Rockstar Games boasts an impressive track record when it comes to both sales figures and the acclaim its games receive from critics and audiences alike. They've also arguably invented a brand of open-world games that many other studios have tried to replicate.
Being a benchmark studio with that kind of track record, it's no surprise that many of their games have such high marks. With a plethora of titles to its name, some stand out as Rockstar Games' best offerings.
Bully (2006) - 8.6
After the success of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Rockstar's next release was a completely original property, Bully, featuring a young protagonist at a private school, Bullworth Academy.
Although far from a disappointment, Rockstar's formula was clearly less effective when placed in the setting of a school, with most characters being underage. Although there were rumors of a Bully sequel, nothing has ever come of it.
Max Payne 3 (2012) - 8.6
The first two games in the Red Dead Redemption series.
Max Payne 3 picks up many years after Max Payne 2 and sees Max living in São Paulo, Brazil, working as a bodyguard. Unlike the normal Rockstar formula, this game isn't open-world, in keeping with the Max Payne series.
Grand Theft Auto IV: The Ballad of Gay Tony (2009) - 8.6
The Ballad of Gay Tony is an expansion pack released for Grand Theft Auto IV that follows Luis Lopez, and which intersects with the main game's story at certain points. "Gay Tony" is the nightclub owner that Lopez works for.
While introducing new adventures in Liberty City, The Ballad of Gay Tony also boasts new music to the game, topped off by Eric Prydz's "Pjanoo" composition as its main theme.
Grand Theft Auto III (2001) - 8.7
Ask anyone familiar with the history of open-world games, and they'll tell you that Grand Theft Auto III was a true industry game-changer.
Following the silent protagonist Claude, a criminal betrayed by his girlfriend Catalina, Grand Theft Auto III switched the series to 3D after the previous games had featured a 2D, top-down view, and allowed for unprecedented player freedom. Claude, of course, would be iconic enough to have a cameo in GTA: San Andreas three years later.
Grand Theft Auto IV (2008) - 8.9
Although three GTA games were released for consoles between 2001 and 2008, Grand Theft Auto IV was the first entry in the main series since the revolutionary GTA III. The fourth entry was itself highly acclaimed, being Rockstar's best game according to Metacritic.
Like many games in the franchise, GTA IV featured a criminal rising in the ranks and gaining respect and wealth, but was unique in that it acted as an immigrant story, with Eastern European Niko Bellic arriving in Liberty City with big dreams. Although the game may have the darkest ending of the series, that didn't stop it from being beloved.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) - 9.2
A throwback to the 1980s, where the words "Miami" and "vice" were synonymous, Vice City garnered big-name talent, with Ray Liotta voicing Tommy Vercetti and Burt Reynolds as mogul Avery Carrington.
Vice City also became notable for its radio stations, which built off of previous efforts to create something that would grow to become an iconic aspect of the GTA series. The music fit the time period perfectly, and the talk radio had a lot more work put into it compared to GTA III, according to a GameSpot interview with Dan Ho and Lazlow.
Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas (2004) - 9.4
Doubling down even more after the incredible success of both GTA III and Vice City, Rockstar outdid itself once again with a game set in the 1990s and featuring Samuel L. Jackson voicing the main villain.
Rockstar also introduced a limited multiplayer component in San Andreas, although the roleplaying elements, storyline, and voice actors are no doubt what has made San Andreas a memorable mainstay even after three console generations.
Red Dead Redemption (2010) - 9.4
By 2010, Rockstar was known mostly for the GTA series, which is what made Red Dead Redemption a gamble, but one that would pay off and prove that the studio itself was a reliable brand. A spiritual successor to Red Dead Revolver, Red Dead Redemption follows John Marston, a criminal forced to work with the government to take out his old gang.
Rockstar adjusted its formula by having RDR take place in the Old West, and examine a United States with the west in decline while keeping the satirical edge that Rockstar's games had become known for even by this point.
Grand Theft Auto V (2013) - 9.5
A GTA entry that broke all expectations of what could be done with the seventh generation of video game consoles, Grand Theft Auto V came along in the same year the eighth generation debuted and became one of the best-selling games in history.
A simple testament to the game's continued popularity is the fact that GTA Online, the multiplayer aspect of the game, is still live and receiving updates as of February 2022, and the fact that GTA V is getting a ninth-generation release. There's a great argument to be made that Grand Theft Auto V is Rockstar's masterpiece.
Red Dead Redemption 2 (2018) - 9.7
While Grand Theft Auto V finished its fifth year of release, Rockstar released its next game, Red Dead Redemption 2, after two years of built-up hype. It delivered on that, and then some. Although Red Dead Online experienced almost no success compared to GTA Online, the game still managed to be a commercial success, garnering the spot as IMDb's highest-rated video game ever.
Red Dead Redemption 2 features some incredible areas in its vast open-world environment, showing off what the studio and the hardware could do when combined. It makes the recently-confirmed Grand Theft Auto 6 even more tantalizing.
