Grand Theft Auto IV

Grand Theft Auto IV brought the series back to a darker, more realistic tone and told the story of Niko Bellic, an Eastern European war veteran who arrives in Liberty City chasing the American dream, which quickly crumbles under the weight of crime and betrayal. Rockstar North deployed the RAGE engine for the first time here, together with the Euphoria physics system, which gave characters and their movements unprecedented realism, from reactions to being hit to behavior during vehicle crashes. Cars got a much heavier, more inertia-driven driving model, which initially divided players used to the more nimble predecessors.

The open world of Liberty City, inspired by New York, was stunning for its time in environmental detail and density of content, with a believable day-night cycle, traffic, and diverse NPC population. The mobile phone became the game's central interface - it was used to call in on missions, order a taxi, and accept invitations from friends, whose favor unlocked small perks. Combat for the first time built on a full-fledged cover system with both automatic and free aiming, making shootouts in narrow alleys feel more tactical than before. The story stood out with a darker, more contemplative tone than its predecessors, exploring themes of immigration, the American dream, and the moral gray zones of the criminal underworld, and at key moments let the player decide on the fate of characters.

Multiplayer offered a wide range of modes for dozens of players simultaneously in the open world, an ambitious novelty for its time, and two major expansions later told the same time period through the eyes of a motorcycle gang and a nightlife entrepreneur. Critics praised the game almost unanimously, calling it one of the best games of the generation, with emphasis on storytelling, atmosphere, and technical achievement. GTA IV sold tens of millions of copies and cemented Rockstar Games' position as the leader in open worlds, with its engine and approach to storytelling influencing countless subsequent open-world titles. Today, what stands out most is precisely that hazy, rainy melancholy, which later entries in the series traded for satire and color.