Love NYC? Explore these 8 Games Set in the Big Apple

New York City has been the setting for many wonderful movies, books, and plays, and as you might expect, the city also pops up in other entertainment genres, too. Makers of video games regularly turn to NYC as a setting for their titles, and the rich variety of cultures, the wide social spectrum, and the city’s history allow video games to explore the metropolis in different ways than movies and books.

Of course, some game studios will take a different approach to NYC, reimagining it in a way that differs from what we know to be reality. Yet, there are lots of great games that capture the essence of NYC, regardless of whether they are based on a fictional idea or not. Below, we look at eight of the best games set in NYC that you can play today.

Marvel’s Spider-Man (2018) – Insomniac Games
Spider-Man will always be associated with NYC. There is no end to Spider-Man games, and it is debatable which one is the best, but this 2018 release was groundbreaking in many respects. One of our favorite aspects is that the player must balance Peter Parker’s quotidian life in NYC with the action elements of a superhero game.

Grand Theft Auto IV (2008) – Rockstar North
Not exactly New York City, but an open-world imagining of NYC as Liberty City. So, for example, Broker is Brooklyn. Anyway, GTA games hardly need more explanation in terms of their popularity or impact on the gaming industry. GTA IV was particularly lauded for its attention to detail for its urban setting, though.

Tom Clancy’s The Division (2016) – Ubisoft
The Division is not everyone’s cup of tea, but it has a hardcore fanbase, and it is the perfect example of how a gaming world can reimagine a real place. In this case, it’s a near-future version of Manhattan coming out of a pandemic. It’s a bit bleak at times, though.

American Wonder Reels (2024) – NetGaming

Not a video game, nor set only in NYC, American Wonder Reels is a popular slot that can be played online at social casinos like Pulsz. The Manhattan Skyline, Statue of Liberty symbols, and other elements themed on the Big Apple make this the perfect spinner with icons of American culture.

Max Payne (2001) – Remedy Entertainment
An undoubted classic, Max Payne is a brilliant revenge tale, as you guide the NYPD hero across a grimy version of NYC nightlife. It did get a mobile release, too, but some of the controls on Max Payne Mobile do the game an injustice. Better off trying it on a PC.

True Crime: New York City (2005) – Luxoflux
In this one, you patrol a mapped-out Manhattan as a rogue cop in an early 2000s open-world take on NYC crime. The game has been tagged as a GTA clone, and there are a lot of similarities in that respect, but it also feels like a better exploration of the underbelly of NYC (real or not) than any GTA game.

Crysis 2 (2011) – Crytek
In this first-person shooter, an alien invasion tears through Midtown and beyond. While made in 2011, it’s actually set in 2023, so technically it’s an imagining of New York’s future in the past, if you can get your head around that. Anyway, a remastered trilogy of Crysis games was released in 2021, and it’s well worth exploring.

The Warriors (2005) – Rockstar Toronto
A game based on the 1979 cult classic movie – well worth a watch – of the same name, The Warriors recreates 1970s NYC culture with some furious action across the boroughs. While the concept of the 1970s gang culture can feel a little clichéd, there is remarkable character exploration in this brilliant beat’em up title.

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