Grand Theft Auto has proven itself so influential that it’s become a shorthand description for any open world adventure game. Those games that are especially crime-centric are thought of in comparison to Grand Theft Auto, but truth is GTA’s exceptional open worlds, immersive life sim experiences, plus combat and car driving mechanics can be just as influential to other games that aren’t necessarily focused on becoming a criminal kingpin.
The 15 games on this rundown do risk being overshadowed by Grand Theft Auto 6, but that’d be a great shame because some of these games look truly remarkable, and certainly capable of exploring new ideas and locations in a genre that’s become amongst the world’s most popular.
