Vice City under the 80s sun in hand is already huge, and the Empire Builder mode adds a delightful strategic layer. Vic Vance earns his stripes; Rockstar brushes excellence on PSP.
Your verdict
Category
Action Adventure1 player18+
Description
Victor Vance, an American soldier, builds his criminal empire in Vice City in this prequel to Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. Published by Rockstar Games, released in North America in November 2006. Open sun-soaked 1980s Vice City, criminal and empire management missions, exclusive Empire Builder mode, ad hoc multiplayer. Multilingual version.
Grand Theft Auto - Vice City Stories review
4/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Striking"
MAX
Music
★★★★★
"Legendary"
MAX
Story
★★★★★
"Masterful"
Rockstar Leeds bathes its prequel in postcard light: a sky graded from pink to turquoise, palm trees in backlight, pastel bodywork and fluorescent signs flickering on at dusk. The whole city reads like a 1984 advertisement, right down to the lettering on the shopfronts and the chrome along the marina.
Back to the 1980s, the licensed selection rolls out synthwave, hard rock and pop hits across radio stations of strong identity. Each station resurrects the neon decade with a delightful accuracy. This nostalgic soundtrack, inseparable from Vice City, remains a pure pleasure for cruising the streets at sunset.
In the glittering Miami of the 1980s, a disgraced soldier builds a criminal empire to protect his family. More personal than the original, the tale adds a fraternal dimension to the neon-soaked mob fresco. Its retro atmosphere and more human hero make it an endearing, polished prequel.
Gameplay
"Excellent"
Fun
"From the very first seconds"
A return to the sun-drenched city of the '80s, its neon, its synth music and its unabashed kitsch: this entry pairs total freedom with an unforgettable atmosphere. Building a criminal empire between gunfights, races and varied missions delivers constant pleasure. Dense, stylish and packed with personality, a portable sandbox that grabs you with its generosity and character.
Addictiveness
"Obsessive"
Building your criminal empire in a neon-soaked Vice City, stringing together missions, territory grabs and challenges keeps urging you to stretch the joyride. Races, rampages and side activities chain short objectives and rewards. The formula starts to repeat itself, but the 80s atmosphere and the sandbox freedom keep a tenacious pull on the handheld.
Difficulty
"Balanced"
Lifespan
"Massive"
Building a criminal empire in 1980s Vice City opens a free world rich in missions, businesses to manage and side activities. Roaming the city, expanding your operations and unlocking it all fills long hours. That open-world generosity, faithful to the series, offers a lifespan action-adventure fans savour.
A second portable GTA, set in 1980s Vice City, polishing the sandbox formula on PSP with a cult neon atmosphere. Printed widely, it stays accessible and lightly priced. Its collector interest lies in its link to Vice City's beloved aura and its status as a solid portable entry of the series, more than in manufacturing scarcity.
A questionable morality
The vast playground invites you to do anything, and you fairly quickly opt to steal cars, run errands for criminals and turn traffic into chaos. The story dresses it all as a rise through the underworld, but the freedom on offer mostly works as an official permit to chain together offences, something you grant yourself with thoroughly pixelated delight.
Is Grand Theft Auto - Vice City Stories still worth playing in 2026?
Grand Theft Auto - Vice City Stories puts 1980s Vice City in your hand, and the Empire Builder mode adds a delightful strategic dimension by stacking criminal business management on the classic sandbox. Vic Vance earns his stripes, Rockstar brushes excellence on PSP with impressive staging and an impeccable retro soundtrack. An excellent pick today.
