Classic Lighting enabled by default.
Image credit: Rockstar
Rockstar has at last updated the PC, PlayStation and Xbox versions of its classic GTA Trilogy to receive the same improvements already found in its mobile port.
GTA Trilogy originally launched for PC and consoles exactly three years ago to a decidedly negative reception due to its various graphical issues and glitches, prompting a sarcastic response from the port’s original development studio and an apology from Rockstar itself.
Now, three years later, improvements already found in GTA Trilogy’s warmly-received smartphone version – launched via Netflix – can finally be found elsewhere. Most notably, this includes the trilogy’s Classic Lighting mode, which restores the brighter and more colourful vibes of the games’ original versions.
As RockstarIntel notes, you can find the Classic Lighting option now in each games’ pause menu – though, somewhat tellingly, the feature has been enabled by default. Other additions include character model improvements, plus visual improvements for heat haze and ambient clouds.
GTA Trilogy’s disastrous launch sparked countless refund requests as the game arrived in a buggy state. Rockstar quickly pulled the game offline for three days, albeit with different concerns – apparently to scrub the inclusion of unlicensed music within the game’s files, as well as files with developer comments and the infamous Hot Coffee sex mini-game.
“There are a lot of problems here,” Digital Foundry wrote of the GTA Trilogy upon the package’s original launch, “issues that are so blatant and jarring and ridiculous, it’s hard to understand how the game made its way through quality control.”
Rockstar apologised, offered a free Rockstar game for PC owners, and began providing patches. But problems persisted – and GTA Trilogy’s Steam launch in January 2023 drew similar complaints over its poor quality. Here’s hoping now, finally, Rockstar has provided.
