Grand Theft Auto IV

GTA IV holds a special place among open-world games. Its story is deep, the characters are compelling, and Liberty City’s atmosphere is amazing. I definitely recommend buying and playing it! I started this year on my Steam Deck, and it runs really well with no FPS issues. I just finished the story for the first time in 2025, and even though the game is quite old, it’s still incredible.

Hi... I am writing this review after playing for over 100 hours, and I can confidently say that GTA IV has the best story in the entire GTA franchise. I loved the game so much that I grinded out 100% of the Steam achievements.

Everyone should play this masterpiece at least once to see what Rockstar cooked up before GTA V. However, if you are playing on a modern PC, there are a few things you need to know:

1. DOWNLOAD FUSIONFIX:
Before you even start the game, download the FusionFix mod pack. The original PC port is notoriously broken on modern hardware. If you play with an uncapped framerate (anything above 60 FPS), the game engine physically breaks. Quick-time events fail, minigames (like the dancing in the DLC) become impossible to beat, and the final mission can permanently soft-lock. FusionFix patches these engine bugs, fixes the lighting, and gives you a smooth, glitch-free experience.

2. THE DLCs ARE MANDATORY:
Just completing the base game with Niko is not enough. You absolutely need to play the two included DLC episodes (The Lost and Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony). They aren't just extra missions; they contain massive, overlapping stories that directly connect to the main game. Playing all three campaigns is the only way to experience the complete story of Liberty City.

3. THE DRIVING PHYSICS:
Be prepared for the driving to feel very different if you are coming from GTA V. The cars here are heavy and have realistic suspension. It takes an hour or two to get used to, but once you master it, the car chases are some of the most satisfying in the series.

100% highly recommended. If you love open-world games with gritty, deep narratives, this is an absolute must-play.

FusionFix actually makes GTAIV playable.. I’ve tried to get this PC port to run properly since 2014. Major improvement to performance & visuals. The game doesn’t crash anymore, consistent fps- nostalgia rekindled

First of all, this PC port of GTA IV is trash. First Generation RAGE engine is fundamentally broken on modern PCs and requires a lot of troubleshooting and mods to get it to be playable. The modding community recently solved this game. Follow Gillian's Modding Guide for GTA IV to save your sanity. FusionFix and DVXK vulkan mod fixes most issues for most people.
EDIT: Another tip; GTA IV breaks at high FPS. Lock your FPS to 60 and you can use Lossless Scaling to play the game at a stable and smooth 144fps or more.
GTA IV as a game is considered one of the best games of all time for a reason. For the time it was a mind blowing leap in graphics and in physics, and it still holds up in 2026. It's insane that it ran on 512mb of GDDR3 on an Xbox 360 and the fact that it was only in development for 4 years. There is an incredible amount of detail in this game that rivals RDR2. As an example, you can steal an ice cream truck and it has different songs you can play like a police siren. The story and characters are the best rockstar story along with Red Dead Redemption.
I don't care what anybody says, the driving in GTA IV is the best to me. Every car has different handling and weight to them, going fast and making a sharp turn can make you lose control of your vehicle, it's very realistic and satisfying. Pulling off a drift in this game is the best feeling. Also the car damage/deformation system is MUCH MUCH better than V. Cars actually bend out of shape and take damage if hit really hard, they blow up easier, and it's harder to drive a broken car because it reduces your speed and your ability to turn. It feels like Rockstar tuned back the physics and the car damage physics to streamline GTA online. GTA 4 is just a really fun game in general because of these systems.
There are so many interiors in the game that you can just explore. You can go to an internet cafe, go bowling, go play pool, go eat some food to restore your health at a restaurant. it makes the city feel more alive unlike GTA V with 0 overworld interiors, 0 food vendors. You can literally go into the hospital. A lot of props are destructible as well. It doesn't feel like there is any wasted space in the city. I also swear that the pedestrians behaviors in GTA 4 are much smarter over 5, each type of ped has their own personality, every single pedestrian and cars don't run and vanish and turn into a ghost town when you shoot somebody so you can go to another street and jack a car to get away. Female peds actually fight back too.
The physics in the game are over the top but crazy fun to play around with. Euphoria's implementation in this game is still top tier and never makes the game boring, and I wish more games used NaturalMotion's Euphoria. Peds don't have a default dying animation so every single gunfight is different. In fact, most peds will survive getting shot and try to get up and limp away to safety. A lot of this is just simply missing from V.
GTA 4 is the best singleplayer Grand Theft Auto. I hope that GTA 6 brings back some of the charm that made GTA 4 so great.

Where's luxury condo? Where's sports car? Where's Barbara with big titties and Stephanie who sucks like a vacuum?

But nah this is a good game get it fr fr

I have stayed away from purchasing this even when on sale because of all the reviews saying you need this or that to get the game to run properly, and you should follow all these guides, and I did not want to deal with the hassle...
Finally, I relented for $6, installed, started to bring up the guides and mods and etc., but then I thought: "Screw it. I'm just going to try and run it first and see what happens."
Lo and behold, I'm hours into the game at this point and there hasn't been a single issue. What the hell? Running with highest settings, 2160p, mostly consistent 60 fps (v-sync). Am I lucky? Or are the issues overblown? Not sure, and YMMV.
Of course, I could have issues later, or issues with the expansions, but right now everything is fine, and I've played for ten hours.
Hope this helps.

Before anything else: if you're planning on playing this, definitely install Fusion Fix. It's practically essential if you want the best experience, as the PC port still has its fair share of issues. I'd also highly recommend restoring the removed radio stations, they're such an important part of the experience, that the game simply doesn't feel complete without them.
I'm currently doing a full playthrough of every GTA game in anticipation of GTA VI, and out of all of them, GTA IV was the one I was looking forward to revisiting the most. I had already poured more than 200 hours into it back in 2008, but somehow I never came back to it after that.
The day GTA IV launched is still burned into my memory...
I remember sitting in school, debating whether I should stay for the rest of the day or head home after the very first class. It didn't take long to make up my mind. I slipped out of school like it was a side mission straight out of Bully, caught the bus home, and couldn't stop thinking about the adventure that was waiting for me in Liberty City. Whatever punishment I was going to get later felt completely worth it.
Coming back all these years later reminded me why this game left such a lasting impression.
It's funny to call GTA IV "underrated" considering it has a Metacritic score of 98, but I genuinely think it doesn't get nearly enough appreciation today. Whenever people discuss Rockstar's greatest achievements, GTA IV often ends up overshadowed by some of their other titles. I feell like that's a shame, because this game is one of the clearest examples of why Rockstar became the benchmark for open world games.
The level of detail is astonishing. During one mission you're tailing someone when your phone rings. If you let it ring, the target hears it, gets suspicious, and starts running. Put your phone on silent beforehand, and he never notices, you can simply hang up and continue following him. Friends and acquaintances react to how you drive. Some enjoy reckless speeding, others prefer you obey traffic laws. Some even have favorite radio stations, and playing the music they like actually improves your relationship with them. These aren't features the game constantly points out. They're simply there, quietly making the world feel believable.
They even created a fully functional in game internet packed with thousands of browseable pages, making Liberty City feel incredibly alive. Rockstar have always been masters at integrating the internet and social media into their worlds, and it makes me even more excited to see what they'll do with GTA VI.
And that's what GTA IV does better than almost any other open-world game. Liberty City doesn't just feel alive, it feels like a character of its own. People jog through the parks. A lone saxophone player fills the streets with music. Shuttle buses and taxis carry travelers to the airport terminals. Every neighborhood feels inhabited by people living their own lives. It's a city that's constantly moving, yet somehow feels suffocating. Glamour is replaced by grime. It's cold, cynical, and yet so unforgettable.
The story is really exceptional. The main character Niko Bellic is a departure from previous protagonist in the series, he isn't a flashy action hero. He's a man haunted by his past, a war veteran who seemingly could do no right, trying to wash away blood with more blood. His search for a better life slowly becomes yet another cycle of violence, betrayal, and regret. Rockstar wasn't afraid to explore dark themes, and because of that, it feels like every major story beat has certain weight attached to it. Death has consequences. Loss lingers. Even just cruising past Liberty City without a cause makes you feel just how lonely Niko really is. To this day, I still consider it one of Rockstar's finest stories.
Important to say that this game also received two single player DLC's and The Ballad of Gay Tony deserves special mention. Even after all these years, it's still one of the best single-player expansions I've ever played, offering the perfect contrast to the darker tone of the main game.
GTA IV isn't just another open world crime game. It's a time capsule of 2008. A technical marvel for its era. A masterclass in environmental storytelling and world building. Nearly two decades later, Liberty City still feels more believable than many open worlds released today.
Some games age, but GTA IV....GTA IV simply waits for you to come back.