In 2021, Rockstar remastered Grand Theft Auto III, Vice City, and San Andreas for Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch. Despite a rocky start plagued with new bugs and broken graphics, these remastered versions were steadily updated to fix the majority of egregious issues. However, in 2023, these issues still aren’t fully resolved for the existing ports, but improved versions are now available on mobile, where they perhaps should have been from the start.
The GTA Definitive Edition Trilogy (rumored to have been developedfrom older mobile ports) is now available on Android and iOS, courtesy of Netflix Games.
Upon release, we immediately went hands-on with GTA: Vice City to record nineteen minutes of gameplay. This way, everyone can see how the game performs on our testing device, an Asus Rog 6 Pro.
you may see in the recording that the remastered games contain improved visuals. Things like better lighting and high-resolution textures, with increased draw distance and quality-of-life features like Grand Theft Auto V’s controls. While the remasters these mobile ports were initially built onwere never wholly fixedacross consoles and PCs, some visual changes have been added to Netflix’s mobile ports, improving elements like fog and lighting, which were some of the most noticeable problems in the existing remasters.
GTA’s new mobile ports are the definitive experience we’ve been waiting for
During our time with Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, it became clear that the visuals were better than the PC and console versions of the game. However, I have a hunch that many of the visual problems noted in the original launch are resolved simply by playing the games on a smaller screen. The biggest problem I encountered was the touch-screen controls, which were wholly insufficient for open-world games.
The good news is there are plenty of ways to tweak the gameplay settings to suit your playstyle, from driving inputs to the camera distance while in a car. Not everyone has an Android-compatible controller, but for these games, one feels mandatory. The gameplay video above looks like I recorded it intoxicated, where, in reality, I was barely concentrating on anything but keeping my car in a straight line.
Once I switched to a controller (after wrapping up my recording), I settled in and enjoyed Vice City properly. I didn’t encounter any game-breaking bugs or distracting visual artifacts during my time testing the game. The rest of the collection looks much the same, offering distinct visual improvements over their existing versions on the Play Store.
Left: GTA: Vice City - (2023), Right: GTA: Vice City - (2012)
Grand Theft Auto feels like a stepping stone for Netflix Games
Despite the inconsistent quality of the previous GTA Definitive Edition Trilogy titles, the acquisition of the mobile publishing rights is a significant win for Netflix. The Netflix Games library predominantly contains indie titles or games based on original Netflix IPs. Whilethere are fantastic games included that make the subscription worthwhile, Netflix needs big names like GTA to grow interest. Heck,even Sonic is comingto the platform soon.
If you have a Netflix subscription, you may play all three GTA games at no additional cost. The original mobile ports of GTA III, Vice City, and San Andreas (released in 2011, 2012, and 2013, respectively) are still available to download for a one-time purchase, so if you’d rather not pay for a Netflix subscription, Rockstar’s mobile versions are still available on the Play Store and App Store for now. But regardless of your choice, you’re best offplaying with an Android-compatible controller.
