HOWTO: GAMING
Here’s the problem with waiting for a game this big: everything else starts to feel like a waiting room. So I stopped looking for a GTA substitute, because there isn’t one, and started asking what I’m actually hungry for. Pick by the itch, not the genre! The Rockstar world-building, the neon, a crime family, two people against everyone. Each of those has a game that scratches it right now, on whatever you already play on.
Then check the clock, because November 19 isn’t moving again. Probably. PC friends, I’m sorry: GTA 6 launches on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S only, with no PC date yet, so your wait is longer and the big ones are fair game. Everything Rockstar has actually confirmed lives in the GTA 6 file.
THE PICKS, BY ITCH
- 01The Rockstar touch ▸ Red Dead Redemption 2
- 02Going back to Vice City ▸ Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
- 03A crime family with a heart ▸ Mafia: The Old Country
- 04A neon city that never sleeps ▸ Cyberpunk 2077
- 05Satire with a sunburn ▸ Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
- 06Two leads, one plan ▸ A Way Out
- 07Miami, 1989, in short bursts ▸ Hotline Miami
✿ THE BACKLOG CLOCK
What can you actually finish before the 19th?
Pick your nightly hours, tick what you want to play. Hours are typical main-story times, rounded. Side quests are on you, and so is sleep. The clock counts to the console launch; PC players, yours runs longer.
Fits, with 25 hours to spare.
ONE SCALE FOR EVERY BAR · DASHED GOLD LINE = YOUR TIME · NIGHTS COUNT TO NOVEMBER 19
Red Dead Redemption 2
THE ITCH ▸ THE ROCKSTAR TOUCH
ON ▸ PS4 & PS5 · XBOX ONE & SERIES X|S · PC
2018 · ABOUT 50 HRS
This is the closest thing to GTA 6 you can play today, because it’s the same studio at the same level of obsession. Strangers with whole lives, towns that keep going when you ride out, a world that doesn’t care whether you’re watching. If Leonida is half this alive, we’re fine.
On PS5 and Xbox Series it runs the last-gen version through backward compatibility, capped at 30fps; PC is the best-looking way to play it. A native current-console version has been rumored for years and never confirmed, so don’t wait for it. Fifty hours is the big commitment on this list. Start it first or not at all.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City
THE ITCH ▸ GOING BACK TO VICE CITY
ON ▸ PS5 · PS4 · XBOX SERIES X|S · XBOX ONE · SWITCH · PC
2002 ORIGINAL, 2021 REMASTER · ABOUT 19 HRS
GTA 6 is a homecoming. Rockstar first built Vice City in 2002, set it in 1986, and filled it with pastel suits and synth. Playing it now is like reading the book before the movie: the city’s bones, the jokes about Florida, the beach at sunset.
Get it in Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Edition. The remaster launched rough in 2021 and has been patched a lot since. Go in for the vibe, not the graphics, and you’ll love it.
Mafia: The Old Country
THE ITCH ▸ A CRIME FAMILY WITH A HEART
ON ▸ PS5 · XBOX SERIES X|S · PC
AUGUST 2025 · ABOUT 12 HRS
Early-1900s Sicily, a kid who works his way into a crime family, and a story that knows exactly how long it wants to be. It isn’t an open-world sandbox, and that’s a feature this close to launch: a tight twelve hours you will actually finish.
It launched at $49.99, cheaper than most new games. Save it for the nights you want a story, not a map full of icons.
Cyberpunk 2077
THE ITCH ▸ A NEON CITY THAT NEVER SLEEPS
ON ▸ PS5 · XBOX SERIES X|S · PC · SWITCH 2
2020, REBUILT SINCE · ABOUT 25 HRS
If what you want from Vice City is the glow at 2am, Night City is right there. The 2020 launch was a mess. The game it grew into after years of updates is one of the best big cities in gaming.
The main story runs about 25 hours, and the Phantom Liberty expansion is worth it if you fall in love. That’s the trap, though: this city eats weeks. Set the clock before you start.
Every pick on this list is a rehearsal for one city.
THE REAL FLORIDA BEHIND LEONIDA ▸Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth
THE ITCH ▸ SATIRE WITH A SUNBURN
ON ▸ PS5 · PS4 · XBOX SERIES X|S · XBOX ONE · PC
JANUARY 2024 · ABOUT 45 HRS
Most of this one happens in Hawaii, and it’s the funniest open world I’ve played: tourist traps, beach brawls, a food-delivery minigame, a whole side story about fixing up an island. It has the same affection-plus-mockery for American vacation culture that GTA has for Florida.
Fair warning: the fights are turn-based and the story runs long. Start it only if you’re the kind of person who reads every menu. (I am. Obviously.)
A Way Out
THE ITCH ▸ TWO LEADS, ONE PLAN
ON ▸ PS4 & PS5 · XBOX ONE & SERIES X|S · PC
2018 · ABOUT 6 HRS
Jason and Lucia are a duo, so practice being one. A Way Out is a prison break for exactly two players, split-screen on one couch or online, and the whole game is built around needing each other.
Only one of you has to own it: EA’s Friend’s Pass lets the second player join online for free. One long weekend, two controllers, done.
Hotline Miami
THE ITCH ▸ MIAMI, 1989, IN SHORT BURSTS
ON ▸ PC · PS4 & PS5 · XBOX ONE & SERIES X|S · SWITCH
2012 · ABOUT 5 HRS
Top-down, brutally fast, soaked in synth and neon, set in a Miami that feels like a fever dream. Every level takes a few minutes, which makes it perfect for the nights you only have twenty.
It’s very violent and very hard, in the good arcade way. Finish it with time to spare and the sequel is waiting.
Quick answers
Shouldn’t I just replay GTA V?
If you never finished it, sure. If you did, spend the wait on something Leonida won’t give you: a different city, a different kind of story. You’ll be living in Rockstar’s world soon enough.
I only have a weekend. Which one?
A Way Out if you have a friend, Hotline Miami if you don’t. Both take less than a day.
Will these eat my GTA 6 space?
The big ones will. Delete whatever you finished before pre-load opens on November 12. The space numbers are in the PS5 ready check.
More from Poppy's quest log
ALL QUESTS →Pick the itch, set the clock, and leave room on the drive. Leonida’s almost loaded.
— POPPY ✿ QUEST 11 COMPLETE