# Grand Theft Auto (1997)

28 Hacker News commenters recommended Grand Theft Auto (1997) and 9 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 7 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** People enjoy its simple fun of driving around and evading police; the caveats are dated graphics and choppy performance on modern hardware.

## Why people recommend it

- Simple, fun gameplay without complication (3 comments): "I've tried again the original GTA a few years ago and liked it a lot more than GTA III+. It's just fun without complication." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46939955)) "I think the originals were better and I had more fun" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46941144)) "Just driving around and evading police was fun" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50036935))
- Loved the early games (3 comments): "Admittedly GTA I felt a bit dated at the time but GTA II was great." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46938491)) "I think the originals were better and I had more fun" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46941144)) "I absolutely adored the first 2 games" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46939184))
- Charm despite basic graphics (2 comments): "the graphics on GTA were kind of retro at the time, but in reflection, it does have some charm" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46938567)) "GTA I was so much fun with friends on LAN despite looking basic at the time." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46942442))
- Great multiplayer with friends on LAN (2 comments): "GTA I was so much fun with friends on LAN despite looking basic at the time." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46942442)) "I had a lot of good times with them." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50036529))

## What people warn about

- Dated graphics for its era (3 comments): "Admittedly GTA I felt a bit dated at the time but GTA II was great." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46938491)) "the graphics on GTA were kind of retro at the time, but in reflection, it does have some charm" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46938567)) "GTA 1 was extremely outdated already at time of release in 1997" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46942708))
- Choppy, hard to run on modern hardware (3 comments): "Love GTA1, but IIRC my version at least is a 3dfx glide game which makes it quite hard to play on modern kit." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46938666)) "When I later played at a friends house, I was disappointed about how choppy it was." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46942403)) "I just can't get over the jaggy motion of the hardlocked framerate" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46943512))
- Same gameplay for decades (2 comments): "halo and GTA have relied on the same gameplay for over 20 years by now" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50036240)) "too busy looking for new versions of the same tired games" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50114874))
- Soundtrack and radio music missing (2 comments): "I can't get the radio music playing, unfortunately." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46330486)) "Even the biggest juggernauts can't get out of this, with patches removing soundtracks" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48731711))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [Helldivers 2](https://hackerapproved.com/p/helldivers-2.md): 50 recommend
- [Triple-A Minesweeper](https://hackerapproved.com/p/triple-a-minesweeper.md): 40 recommend
- [Quake II](https://hackerapproved.com/p/quake-2.md): 33 recommend
- [Red Dead Redemption 2](https://hackerapproved.com/p/red-dead-redemption-2.md): 28 recommend
- [The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt](https://hackerapproved.com/p/witcher-3.md): 25 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Grand Theft Auto (1997)", https://hackerapproved.com/p/grand-theft-auto/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).