Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (Metacritic) | – | 95 | 22 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 80% | 74 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 94 | 410 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 82% | 76 | 3000 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Nov 13, 2024) · 300 reviews sampled · 10338 total reviews in window · weighted 227.2 up / 35.4 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (79)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 80
“How can a rehash of the same basic formula prove so successful? As GTA:SA has taught me, one does so by taking the best parts of a given game, improving them, and then adding a ridiculous amount of new features and content.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“I have to subtract a point for what, in my opinion, is a total lack of overall upgrading. While there are hundreds of more things to do in San Andreas, I feel, in my heart of hearts, that the game looks and plays just like its two predecessors.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“It's no exaggeration to say that you could be still be playing this when the next GTA game comes out, even if it takes Rockstar another two years to finish. It's not perfect then, but so much of it is so good that you won't care.”
read full review ↗ - 96
“With its strong story, well-written dialogue, terrific voice cast, impressive graphics, great in-game sound, and extremely entertaining and varied gameplay, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas is a stupendous thrill ride that shouldn't be missed.”
read full review ↗ - 88
“The amount of things to do in the cities of Los Santos, San Fierro, and Las Venturas is absolutely staggering... In my opinion there’s no excuse to not have a “save anywhere” feature included.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“There really is no other game like it, despite there being many imitators, and this is precisely the kind of experience that reminds why, exactly, we play games: to be liberated from the constraints of reality, and explore living, breathing worlds. Few games have come this close to realizing that promise.”
read full review ↗ - 88
“Bigger and richer in every way - a near bottomless game painted end-to-end with stuff to do, or not. As far as free-form gaming goes, it remains the pinnacle. [Jan 2005, p.57]”
- 99
“In short, it's a terrific unending masterpiece of a game -- and one that will never fall victim to an over-exaggeration of its lofty status. It's the defining piece of software for Sony's successful sophomore system, and it's almost impossible to imagine a PlayStation 2 library without it.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“The graphical effects in this title are far superior to anything GTA conjured up previously. On hot days you'll see an intense heat in front of you in the form of lots and lots of orange sunlight and heat waves in the distance. The sunsets and sunrises during hot times are absolutely blinding!”
- 92
“No one should deny that San Andreas is a great storytelling game. It's just that, between gradually caring less and less about the main characters, and performing many game actions that are nearly identical to those of previous titles in the series, San Andreas could easily begin to wear a bit thin.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“Take a large measure of "GTA III"; add a sprinkle of "Vice City", freshly sliced sprigs of nineties gang culture; stir in dashes of "Manhunt", "Fable", and "Dance-Dance Revolution" to taste, then mix in a nitro-powered-blender from hell. Result? Ten out of ten.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“Holy f***ing s***. (Sorry...I'm swearing a lot more now because of San Andreas.) I can't wrap my head around how much stuff is packed into this one disc. It's grand, it's ambitious, and funny as this may sound, it's legendary. [Dan Hsu]”
read full review ↗
Worth Playing
Eurogamer
GameSpot
IGN
Game Chronicles…and 67 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Title Update Notes 1.112Nov 13, 2024significant · resets scoring window