89
iRank79
ActionOpen World Action
SoloMeleeDarkOpen WorldExplorationThird Person
Steam👍 79%· 14K
Year 2021Dev Grove Street Games · Rockstar GamesOn Xbox · PS4 · Android
31 Dark games like Grand Theft Auto III: The Definitive Edition that you should try
Games like Grand Theft Auto III: The Definitive Edition · Find similar →
More about this game →Ranking compiled by Lluis Enric Mayans, Founder & Head of ContentHow this is calculatedOrdered by an attribute-similarity model, not editorial opinion.
We filtered the 50 games similar to Grand Theft Auto III: The Definitive Edition down to the 31 that fit the “Dark” 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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Quick answer
Within the “Dark” category, the closest game to Grand Theft Auto III: The Definitive Edition is Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas - The Definitive Edition — scoring 89/100 on our similarity scale. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City and Mafia III follow close behind.
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The best dark games like Grand Theft Auto III: The Definitive Edition
31 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.
ActionOpen 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
ActionOpen 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
79
iRank64
ActionOpen World Action
SoloMeleeDarkOpen WorldExplorationThird Person
Steam👍 58%· 4.9KIGDB73· 19OC67· 131
Year 2017Dev Volition · Deep SilverOn PS4 · PC · Xbox
ActionOpen World Action
SoloMeleeDarkOpen WorldExplorationThird Person
Steam👍 92%· 11KIGDB67· 11OC69· 13
Year 2020Dev Black Forest Games · THQ NordicOn PS4 · PC · Xbox
ActionOpen World Action
SoloMeleeDarkOpen WorldExplorationThird Person
Steam👍 74%· 37KIGDB61· 4
Year 2020Dev D3T Limited · 2KOn PS4 · PC · Xbox
ActionOpen 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
ActionOpen 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
ActionOpen World Action
SoloMeleeDarkOpen WorldExplorationThird Person
Steam👍 62%· 32KIGDB69· 15OC68· 134
Year 2018Dev Avalanche Studios · Square EnixOn PS4 · PC · Xbox
ActionOpen 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
ActionOpen 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
ActionOpen 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
ActionOpen World Action
SoloMeleeDarkOpen WorldExplorationThird Person
Steam👍 71%· 24KIGDB88· 12OC85· 150
Year 2019Dev The Coalition · Xbox Game StudiosOn Xbox · PC
✓ Both are open-world action games — sharing adventure storytelling, shooter and third-person shooting
≠ Its own twist: first-person shooting, strong narrative focus and setting scifi, while skipping racing gameplay
Where it drifts furthest from Grand Theft Auto III: The Definitive Edition: game mode.
Genre100Combat100World100Progression100Visuals100Tone83
ActionOpen World Action
SoloMeleeDarkOpen WorldExplorationThird Person
Steam👍 67%· 9.4KIGDB69· 7
Year 2010Dev IO Interactive · Square EnixOn PlayStation 3 · PC
✓ Both are open-world action games — sharing shooter, third-person shooting and adventure storytelling
≠ Stands apart with first-person shooting, strong narrative focus and multiplayer gameplay, while skipping racing gameplay
Shot entirely through a handheld-camera aesthetic — grain, blown-out light, censored gore — which is the reason to see it, and consistently committed to. The shooting itself is unremarkable and the cover system is imprecise. It is also very short, and the unrelentingly bleak tone gives you little reason to return once it ends.
Where it drifts furthest from Grand Theft Auto III: The Definitive Edition: game mode.
It predates Grand Theft Auto III: The Definitive Edition by 11 years, with what that implies technically.
Genre100Combat100World100Progression100Visuals100Tone71
ActionOpen World Action
SoloMeleeDarkOpen WorldExplorationThird Person
Steam👍 40%· 1.5KIGDB45· 2
Year 2008Dev Eden Games · Atari InteractiveOn PC
✓ Same family of open-world action games: adventure storytelling, shooter and dark, oppressive atmosphere
≠ Its own twist: horror tension, first-person shooting and puzzle design, while skipping third-person shooting
It predates Grand Theft Auto III: The Definitive Edition by 13 years, with what that implies technically.
Genre100Combat100Game mode100World100Progression77Tone66
Complete list of dark 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.
64
High on Life
Shooter · FPS
63
Hatred
Shooter · FPS
61
Ghostwire: Tokyo
Adventure · Horror
60
POSTAL 2
Adventure · Sandbox
60
Far Cry: Primal
Survival · Shooter
59
We Happy Few
Adventure · Survival
59
Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus
Shooter · FPS
58
Metro Exodus
Shooter · FPS
57
The Darkness II
Shooter · FPS
57
I Am Alive
Survival · Adventure
57
Serious Sam 4
Shooter · FPS
56
Bully: Scholarship Edition
Adventure · Sandbox
55
Clutch
Racing · Simulation
54
Carmageddon II: Carpocalypse Now
Racing
52
Sherlock Holmes: The Devil's Daughter
Adventure · Puzzle
46
Void Bastards
Shooter · FPS
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