The Grand Theft Auto franchise is home to many cities and locations. Each one parodies and takes inspiration from real cities for the ultimate sandbox experience. Today, we are going to give you our list of the best GTA cities. Being an awesome city doesn’t just come from layout, it also comes from atmosphere and how well it fits each title and character.
5. San Fierro
Clearly inspired by San Fransico, San Fierro features famous locations like the Golden Gate Bridge. While it may be last on the list, San Fierro offers a great roaming experience in GTA: San Andreas. What puts it at the bottom is that each proceeding city offers more immersion and exploration. San Fierro may be great to explore but gets outshined by Los Santos and Las Venturas, which are both featured in the same game.
4. Las Venturas
Fourth on our list is “The City That Only Cares About Slot Machines.” First appearing in San Andreas, the city is based on its real-life counterpart, Las Vegas. The city vibes are incredible, especially at night, with the corporate lights filling the sky. Exploring the city, desert, and paranormal activities makes Las Venturas an icon.
However, what puts this city toward the bottom of the list is the lack of appearance. Las Venturas only appeared in one game and would benefit greatly from being fleshed out. Perhaps a future title will be based here since it has the most potential out of any location.
3. Los Santos
Appearing in the most recent title in the series, Los Santos, dates back to 2004 with the release of San Andreas. The city has diverse locations, events, and captures the L.A. lifestyle perfectly. However, the city is small and feels bare due to the lack of interior environment. While the sidewalks may be brimming with NPCs shopping and going about their day, the stores have nothing to offer.
The buildings are flat, rarely have unique designs, and are inaccessible for the most part. This is because the game is very large but built for older console generations. However, it still does have its own personality and charm.
2. Vice City
Vice City offers the best atmosphere out of any other location in the franchise. Nothing is more iconic than the neon lights, beaches, sunsets, and who could forget ‘80s music? If the list was purely based on vibes and aesthetics, Vice City would be at the top. The fan hype around the Miami town went so far that it is now the location for the upcoming GTA 6. Fans will now get to see the modern beach paradise in next-gen graphics and mechanics.
1. Liberty City
Based on the world-famous New York City, Liberty City offers the most lived-in experience out of any GTA location. The city is packed full of people and includes interiors that haven’t been replicated since. Restaurants, bars, and clubs all have beautiful interiors and go beyond a cookie-cutter building. Even shops you cannot enter have interior designs you can see from outside, offering an in-depth and engaging experience.
Liberty City is a grim, dark, serious location that contrasts with previous titles like Vice City. Fans can only hope that with the release of Grand Theft Auto 6, Rockstar will return to the high level of detail they are known for.