Grand Theft Auto IV
Shares rank 23 of 78 video games by recommenders
Praised as an enjoyable, well-liked open-world game by its fans. The most common caveat is that it is hard to get running on modern PCs.
Praised as an enjoyable, well-liked open-world game by its fans. The most common caveat is that it is hard to get running on modern PCs.
16 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 9
- criticize it
- 7
- approval share
- 56%
Recommended in 7 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 9 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1.2 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 7 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Enjoyable and well liked
“I thought that aspect of the game was kind of fun.”
Comment from 8 Aug 2026 in “Hop.earth – OpenStreetMap based car racing game” “I'm a really big fan of Grand Theft Auto IV”
Comment from 1 Nov 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you working on? (November 2026)” “I ended up really liking it”
Comment from 8 Feb 2026 in “A GTA modder has got the 1997 original working on modern PCs and Steam Deck”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Difficult to install on PC
“Years ago I had tried to install GTA4 on a PC and it basically didn't work.”
Comment from 5 Jul 2026 in “It's not about physical vs. digital games, it's about ownership” “GTA IV even on regular old Windows is a shitshow to get working”
Comment from 7 Jul 2026 in “Resetting Xbox”
Other video games people recommend
The four most recommended other video games, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Helldivers 2 | 50 | 34 | 60% | 10 | 1.9 yrs3 owners | — |
| GPU building game | 49 | 16 | 75% | 2 | — | — |
| Triple-A Minesweeper | 40 | 25 | 62% | 1 | — | — |
| Quake II | 33 | 8 | 80% | 10 | — | Approved |
| Grand Theft Auto IVThis page | 9 | 7 | 56% | 7 | — | — |
What people said
14 of the 16 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I'm a really big fan of Grand Theft Auto IV”
“Yeah I bought GTA IV and still pirated it.”
“we got autosave after each mission plus GPS which means we don't remember shit”
“I thought that aspect of the game was kind of fun.”
“I remember playing GTA 4 when I was like 7 or 8. good times”
“GTA IV even on regular old Windows is a shitshow to get working”
“Years ago I had tried to install GTA4 on a PC and it basically didn't work.”
“Happened to me with GTA IV and I have been playing all games since GTA 1. Maybe I just grew too old for these story-driven games, but I never finished it”
“I started to feel bad about the stuff I was doing in IV”
“each mission's Niko/NPC dialog feels very forcefully-timed”
“the controls were good enough for me to enjoy the whole game”
“I ended up really liking it”
“widely renowned because of their social commentary and wit”
“It doesn't feel the same playing GTA4 without the music.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.