Nothing beats the power of nostalgia, as most recently proven by the rapturous response to the news of a remastered Grand Theft Auto trilogy. But now that Rockstar Games has finally re-released the PS2 originals with updated graphics, it seems nostalgia has been replaced by pure bewilderment.
Fans can't get their heads around a series of peculiar character renders, and have taken to Reddit and Twitter to offload about the frankly baffling art style. While it's clear that the slightly cartoonish look of the originals is meant to have been preserved, some of these renders are just plain bad. (Check out the best 3D modelling software if you think you can do better – we think you can.)
From wildly disproportioned limbs to terrifying faces, the characters of all three remastered Grand Theft Auto games are nightmare fodder indeed – and in some cases, fans think they look even worse than their early noughties counterparts. Let's just say the graphics aren't a patch on those stunning PS5 racing visuals that took the internet by storm this summer.
And it isn't just the character models that are flawed. From typo-riddled shopfronts to physics-defying glitches, the Grand Theft Auto Reddit page is absolutely full of users offering their bemusement (and amusement) at the remaster's many, many bugs.
While fans were initially excited about the remaster, it's fair to say the release has been something of a GTA-style car crash – perhaps even enough to rival last years disastrous Cyberpunk launch. These terrible character models, along with countless other bugs and glitches, have left the remaster with a Metacritic rating of 0.5, aka "overwhelming dislike". Ouch.
Dang GTA Trilogy Definitive is looking rough! pic.twitter.com/XBvMIkHsO0November 12, 2021
The world of the GTA trilogy looks top notch but WTF is up with the character models?!? They look like Nintendo Mii characters pic.twitter.com/YKZqB6d1Y4November 11, 2021
Indeed, the graphics are such a shocker that some users are even comparing it to the many botched art restorations we've seen in recent years, such as this less-than-immaculate revamp of The Immaculate Conception. If you're still curious to try out the remasters (or to play, you know, anything else), check out today's best games console deals below.
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Daniel John is Design Editor at Creative Bloq. He reports on the worlds of design, branding and lifestyle tech, and has covered several industry events including Milan Design Week, OFFF Barcelona and Adobe Max in Los Angeles. He has interviewed leaders and designers at brands including Apple, Microsoft and Adobe. Daniel's debut book of short stories and poems was published in 2018, and his comedy newsletter is a Substack Bestseller.
