The originals vs the GTA Trilogy: Why one is beloved and the other is despised based on user reviews

Anybody following GTA Trilogy news should know that the game has been review bombed hard recently.

It has the lowest user score on Metacritic for a GTA game by a noticeable margin. For instance, its current user scores on Metacritic are:

• PC: 0.5 out of 10
• PS4: 0.7 out of 10
• PS5: 0.9 out of 10
• Switch: 0.7 out of 10
• Xbox One: 0.5 out of 10
• Xbox Series X|S: 0.4 out of 10

Even some of the critic reviews are outright bad, often rating the game around 5/10 or lower. The original three games had critic reviews in the mid to high 9 out of 10s, with user reviews often only a little lower on average.

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Why users love the original three games rather than the GTA Trilogy when it comes to user reviews

The GTA Trilogy had a lot of potential, but it didn't live up to fans' expectations (Image via Rockstar Games)

The GTA Trilogy's disastrous launch, coupled with some irate fans, is the primary reason why the game has been review bombed so harshly on Metacritic. For example, a user known as gameplayhdpc wrote a review that perfectly summarizes some players' problems with the game:

"Absolutely disgusting remaster. Cyberpunk looks like polished art compared to this trilogy. Full of bugs, terrible looking characters, bad graphic and performance. You can't buy legally classic editions of thoose game becouse of this cash grab. Shame on you Rockstar. San Andreas Definitive Edition is not worth to play even on gamepass. 0/10"

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Why some players dislike the GTA Trilogy

Even minor changes, such as the game's rain, aren't well-received (Image via Rockstar Games)

Essentially, the following are the reasons why some players have review bombed the GTA Trilogy:

• High price
• Original games are no longer available via legal means
• Several glitches, both minor and gamebreaking
• Mediocre to terrible graphics for its price range
• Terrible optimization

That's not to mention how Take-Two has alienated the modding community thanks to their aggressive stance in taking down several mods. Ultimately, some fans see it as nothing but a shameless cash grab.

Some players even spent $60 for the PC version, yet they were unable to play the game for over a day as Rockstar Games took it down from their launcher. Not to mention, PC users have a wide assortment of mods to integrate for the original games.

A comparison of what's available to the player (Image via u/Sowa_95)

Some of these mods make the original three titles look better than what the GTA Trilogy can offer. If the player already owns those games, then they don't need to spend any money on the GTA Trilogy (especially not $60).

These mods are free, and a video game studio didn't make them. In fact, some fans are even modding the GTA Trilogy to fix some of the game's flaws. For example, players can now finish Gun Runner for GTA Vice City Definitive Edition on PC.

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The original games were legendary for their time

The original PS2 versions still hold up well (Image via Rockstar Games)

Although the GTA Trilogy is largely faithful to the original games, it's worth noting that the latter selection is nearly two decades old. What was top-tier and revolutionary during that time period doesn't necessarily apply to modern games.

For example, GTA 3 revolutionized open-world games. It's partially responsible for the tremendous open-world titles that players get today. However, the game hasn't aged all that well since its initial release date.

Something similar applies to the other two games. Those who grew up with these games are bound to love it, but it's not as beloved to a modern player who grew up with GTA 5. Hence, some can feel nostalgic for these three games but not necessarily for the newer GTA Trilogy.

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The original three games didn't have as many glaring flaws

The GTA Trilogy did improve some aspects from the original three titles. Quality-of-life features, such as the ability to instantly restart a failed mission, are fantastic. Likewise, the graphics for some of the game's environments look better than the original.

However, there are numerous glitches that make the GTA Trilogy feel terrible and tedious to play. It carries some of the original games' bugs but also introduces some new ones. Not all of the latest glitches are minor, either.

In some cases, a player can find a glitch that propels them blazingly fast through the sky without any rhyme or reason.

The game doesn't always look as good as it should (Image via u/Ansbernf)

On a similar note, the game isn't optimized efficiently. The original trilogy ran excellently on the original hardware, which was vastly inferior in terms of technical prowess compared to modern systems.

The fact that the GTA Trilogy has issues with what's essentially a touch-up of some decades-old games infuriates some fans. It's hard for players to willingly buy ports of old games with minimal improvements and several downgrades.

Some of it can be fixed with patches in the future, but it won't change the widely concurred opinion on the GTA Trilogy.