Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition

 Switch
User Score
0.9

Overwhelming dislike- based on 784 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 49 out of 784
  2. Mixed: 16 out of 784
  3. Negative: 719 out of 784

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  1. imafallguy
    Nov 15, 2021
    4
    I’m sure the devs actually worked very hard on this. Game development is an incredibly difficult and exhausting industry. Regardless, the end product is substandard on Switch. I suspect the publisher didn’t dedicate enough time and resources for Grove Street Games to remaster 3 games for 7 different platforms, the package feels rushed and broken. Resolution in docked mode is awful and it’sI’m sure the devs actually worked very hard on this. Game development is an incredibly difficult and exhausting industry. Regardless, the end product is substandard on Switch. I suspect the publisher didn’t dedicate enough time and resources for Grove Street Games to remaster 3 games for 7 different platforms, the package feels rushed and broken. Resolution in docked mode is awful and it’s only marginally better in handheld, both modes suffer from routine frame drops. Technically, the games do run, but you’d be forgiven for thinking it was the original PS2 code being emulated on Switch. They actually seem worse to me, but that could just be nostalgia. Avoid for now and hope that (many) a patch and a price drop are in the works. Very disappointing that Rockstar would let this happen to their legacy.… Expand
  2. pedrosolisg
    Nov 16, 2021
    4
    **** here we go again... and we seem to go in a quite disappointing way, specially given rockstar average quality standards! I tend to wait for game reviews prior to perform a purchase, but this time I naively thought "c'mon is rockstar! and is the classic trilogy! what could possibly go wrong to regret this purchase?..." Quite a few things actually. In a word, this port can be qualified**** here we go again... and we seem to go in a quite disappointing way, specially given rockstar average quality standards! I tend to wait for game reviews prior to perform a purchase, but this time I naively thought "c'mon is rockstar! and is the classic trilogy! what could possibly go wrong to regret this purchase?..." Quite a few things actually. In a word, this port can be qualified in one word: Poor.

    There are some good additions on this port.

    - Biggest highlight (bittersweet) - The GTA games are finally on a Nintendo platform, sth which did not happen since Chinatown wars on DS. (There are downsides which will be elaborated later in the review.

    - The lighting additions and refined shadows and textures improve the visuals compared to the original ports.

    - Some of the icons are being reused from the mobile editions, which is quite refreshing. Not a big upgrade, but welcome nonetheless.

    - The weapon wheel, maybe the most welcome addition, together with GPS marked road and the refined controls. It makes a quite decent alignment in game controls with later installments, specially GTA V.

    The original experience of GTA is (almost) untouched. Is good to be back. But that's about it regarding bright sides. In fact, all of the above have their negative counterparts, which add more than one pain or unpleasant surprise which blurs the core experience of the game.

    - Coming back to graphic additions, most of these can be found in cars, and some characters having different clothing colours, but dont get too close to the faces - they lack any kind of detail or expression- Many times it feels like a 2012 remaster rather than 2021's... The change on textures also brings new bugs on the scene: Strange violet/golden textures overlapping in our clothing and other textures ( I saw a tree becoming pink in groove street). Some other textures are even creepy (have you seen Cesar Vialpando's hands looking somehow like Edward Scissorhands?? GOD)

    - Second remark on graphics, the resolution is terrible... On handled is already poor, but many games suffer this issue (even Mario Odyssey). I was playing my first days on handled, and I was hoping that things would be much more detailed on docked, but I was VERY wrong... Feels that the resolution stays the same...

    - Some of the icons came from mobile, together with the new controls for the gym weights or lowrider/dancing moves... It went from challenging tasks on the original to far too easy (and even boring) on this version...

    - The weapon wheel does not come complete, meaning we cannot have two weapons of the same type like we can have on GTAV. The GPS tracker works sometimes. The controls feel clunky on many occasions, and is IMPOSSIBLE to do free aim! Super bad adjusted sensitivity. You better enabled classic or assisted aim, and pray to be lucky when on missions which require free aim...

    - The streets are much emptier than usual, and the elements on the screen appear much later. Things change completely if you rotate the view around you, going from a street full of npc's to none or viceversa...

    Overall, and as I already pointed out, this port is very poor, and I just hope they may add patches to cover some of the defects which perturb coming back to these three games (now for the first time I hope they wont port GTAV to Switch, cuz given my experience with these games, it could be PAINFUL)    … Expand
  3. Nayl
    Nov 13, 2021
    4
    Foi uma longa espera pelo retorno da série GTA aos consoles da nintendo, e o resultado nao poderia ser mais decepcionante. Frame Rate caindo a quase zero, em um jogo de 2005! Num console de 2014! Em san andreas nao tem nem como usar cheats. Foram capazes de piorar a experiencia que é jogoar os classicos ao extremo. Meus parabens pelo trabalho porco Rockstar.
  4. SiRock
    Nov 13, 2021
    4
    Thanks for **** all over our childhood memories **** Cancelled my physical preorder. Rockstar is too preoccupied with releasing GTA5 for the 50th **** time
  5. MinePlay512
    Nov 12, 2021
    4
    Sadly to be honest it's best to play these GTA games on the PC instead. The games doesn't run smooth on the Switch.
  6. FikolXx
    Nov 13, 2021
    4
    Очень плохо. Графика была неплохой, но в порте игры на Nintendo switch ее уничтожили. В кац-сценах освещение поломано. Игре нужен ремейк, а не ремастер.
  7. BiblioMeczka
    Nov 19, 2021
    4
    Grafika:
  8. laytonalan
    Oct 30, 2022
    3
    A shockingly bad port of three great games from the PlayStation 2 era. While the games ARE playable, the games run at such a low resolution that it often makes things hard to see. Honestly, porting the original games would have looked far better than this mess.
  9. SewAwOw
    Nov 15, 2021
    3
    Очень плохой ремастер, во всех аспектах - хреновая оптимизация, баги, несерьезный стиль графики, что убивает часть атмосферы оригиналов, очень высокая цена.
  10. Rob3rtSh4rk
    Nov 12, 2021
    3
    Mediocre port, Poorly optimized, lousy resolution and it is not stable at all at 30fps
  11. Alex_79
    Nov 13, 2021
    3
    It's incredibly disappointing just how little Rockstar have done to remaster these classic games, and even more laughable when they label the release as the Definitive Edition. The supposedly modernised controls have done nothing to improve the terrible shooting, and the whole package reeks of a lazy cash grab. This could have been really special, but instead we are now stuck with theIt's incredibly disappointing just how little Rockstar have done to remaster these classic games, and even more laughable when they label the release as the Definitive Edition. The supposedly modernised controls have done nothing to improve the terrible shooting, and the whole package reeks of a lazy cash grab. This could have been really special, but instead we are now stuck with the worst possible way to relive these old games. The graphics and audio are sub-par, the controls are horrible and the animation terrible. It's one thing to release a straight up port of a PS2 game. It's quite another to pretend it's more than that. There's no excuse for how badly these games look and run on Switch, no excuse at all.… Expand
  12. Madmaxlgndklr
    Nov 13, 2021
    3
    If you expected a half-assed port, then you’re pretty on the mark. There’s a lot of strange issues that crop up across all three games. Texture pop-ins are pretty standard. I honestly wish they’d just ported the gen 5 versions than let another studio “remaster” them.
  13. danielmafia301
    Nov 16, 2021
    3
    I could put up with a lot of the jank, terrible character models and glitches if I had just got a version of GTA I could play on the go that ran at a stable 30fps. But they couldn't even get that right. These are (bad looking) PS2 ports yet they run worse than the Witcher III does on Switch hardware. The framerate is never a stable 30 and seems to hover in the 20s 99% of the time no matterI could put up with a lot of the jank, terrible character models and glitches if I had just got a version of GTA I could play on the go that ran at a stable 30fps. But they couldn't even get that right. These are (bad looking) PS2 ports yet they run worse than the Witcher III does on Switch hardware. The framerate is never a stable 30 and seems to hover in the 20s 99% of the time no matter what's happening on screen. In drag race missions in SA, the game literally freezes for 1-2 seconds when I hit a checkpoint, making them next to impossible to complete. The game are also butt ugly and in many instances looks objectively worse than the PS2 originals.

    I don't know how we're living in a world where the remaster of Saints Row III got more attention than Grand Theft Auto. Rockstar are known for their obsessive attention to detail, to the point of overworking their developers on stupid stuff like horse balls. How the hell can they turn around and give their crown jewels to a company that does mobile ports and nothing else? Avoid this collection at all costs. It honestly would have been better if Rockstar had just thrown up lazy, emulated PS2 versions on Switch and called it a day.    … Expand
  14. rEnAt02
    Nov 16, 2021
    3
    Esto me paso en el Gta Vice City:

    Muchas veces no cargan las texturas del mapa, tiene errores graficos
    Se traban los vehiculos en los arboles.
    Aveces se queda en la pantalla de carga.
    El personaje atraviesa el piso, etc.

    Y hoy se me corrompió la partida guardada, basicamente es el juego original con un mod de texturas pero sigue con los mismos fallos de siempre. No vale la pena.
  15. Andmyaxe90
    Nov 12, 2021
    2
    Frame rate drops, low resolution, graphical and lightning bugs here and there. At times awkward controls. The switch can run The Witcher 3 and the Crysis trilogy. There is no excuse the Switch, or any other console cannot run these games perfectly. However, if you use a microscope, there is fun to be found.
  16. Nejby
    Nov 13, 2021
    2
    My disappointment is immeasurable, and my day is ruined.
    Grand Theft Auto Defnitive Edition on switch is the worst way to experience this whole trilogy.
    Framerate is really terrible, dropping to 15 fps, even these graphics are not Witcher 3 level, and that game is on switch with stable framerate, this is rushed unfinished product. While locations and city look great, another issue is    My disappointment is immeasurable, and my day is ruined.
    Grand Theft Auto Defnitive Edition on switch is the worst way to experience this whole trilogy.
    Framerate is really terrible, dropping to 15 fps, even these graphics are not Witcher 3 level, and that game is on switch with stable framerate, this is rushed unfinished product. While locations and city look great, another issue is that there is no fog (In san andreas) so if you fly up the skyies you would see entire san andreas map which its just not really good looking.
    Oh and yeah. Character models really dont look great, while there are some good looking characters (which it is like only 15% of all ) rest are just really **** roblox characters.
    Navigation on GPS is broken and it wont show you many short routs like it did in GTAV and GTAIV
    This really should have been delayed. Also forget about GTAV style controls, they are not.
    This is literally the worst way to spend 60 bucks on it.
    For now, don't buy it, wait for sale and future update.
    This is what mods died for. Please, save yourself from this god awful buggy remaster.
    And just homebrew your Switch and play RE3 and REVC
    They are 101 % much better. Somehow this launch is way worse than Cyberpunk 2077 had which is a really big joke.    … Expand
  17. BurtKocain
    Nov 15, 2021
    2
    Should've been a surefire home run, even given the advancing age of these games. What you get instead will probably go on record as the most disastrous video game release of 2021. Absolutely baffling.
  18. Moohbear
    Nov 12, 2021
    2
    This port is just a quick cash grab from Rockstar. The original games were quickly ported to a new engine. Sure, they look a bit cleaner: higher resolution, better textures, better lighting. That's great for before/after screenshots. And that's all the games are good for. The framerate on the Switch is simply atrocious. As soon as the player starts moving aroung, you can see the FPS dropThis port is just a quick cash grab from Rockstar. The original games were quickly ported to a new engine. Sure, they look a bit cleaner: higher resolution, better textures, better lighting. That's great for before/after screenshots. And that's all the games are good for. The framerate on the Switch is simply atrocious. As soon as the player starts moving aroung, you can see the FPS drop and the game gets choppy, which also impact the control response. Keep your money and wait for a future fix, if there's ever one.… Expand
  19. thomasteja
    Nov 13, 2021
    2
    The worst 60 bucks I've ever spent on a game, alongside Aliens Colonial Marines (to put things into perspective). Now I understand why they didn't release any footage of the Switch version and locked the release worldwide at the same hour, hoping that gullible idiots like me would impatiently throw money at Rockstar. I would be somewhat content (albeit disappointed) with the currentThe worst 60 bucks I've ever spent on a game, alongside Aliens Colonial Marines (to put things into perspective). Now I understand why they didn't release any footage of the Switch version and locked the release worldwide at the same hour, hoping that gullible idiots like me would impatiently throw money at Rockstar. I would be somewhat content (albeit disappointed) with the current graphical fidelity of the game, but the performance and technical issues make the game almost unplayable. For a game focused on driving it's utterly frustating to lose control of the car due to framerate issues and then ram into a car popping in. Stay away from this remaster until (if at all) they patch the hell out of it.… Expand
  20. awesome2709
    Nov 13, 2021
    2
    The GTA Trilogy are amazing and cult classics. But this port is just unacceptable.
    And the problem it's not on the hardware. The other and only game that Rockstar has released on the plattform is L.A. Noire, a portable version of the 2017 remaster that runs surprisingly smoothin comparison to this.
    I was very happy that they decided to include Nintendo in this release, but it's    The GTA Trilogy are amazing and cult classics. But this port is just unacceptable.
    And the problem it's not on the hardware. The other and only game that Rockstar has released on the plattform is L.A. Noire, a portable version of the 2017 remaster that runs surprisingly smoothin comparison to this.

    I was very happy that they decided to include Nintendo in this release, but it's personally frustrating that the first time that these titles arrive like this: graphics are what I expected, nothing special but good nontheless for the system.
    But the performance is horrible (unstable 30 fps, blurry gameplay, crashes...). It makes me wonder how much time did they spent on this version...

    Seeing the results makes me wish they just released the originals in HD. Wait for the physical release and let's see if there's a patch by then, because rn it's a mess...    … Expand
  21. Katan13
    Nov 13, 2021
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. So aside from the visual bugs which I'm sure you've seen its the frame rate......it is TERRIBLE! constant stuttering, at times completely freezes up. This is an old game with some visual improvements it should run a lot better than this. I totally feel like rockstar have robbed me of £50, which is no small amount for this nonsense.… Expand
  22. jonmurrs
    Nov 16, 2021
    2
    This trilogy just sucks on switch. You can forgive the art style but it runs at a very low resolution, and never hits 30fps. I would say it hovers at 20fps-It's unplayable atm. Wait for an update! It's just a bad version, best I can say it.
  23. lightsydejake
    Dec 14, 2021
    2
    The Switch version of the game, has more awful downgraded graphics, and looks blurry, unlike my own PC version, i can blur a graphics a little bit and make custom config file to optimizing it and use Reshade graphics to sharpening graphics better than this Switch port.

    Most of the issues is also can be seen from the PC port i reviewed before aswell.
  24. guizaum
    Nov 12, 2021
    1
    Jogo tenebroso, mal lançado, bugado, feio, vergonhoso. A rockstar deveria ter vergonha de lançar algo assim em pleno 2021.
    .
    Custava tanto assim colocar algum esforço no projeto e fazer um jogo melhor?

    Isso foi decepcionante
  25. Bensisko
    Nov 15, 2021
    1
    It’s really that bad. This is a buggy, laggy, crash-prone port and the pre-launch review embargo suggests that the developers and publishers knew that this was going to be dumpster fire at launch. Sad!
  26. Doctor9068
    Nov 14, 2021
    1
    Ужасная оптимизация!!! Может на других системах и хорошо все, но на свич играть невозможно. 1 балл накинул за ностальгию.
  27. slima66
    Nov 18, 2021
    1
    Its a shame. Poor optimisation, lot of bugs, and glitches. Due to the age of the game, it would have been appropriate to bring a minimum of 30 continuous fps on each platform. There was no gameplay preview at all. That could have been a warning sign.
  28. Tom_Supreme
    Nov 14, 2021
    1
    It's hard to believe how they turned three absolute classics into a pile of garbage. Rockstar and Take2 don't give a damn about gamers and their expectations as long as the money keeps flowing into their pockets. The Switch has gotten so many terrific ports of AAA games, but this is an insult. I'm glad I put my money into Fire Emblem Three Houses instead of buying this junk at full price.
  29. blue-luigi
    Dec 27, 2021
    1
    The game formula still works and is entertaining, but there are a number of bugs and game crashes that show how little effort was put into producing this games; issues that must be addressed so the game can be played as well as the original versions.
  30. pswica
    Nov 12, 2021
    1
    I don't normally write reviews for games that I buy but this is really disappointing. Even ignoring all the graphical glitches and changes, it runs very poorly on the switch. The frame rate instability makes it borderline unplayable, especially when a lot goes on onscreen. This coupled with graphical pop-in and non-precise controls makes it just not fun to play. I expected better fromI don't normally write reviews for games that I buy but this is really disappointing. Even ignoring all the graphical glitches and changes, it runs very poorly on the switch. The frame rate instability makes it borderline unplayable, especially when a lot goes on onscreen. This coupled with graphical pop-in and non-precise controls makes it just not fun to play. I expected better from Rockstar games, a studio I always associated with quality.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

8
#8 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2021

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
46

Generally unfavorable reviews - based on 14 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 14
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 14
  3. Negative: 7 out of 14
  1. Universo Nintendo
    Feb 15, 2022
    45
    GTA The Trilogy: The Definitive Edition is a collection of 3 great titles that left their mark in history. However, the so-called Definitive Edition came out without the deserved treatment.
    Read full review
  2. Nintendo Insider
    Jan 28, 2022
    30
    These are all great games, some of the most influential AAA sandbox games of all time. I cannot in good conscience recommend you play this version, especially if you wanted to check out the Nintendo Switch version. It’s quite ironic that unnecessary and ugly visual overhauls make these ports of PS2 games almost unplayable on this system. I hate to be cynical, but I don’t think you could salvage these things without redesigning everything from the ground up. Grand Theft Auto deserved better, and you deserve better than to waste your money on this.
    Read full review
  3. TouchArcade
    Jan 19, 2022
    50
    In its current state, the Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition is only worth getting if you can get it at a large discount and assuming you’re willing to put up with many technical issues on Switch. While a lot of the major bugs I ran into have been addressed in patches, this is still nowhere near as good as it should be given how important these three games are to gaming in general. It also doesn’t help that the Switch patches are delayed compared to other platforms.
    Read full review
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