Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
Hacker ApprovedThe most recommended of 4 action games
People recommend it for its nostalgic 1980s setting, strong soundtrack, and how well this browser port runs on phones and laptops. Critics say on-screen controls are clumsy and some missions are frustrating.
People recommend it for its nostalgic 1980s setting, strong soundtrack, and how well this browser port runs on phones and laptops. Critics say on-screen controls are clumsy and some missions are frustrating.
39 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 33
- criticize it
- 6
- approval share
- 85%
Recommended in 7 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 33 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 5.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, 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
Runs smoothly in browser
“This works amazing well. I started playing and just 5 minutes in, I was completely hooked”
Comment from 19 Dec 2025 in “You can now play Grand Theft Auto Vice City in the browser” “Feels pretty smooth on my phone for something that's running in the browser.”
Comment from 19 Dec 2025 in “You can now play Grand Theft Auto Vice City in the browser” “Performance is remarkably stable for a game running in a browser.”
Comment from 18 Dec 2025 in “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Ported to the Browser” - Comment from 19 Dec 2025 in “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Ported to the Browser”
- Comment from 19 Dec 2025 in “You can now play Grand Theft Auto Vice City in the browser”
- Comment from 18 Dec 2025 in “Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Ported to the Browser”
- Comment from 19 Dec 2025 in “You can now play Grand Theft Auto Vice City in the browser”
- Comment from 19 Dec 2025 in “You can now play Grand Theft Auto Vice City in the browser”
- Comment from 19 Dec 2025 in “You can now play Grand Theft Auto Vice City in the browser”
Nostalgic childhood memories
“Brought back the summers of my childhood where I mindlessly roamed around the Vice City”
Comment from 19 Dec 2025 in “You can now play Grand Theft Auto Vice City in the browser” “play it every time feel depressed to be recovered by warm childhood memories”
Comment from 27 May 2026 in “Ask HN: What game have you replayed more times than any other?” “Vice City will always be my favorite”
Comment from 9 Feb 2026 in “A GTA modder has got the 1997 original working on modern PCs and Steam Deck” Impressive browser port
“The physics of the car tires in vice city by themselves outweigh 99% of all apps in terms of complexity and features”
Comment from 12 Sep 2026 in “Fuck it, make it anyway” “Incredible that they put out such a great game in so little time.”
Comment from 19 Dec 2025 in “You can now play Grand Theft Auto Vice City in the browser” “this is one of the most impressive thing i've see on HN”
Comment from 19 Dec 2025 in “You can now play Grand Theft Auto Vice City in the browser” - Comment from 19 Dec 2025 in “You can now play Grand Theft Auto Vice City in the browser”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Clunky on-screen controls
“It runs well, but the on-screen controls are, well, on-screen controls.”
Comment from 19 Dec 2025 in “You can now play Grand Theft Auto Vice City in the browser” “The shooting controls were abysmal.”
Comment from 9 Feb 2026 in “A GTA modder has got the 1997 original working on modern PCs and Steam Deck” Missions frustrating to retry
“There was this one fucking mission in GTA VC where you had to fly a toy aircraft but controls were fucked”
Comment from 31 Aug 2026 in “A 12TB Steam “teraleak” spills more than a decade of lost PC gaming history” “having to retry several missions multiple times”
Comment from 28 Aug 2026 in “Grand Theft Auto VI: An Extended Look [video]” Missing licensed songs and bugs
“Grand Theft Auto games are known for dropping songs from the soundtrack due to licensing.”
Comment from 1 Jul 2026 in “Physical disc production ending in Jan 2028 for new games on PlayStation” “Saw some funny bugs I don't remember from the original, but it looks a lot better.”
Comment from 19 Dec 2025 in “You can now play Grand Theft Auto Vice City in the browser”
Other action games people recommend
The three most recommended other action 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grand Theft Auto: Vice CityThis page | 33 | 6 | 85% | 7 | — | Approved |
| The Last Ninja | 13 | 2 | 87% | 2 | — | — |
| Max Payne | 11 | 2 | 85% | 3 | — | — |
| Contra (NES) | 7 | 1 | 88% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
35 of the 40 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“The physics of the car tires in vice city by themselves outweigh 99% of all apps in terms of complexity and features”
“surprisingly functional game”
“every radio station broken except Wave 103”
“There was this one fucking mission in GTA VC where you had to fly a toy aircraft but controls were fucked”
“having to retry several missions multiple times”
“Grand Theft Auto games are known for dropping songs from the soundtrack due to licensing.”
“We already have enough good GTA games, 3, VC, SA.”
“play it every time feel depressed to be recovered by warm childhood memories”
“Vice City will always be my favorite”
“The shooting controls were abysmal.”
“both of which I also like”
“GTA Vice City and San Andreas were released on iOS more than a decade ago”
“Woww superr game its real superr”
“is in even worse state than switch 1 version was”
“I loved playing this but could never figure out how to beat it”
“I dont see any blood and the hookers dont get in the car”
“Really cool, amazed that the old cheats work as well!”
“i really like the performance as well - better than what i expected”
“Amazing it runs in a browser.”
“The soundtrack is the best part of this game”
“Incredible that they put out such a great game in so little time.”
“It runs well, but the on-screen controls are, well, on-screen controls.”
“Saw some funny bugs I don't remember from the original, but it looks a lot better.”
“The originals are amazing but I have to say for all their faults”
“this is one of the most impressive thing i've see on HN”
“Feels pretty smooth on my phone for something that's running in the browser.”
“This works amazing well. I started playing and just 5 minutes in, I was completely hooked”
“Brought back the summers of my childhood where I mindlessly roamed around the Vice City”
“better than the original rockstar PC port”
“now I can play it in a browser in 120 fps. Wild.”
“load and run seamlessly in my browser”
“worked shockingly well on my cheap Moto phone”
“This runs so smooth on iOS Safari on iPhone 17 Pro.”
“the game maintains a completely stable 60 FPS”
“Performance is remarkably stable for a game running in a browser.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.