5 improvements a GTA 4 remaster could add

GTA 4 is often considered by many Grand Theft Auto fans to be the best game in the franchise. Some cite the story as the main reason for this, while others feel that the gritty and grimy Liberty City made them feel truly immersed. As a result, fans were ecstatic when rumors about a Grand Theft Auto 4 remaster circulated. Unfortunately, their hopes were crushed when it was revealed that Rockstar had canceled a planned remaster of the beloved title.

However, many still have hope that the game might indeed see a re-release in the near future, and with many positive changes. The original game is often hailed as a masterpiece, but it didn't come without its issues. With that in mind, here's a list of things a remastered GTA 4 could do differently to improve the game if it was ever released.

Note: This article is subjective and only reflects the writer's opinions.

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Five ways Rockstar could improve GTA 4 with a remaster

1) Graphics

This may seem obvious, as graphics is the first discernible change a remaster has over the original game. However, there are more than just graphical improvements that GTA 4 would have needed. The original game had a weird yellow filter that made everything seem much more dull than it originally was.

This yellow tint used to be a mainstay of the late 2000s and 2010s, and whenever a video game used this feature, it was often criticized. It made little sense for an open-world game to use this sort of filter, and as ENB mods for GTA 4 have proved, Liberty City didn't lose its grimy feel without this filter.

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2) Friend activities

One of the most meme-worthy moments from GTA 4 is when Roman calls Niko and asks to go bowling. This is an annoying feature in the game where Niko's friends frequently call him and want to hang out. It can be distracting, especially when players are focusing on doing some missions or just immersing themselves in the open-world map.

Rejecting them makes the relationship with that friend drop, and Niko won't be able to get the specific benefits that those characters offer. GTA 5 doesn't have this issue, and hanging out with a friend in that game is done at the player's convenience. Some new friend activities in a remastered version would also be a welcome addition.

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3) Clothing and customization

The clothes that Niko can wear in Grand Theft Auto 4 are quite limited. The game didn't even include the iconic fingerless gloves that Niko can be seen wearing in all the promotional art and even the trailers. This can be brought back with some tweaks, but the fact that Rockstar didn't bother adding it in even after several complaints wasn't taken well by the community.

Hairstyles were also supposed to be a thing but were not included in the game, as barbershops were found in the game files. A remaster can tackle all of these issues by including more clothing options and the ability to change hairstyles. It could also throw in some extra customization options like in GTA Online.

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4) Vehicle modification

Unlike in GTA San Andreas or Grand Theft Auto 5, there is no car customization in Grand Theft Auto 4. Much like the earlier 3D Universe games, players can just head over to a Pay 'n' Spray and change the primary color on their vehicle, but even this is random. While this might not have been an issue in GTA 3 or Vice City, it certainly feels like an oversight in an HD Universe title.

The Grand Theft Auto games have always been centered around vehicles, and customizing them only makes it much more immersive. In fact, obtaining new and rare cars is frequently regarded as the most appealing aspect of Grand Theft Auto Online. A remaster could drastically improve GTA 4 by this one feature alone.

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5) Performance

Grand Theft Auto 4 had major performance issues on the PC when it launched, and as such, it's known as one of the most infamous PC ports ever made. The game wasn't optimized when it was ported from consoles to PC, so it doesn't utilize multithreaded CPUs very well and can't even use more than 4 GB of RAM. As a result, it suffers from constant frame drops.

The game also faces numerous bugs if it's running over 60 FPS, such as certain GTA 4 missions becoming impossible to finish. Nowadays, fans have resorted to some clever methods, like using DXVK, to fix all performance issues. If a new remaster is made, Rockstar should look to improve the game's performance, especially on PC.