‘I poke my head out of the gutter for one freakin’ second and fate shovels s*** in my face!.’ If you read this line out in a certain tone inside your head, you already know where it’s from. For those less fortunate or suffering from selective amnesia, these iconic words have been forever immortalised by Ken Rosenberg in GTA Vice City while speaking to the game’s protagonist, Tommy Vercetti in the very first scene of the legendary game.
The game launched back in 2002 and is enjoyed by players around the world till date. We will soon get a chance to visit its setting with GTA 6. But before that happens, I decided to replay the OG GTA Vice City on a random Sunday.
And just as the first cut scene loaded, I realised that it is a reminder of what modern open-world games are slowly forgetting- Personality (note the capital P there).
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First things first, when you replay GTA Vice City in 2026 it certainly is a game from another time. The graphics seem ancient, combat has its issues, driving physics are somewhat chaotic, some characters look like plastic blocks…you know where I’m going with this, right? But, the game is still enjoyable and none of this really matters. This is because the game has a lot of heart and personality to it.
The moment that first playable scene loads, there is colour, music, absurdity, and chaos directly at your face. Even the advertisements on the radio have more personality than some entire AAA games today. I remember each and every dialogue exchange from the Vice City radio stations and no other game has managed to leave that impression. Not even the ‘recent’ GTA V.
Another thing to note is how Rockstar was clearly obsessed with the 1980s aesthetic while making the game. From Tommy’s Hawaiian shirt to the soundtrack, every single thing commits to the theme. And that commitment gives the game an identity that stays with you.
Vice City does not care about being subtle. It wants you to feel cool while driving a sports car during sunset with ‘Billie Jean’ playing in the background. And this is something modern-day games keep forgetting about in the rush to appeal to all kinds of players.
Now, let’s come to why modern games aren’t probably having the same effect as Vice City. One of the reasons could be that they try so hard to be realistic, that they tend to forget about being memorable. Sure we have ray-tracing, path tracing, ultra realistic graphics and whatnot. And all that looks great when you first try it. But tell me honestly how many open-world cities from the last five years do you actually remember?
Vice City, meanwhile, lives rent free in the heads of millions of players despite being over two decades old. Even after playing the game after at least 5 years, I could still tell where the Malibu Club or the North Point mall was. I didn’t have to rely on the map, it was just inside my head somehow.
There is another area where I feel modern games occasionally struggle. In trying to become more cinematic and prestigious, many games forget to simply let loose and have fun. Everything now feels carefully scripted, emotionally heavy, and designed to look like a web series. And while that has its own effect, it also means fewer moments that are just unhinged chaos.
And this is what sets Vice City apart – it never took itself too seriously and forgot that its main job was to let the players have fun.
And the best part was that you didn’t even need to engage with the game’s main story to enjoy it. As an 11-year-old, I remember not completing any missions at all and just roaming around the city in my favourite car – the Cheetah.
Even the intentionally difficult missions, frustrating as it can be, ended up creating stories I remember all these years. For instance, I failed the RC helicopter mission so many times that I had to stop playing for a while and try again later. And I am sure I am not the only one who faced this.
In a nutshell, the game just lets madness happen naturally which is what makes it so replayable even today. And the best moments are often the ones the developers probably never planned for.
In contrast, modern open world games sometimes feel too controlled and worried about pacing and cinematic presentation. And that sort of takes away from them.
Replaying Vice City also made me realise that GTA 6 has an almost impossible task ahead of it. Now this is not because Rockstar cannot make technically impressive games. They absolutely can. In fact, I agree that Red Dead Redemption 2 is still one of the most detailed games ever made. Having said that, GTA 6 is expected to push open-world realism to another level (look at its trailer and you’ll know what I am talking about). But, realism is not what made Vice City timeless.
What made it so iconic was the confidence in everything. Be it tone, soundtrack, writing, humour, and identity. Vice City felt handcrafted with obsession. And now that we are getting to revisit the same world in GTA 6, comparisons are bound to happen. Whether or not GTA 6 lives up to its hype and manages to create Vice City-level impact remains to be seen. The game will be out on November 19 this year.
Till then, I will keep replaying GTA Vice City without even touching the main story. After all, only a few games can make a fictional city feel like home.
Also read: Take-Two CEO says GTA 6 looks awesome after seeing it in action