Maniac

Maniac is a top-down crime action game with roguelite structure, openly modeled on the original Grand Theft Auto's chaos rather than its modern open-world descendants. Each run drops you into a chaotic open-world city, where the goal is to escalate destruction and survive the ever-increasing wave of law enforcement closing in.

Six playable psychopaths each carry their own skill kit and unlockable gear: a murderous clown, an unemployed drunk Santa Claus, a coked-up broker, a cute little girl, and others. Each has vehicular upgrades, weapons, and personal abilities that unlock through play.

The map is a chaotic city with 11 distinct districts and a built-in map editor for players who want to build their own playgrounds. Vehicle hijacking is the core power fantasy — bulldozers, buses, cop cars, tanks — and the driving physics actively encourage drifting and chain-reaction crashes.

The aggressive AI is the long-term pressure. Police don't merely chase but coordinate roadblocks, helicopters, and reinforcement waves as your wanted level climbs. Levelling happens through public property destruction, kills, and chaos, and the loop is short, loud, and unapologetically retro in spirit.