Netflix’s Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy is a fun blast from the past with some technical issues

SHOULD I PLAY GRAND THEFT AUTO: THE TRILOGY - THE DEFINITIVE EDITION?

You should play Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition if you have nostalgia for the original PlayStation 2 versions of these games, love open-world exploration, or just want to commit crimes in a virtual world on the go. This collection may also be of interest to players who haven’t played Grand Theft Auto games before, or who discovered the series more recently and want to explore its past—but this may not be the absolute best way to experience these classics. Still, despite the games crashing multiple times on my iPhone 13, I had fun exploring this addition to my Netflix gaming account.

TIME PLAYED

I spent over ten hours across the three titles on Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition on my iPhone 13. I managed to get past the initial locked city areas of each title (GTA III, GTA: Vice City, and GTA: San Andreas), but considering all of the collectibles, graffiti tags, and other unlockables across these games, I could easily spend months playing them before I’m at full completion.

WHAT’S AWESOME ABOUT GRAND THEFT AUTO: THE TRILOGY - THE DEFINITIVE EDITION?

• The nostalgia on the go. It was great reliving classic moments from Grand Theft Auto while waiting for the bus or just passing the time. Even weird elements that haven’t aged so well—like Grand Theft Auto III protagonist Claude being unable to swim—brought a smile to my face. I don’t think I’ll ever tire of being able to whip out my phone and jump into one of these games I remember so fondly from my teen years.

• Playable even without a controller. I was skeptical about how these games would feel using touchscreen controls, but the control scheme was shockingly natural. Playing with a controller is definitely still recommended—and it’s thankfully an option in this collection—but it was easy enough to switch through weapons and auto-aim using the base control layout.

• Classic soundtracks. The music remains phenomenal through all three games. Due to licensing issues, there are a few missing songs, like Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean,” but I was still nodding my head along to plenty of great tracks.

• It’s not Grand Theft Auto if you don’t cheat. All the cheats are available even on mobile devices! This was one of the things I wondered about most when it came to playing The Definitive Edition on mobile. I was thrilled to find out cheating is as easy as it’s ever been.

WHAT SUCKS ABOUT GRAND THEFT AUTO: THE TRILOGY - THE DEFINITIVE EDITION?

• Netflix subscribers only. You’ll need a Netflix account to play this bad boy on your mobile device. All three of these games have had previous mobile stand-alone releases that are still available to buy on Google Play and the App Store, so there is a way to play on your phone without subscribing to Netflix. But if you want the “definitive” experience, you’ll need to cough up money to Papa Netflix.

• Aging graphics. I’m going to be blunt: Even though The Definitive Edition has polished up the visuals, those upgrades are not evenly applied across all three games. I was clearly still playing games developed during the PlayStation 2 era. This didn’t particularly bother me, but the lower-detail graphics may stand out more to gamers who didn’t play the originals back in the day.

• Welcome to crash city. I experienced so many crashes when playing Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy - The Definitive Edition on my iPhone 13. I even checked out the original iOS versions of these three games, just for comparison, and seemed to have much less of an issue with crashing on those. I’m not sure what the problem is with The Definitive Edition, but I hope it gets patched.

PLATFORM TESTED

iOS via iPhone 13.