Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
In the year 1986, Tommy Vercetti is heavily indebted to his mafia superiors after a drug deal gone awry, but his dreams of taking over Vice City (based on Miami) push him down a different path. Featuring a wide variety of vehicles and weapons, radio stations playing hit songs from the era and an intense atmosphere, GTA: Vice City is an open-world sandbox satire of '80's Miami.
What it feels like
Gleeful disrespect for seriousness, genre expectations, and taboo drives the comedic irreverent tone throughout. Mischievous, teasing fun invites the player to mess around with the systemic sandbox and experimental gameplay.
What it's about
Organized crime, criminal underworld, gang warfare, and Tommy's rise through the mafia are the central setting and narrative. The game satirizes '80s Miami excess, criminal culture, and pop culture through exaggerated characters and radio satire. Though set in 1986, it captures the contemporary (to its release) aesthetic and attitude of 1980s Miami.
How it plays
Driving a wide variety of vehicles across the city is a core and celebrated mechanic throughout the experience. Shooting weapons and ranged combat with diverse firearms is a significant component of mission and sandbox gameplay. Close-quarters combat with melee weapons is available and used but secondary to vehicular and ranged mechanics.
How it looks and sounds
The camera follows Tommy from behind or over the shoulder throughout driving and combat. Multiple radio stations playing curated real-world licensed tracks from the 1980s are iconic to the experience. Saturated pastel neon colors and bold color palette define the visual identity of 1980s Vice City.
How it's structured
A large continuous Miami-inspired city explorable in largely non-linear order is the defining feature of Vice City's design. The game presents a systemic play space with few imposed objectives, allowing the player to set their own goals within the criminal underworld. Designed as a solo experience with no multiplayer component, focused entirely on Tommy Vercetti's single-player story.
Kindred games
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Both lean into Open World, Sandbox, Crime & Underworld, Third-Person.
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