While adding some modern touches like checkpoints, they nearly ruined the original games' visual style, earning harsh criticism. Our 5/10 review stated: "Rockstar built its name on attention to detail, but this disappointing collection will tarnish the company's reputation, despite these three games still being highly recommended."
However, the developer has been quietly enhancing the games with an unexpected partner: Netflix. For those unaware, your streaming subscription allows you to play games like GTA: San Andreas on your phone.
A recent update has brought improvements from the mobile version to PS5 and PS4 remasters. A new option, Classic Lighting, preserves the PS2-era look. Character models have been enhanced, and fog effects have returned, restoring the games' signature hazy atmosphere.
We need more time to fully assess if the remasters are now worth playing, but our initial look at San Andreas shows it's noticeably improved three years after its initial release.
Rockstar deserves little praise here; these classics shouldn't have been mishandled initially. But for preservation's sake, we're glad they're committed to improving these remasters – especially since the PS2 versions were abruptly removed from the PS Store to make way for them.
Controversial GTA Trilogy Definitive Edition Remasters Get Big Update 3 Years After Release - RockstarINTEL
The remastered versions of the classic GTA Trilogy games have just gotten a big update. It took 3 years and 1 day after launch but Rockstar Games have issued fixes to GTA The Trilogy Definitive Edition. This patch brings a highly requested change and many other improvements which we'll share below.
rockstarintel.com