Rockstar is best known for Grand Theft Auto, but its catalogue is broader and stranger than that shorthand suggests. This snapshot ranking looks at ten of its most notable titles, balancing historical impact with how they play today. 

It is not an exhaustive list, nor is it purely about technical achievement. Instead, the order reflects how these games feel to return to now, factoring in pacing, mission variety, and whether their worlds still invite exploration.

1. Red Dead Redemption 2

An expansive western that doubles as a slow, melancholy character study. Arthur Morgan’s story unfolds across a detailed world full of small environmental stories and incidental encounters. 

Red Dead Redemption 2’s map is not just big for its own sake. Towns, campsites, and remote cabins all contribute to a sense of place, often with self contained vignettes that reveal something about the world’s history or Arthur’s personality. The deliberate animation and weighty controls can feel heavy at first, yet they underpin the game’s grounded tone, encouraging you to ride, camp, and wander rather than sprint between waypoints.

Narratively, it stands out for how it handles inevitability. You know roughly where events must end up, given the first Red Dead, yet the game still finds room for warmth, humour, and moments of genuine joy amid the decline of the Van der Linde gang. Few open world games tie their themes, systems, and story together as tightly.

2. Grand Theft Auto V

A sprawling satire of Los Santos and its surroundings. The three protagonist structure keeps the campaign varied, and GTA Online has kept the game active for years. 

In single player, GTA V excels at set pieces. Heists break up the usual pattern of driving and shooting with multi stage planning, character switching, and light stealth. The city itself, with its dense traffic patterns and varied districts, remains a satisfying playground whether you are sticking to missions or simply causing chaos.

GTA Online is almost its own separate entity at this point. For some, its economy and grind undermine the joy of free roaming. For others, it is a long running social hub packed with modes, heists, and community mayhem. Regardless of where you fall, the base game’s flexibility and sheer density keep it high on this ranking.

3. Red Dead Redemption

Smaller in scope than its sequel but tighter and more focused. John Marston’s journey towards an inevitable end remains one of Rockstar’s strongest narratives. 

Red Dead Redemption’s frontier feels more traditionally gamey than its successor, with clearer mission structures and less emphasis on simulation. That focus can be refreshing. You ride into town, pick up a job, and quickly find yourself embroiled in shootouts, duels, and dusty stand offs.

What elevates it is the way the story balances western archetypes with a sense of loss. The push and pull between civilisation and lawlessness, and John’s attempts to reconcile his violent past with his desire for a quieter life, remain compelling. Even if some mechanics have aged, the emotional core holds.

4. Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas

A PlayStation 2 era epic that stitched together three cities and countryside full of oddities. Its RPG lite systems have aged, but its sense of scale and playful side content are still impressive. 

San Andreas embraced excess. From jetpacks and gym routines to gang territory wars, it felt like Rockstar throwing every idea at the wall. Not all of them land cleanly, yet the cumulative effect is a world that feels lived in and bursting with things to do.

Returning today, the targeting and driving feel rustic, but there is still charm in slowly building CJ’s strength, respect, and wardrobe, then tearing across the map in whatever vehicle you have “borrowed” for the occasion. The soundtrack, spread across multiple radio stations, remains one of Rockstar’s best curated.

5. Grand Theft Auto IV

Liberty City in this incarnation is heavier and more grounded. Niko Bellic’s story leans into the disillusionment of the American dream, and the physics driven chaos remains entertaining. 

GTA IV trades some of San Andreas’ playful silliness for a grittier, more claustrophobic city. The narrower colour palette and rainy, overcast weather give Liberty City a distinct mood, while the writing focuses more on broken promises and moral compromise.

From a mechanical perspective, IV’s vehicle physics and Euphoria powered animations still stand out. Car crashes look and feel weighty, pedestrians tumble convincingly, and even mundane street chases can erupt into unscripted slapstick. It is not as immediately approachable as V, but its atmosphere is unique in Rockstar’s catalogue.

6. Bully

Bully trades criminal empires for schoolyard politics. It is less mechanically ambitious than the mainline GTAs, but its smaller setting and character focus give it a different kind of charm. 

The academy structure, with classes acting as mini games and the town serving as a compact hub, makes Bully one of Rockstar’s most approachable worlds. Missions often revolve around pranks, petty rivalries, and low level rebellion rather than outright violence, which gives the tone a mischievous tilt rather than outright cruelty.

Although the controls and camera are very much of their time, the game’s sense of place still works. Seasonal changes, from Halloween decorations to snow in winter, help the school year feel like a real arc. It is easy to imagine a modern sequel expanding those ideas, which is partly why the original remains so fondly remembered.

7. Max Payne 3

A linear, hard hitting shooter built around bullet time gunfights. It is bleak and often unpleasant by design, but the gunplay is among Rockstar’s best. 

Max Payne 3’s story leans into hopelessness and self destruction, which will not be to everyone’s taste, yet its combat is meticulously tuned. Encounters are fast, lethal, and demanding, rewarding quick reactions and thoughtful positioning. Diving through a doorway in slow motion, landing a string of precise headshots, then scrambling behind cover remains viscerally satisfying.

The presentation is stylised, with glitchy editing and bold colour overlays reflecting Max’s mental state. This approach can be busy, but it gives the game a distinct identity in a genre often dominated by more conventional military aesthetics.

8. L.A. Noire

Developed externally but published by Rockstar, L.A. Noire is an unusual blend of open world roaming and tightly scripted detective cases. The facial capture technology was striking, and the atmosphere of post war Los Angeles is thick. 

As a detective game, L.A. Noire is slightly at odds with itself. The interrogation system can feel opaque, and the open world is underused between major cases. However, when you are scouring a crime scene, piecing together clues, and following a lead across the city, it offers a flavour unlike anything else on this list.

The recreation of 1940s Los Angeles remains the star. Period cars, signage, and music all contribute to a strong sense of time and place, making it an excellent game to revisit if you enjoy virtual tourism as much as mystery solving.

9. Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition

A high energy street racer that showed Rockstar could do more than open world action. Its handling model and customisation options were strong for the time and still hold up reasonably well. 

Midnight Club 3’s city circuits are busy, colourful, and designed to be read at speed. Traffic weaving and corner cutting through alleys or parks add a layer of route planning on top of raw driving skill. Customisation is generous, letting you tweak both performance and appearance until your favourite car feels like your own.

It may lack the polish of modern racers, but the sense of momentum and arcade intensity is still there. As a reminder that Rockstar’s interests extend beyond crime sagas, it earns its place in the ranking.

10. The Warriors

This adaptation of the cult film expands the story with prequel missions and brawling focused gameplay. It is rough around the edges but captures the source material’s scrappy energy. 

Combat is chunky and tactile, favouring crowd control, improvised weapons, and brutal finishing moves. The structure, blending story missions with side activities that show the gang’s day to day struggles, gives the world more texture than a straightforward retelling would.

Technically, it shows its age, yet there is something endearing about its commitment to the specific aesthetic and tone of the film. For players willing to look past the roughness, it remains one of Rockstar’s most distinctive experiments.