genre100Combat100Tone100Visuals100World88Progression50

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Steam Xbox

#15Red Faction: Armageddon

iRank74

GenreActionSubgenreOpen World Action

SoloMeleeDarkOpen WorldExplorationThird Person

Steam👍 73%· 5.0KIGDB75· 5

Year 2011Dev Volition · THQOn PlayStation 3 · PC

✓ Same family of open-world action games: shooter, third-person shooting and adventure storytelling

≠ Its own twist: first-person shooting, linear, story-driven structure and setting scifi, while skipping racing gameplay

Where it drifts furthest from Grand Theft Auto III: The Definitive Edition: game mode.

It predates Grand Theft Auto III: The Definitive Edition by 10 years, with what that implies technically.

Genre100Combat100Tone100Progression100Visuals100World82

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Steam GOG Xbox

Complete list of shooter games like Grand Theft Auto III: The Definitive Edition

The full catalog of games sharing gameplay DNA with Grand Theft Auto III: The Definitive Edition, ordered from highest to lowest similarity score. Use the filters above to narrow down by genre, setting or game mode and find the alternative that best fits your playstyle.