The PlayStation 2 holds a special place in the hearts of so many people, myself included. Along with being the best-selling console, Sony’s juggernaut arguably has the strongest video game library of all time, and open-world games form a big part of this legacy. GTA, Spider-Man 2, Mercenaries, Bully, Gun, and The Getaway were all massive PS2 releases that helped define and shape the genre’s future, cementing themselves as all-time legends in the process.
However, the PS2 is 26 years old by this point, and time is an absolutely evil mistress. What once pushed limitations and rewrote conventions is now antiquated and, frankly, unplayable. While plenty of this era’s releases stand the test of time, most PS2 open-world games have aged poorly, a consequence of the genre’s relative infancy at the time and quick expansion.
I still think all of these games deserve their lowers, even if they are not fun to play in 2026.
Also, I am not covering literally unplayable games, but rather PS2 classics that are very hard to revisit and enjoy nowadays.
Grand Theft Auto 3 Is The Most Important Unplayable Open-World Game Ever
The Originators Often Age The Worst
- Rockstar’s masterpiece basically wrote the open-world playbook, and Liberty City seemed gigantic at the time.
- Rockstar’s own Vice City and San Andreas are far, far better PS2 open-world games that are way more rewarding to revisit, particularly the latter.
- The images are mainly from the remaster; the PS2 version naturally looked worse (although not much worse).
As the 13-year wait for GTA 6 threatens to come to an end in November, the fact Rockstar published 5 GTA games during the PS2 era seems unbelievable, especially alongside other great releases like Bully, Midnight Club 3, and The Warriors. Of all Rockstar’s PS2 games, GTA 3 was inarguably the most groundbreaking, and its success spearheaded the open-world boom. Liberty City’s free-form interactivity was like nothing else at the time, and you genuinely felt like you could go anywhere and do anything.
GTA 3‘s charm started to fade once Vice City and San Andreas became a reality, and it already seemed small by the end of the console’s run. The original PS2 version has too many frustrating elements to be worth a playthrough nowadays; the checkpoint system sucks, the driving and camera constantly fall apart, and the cars feel absolutely weightless. Faction NPCs also become so aggressive by the end of the game that traveling through their territory becomes a death sentence, which limits where you can go.
Just Cause Asked Too Much Of The PS2 (And Just Wasn’t Very Good)
The Series Starts With Just Cause 2
- Released in September 2006, Just Cause came out at the end of the PS2’s lifetime, and its ambition was plain for all to see.
- Even the PC and Xbox 360 versions aren’t worth playing in 2026, let alone the far inferior PS2 release.
I love Just Cause, and I think a lot of people feel the same way. However, whenever anybody discusses these games, they almost always skip over the 2006 original in favor of its immediate sequel, a practice that sounds but actually isn’t unfair. Don’t get me wrong, Avalanche pulled off an incredible feat of bringing to life an island sandbox designed to accommodate wanton destruction, crafting the most ambitious open-world title at the time.
Sometimes, ambition simply goes beyond what is actually possible, and Just Cause simply demanded too much from a 6-year-old console that was just about to be put out to pasture. To even run on the PS2, the draw distance had to be shortened to the point of becoming non-existent, and that barely resulted in a playable framerate. The world was big but empty, and nowhere near as fun to blow up as in Mercenaries: Playground of Destruction or The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction, let alone Just Cause 2. Even the grappling hook didn’t start to be fun until the sequel.
Obviously, don’t play Just Cause on the PS2, but nobody in 2026 would pick that version anyway. However, none of the other versions hold up either, as the game is just too rough around the edges. I played the PC version in recent years, and it felt like playing a proof of concept that would eventually produce excellence. Go with Just Cause 2 or 3 instead.
Yakuza Without Kiwami Turns Kamurocho Into Jank Central
The English Dub Is Unintentionally Hilarious, Though
- Yakuza was a breath of fresh air in 2005.
- The story was and still is great. The same cannot be said for basically everything else.
- Yakuza Kiwami is a million times better, and it isn’t even one of the better games in the franchise.
Although not always the case, remakes often make their predecessors obsolete when they provide essentially the same experience, just better. Yakuza is maybe the most obvious example, as there is no reason to play it when Yakuza Kiwami exists. There is a reason the franchise didn’t become a global sensation until the PS3 and PS4 eras: The PS2 originals suffer from a lot of growing pains.
Right from the start, Yakuza‘s defining feature – fantastic character-driven writing – was present, as was a focus on relatively small but dense urban environments over sprawling worlds. The beat ’em up brawling was also quite unique for the era, as PS2 open-world games generally had underwhelming combat. The positives were strong enough to justify powering through the many negatives, when there wasn’t a far better version available.
Nowadays, why would anybody put up with the disorienting fixed camera, constantly loading screens, barely useful lock-on, and unpolished gameplay? Die-hard fans might want to check out Yakuza just to see where it all began, but I cannot imagine too many people will feel tempted to go for a complete playthrough. Honestly, the Western dub is maybe the only reason to revisit Yakuza, just to hear Mark Hamill voice Majima.
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Shadow of the Colossus Is The Best PS2 Game You Shouldn’t Replay
At Least, Not The Original Version
- An atmospheric minimalistic epic that pushed the PS2 to its breaking point.
- An artistic achievement with few equals.
- At times, Shadow of the Colossus runs so poorly that it resembles a slide show.
Shadow of the Colossus is straight-up one of the best games of the 2000s, but it suffers from the same fate as Yakuza and Just Cause. If there was literally no other way to play it, I would recommend Team Ico’s PS2 masterwork to some people, as long as they understand what they are getting into. Fortunately, there are two other ways to experience this story: a PS3 remaster that runs better or a faithful PS4 remake.
Even though the world is purposefully devoid of life, Shadow of the Colossus lives up to its name through its jaw-dropping Colossi, which are basically Dark Souls-level bosses in a 2005 game. Their sheer scale was so breathtaking that it caused the PS2 to actively choke in its desperate battle to carry them. With the framerate struggling to reach drinking age, the precision-based platforming that makes up so many of the Colossi encounters becomes an exercise in frustration that undermines an otherwise one-of-a-kind experience.
DRIV3R Is Better Than Its Reputation But Also Unplayable (In Some Ways)
The Driving Rocks, Though
- DRIV3R was rushed out, and you can tell.
- The driving and free-roam are still a lot of fun.
- The on-foot movement and gunplay are so bad that they make the missions feel unplayable.
In the wake of GTA 3, every publisher sought to jump on the hype train, and Atari figured Driver would be the perfect fit. As we saw with San Francisco and even Parallel Lines, the series could transition into modern open-world design, as long as Atari didn’t rush a game’s production and for it to wear a GTA skin. DRIV3R was an educational experience.
Now, I will say that DRIV3R‘s driving is impressive for the era, far better than most of its contemporaries. Unfortunately, the campaign incorporates way too many on-foot sections or gunfights, both of which suffer from terrible controls that kill an otherwise decent story. DRIV3R is still playable, as long as you just run around the world and ignore the actual missions.
Ultimately, how many people are going to boot a PS2 open-world game in 2026 just to exist within its world for a bit?
