20 Years Later, Rockstar’s Best Game Still Doesn’t Have the Sequel It Deserved
Rockstar released Bully in October 2006, creating an open-world game set in a school and its surrounding fictional town. Its teenage setting gave the studio’s familiar freedom and mischief a distinctive, more innocent form, while Jimmy Hopkins’s efforts to stand up to bullies gave the story a thread of justice.
The game received an 87/100 Metascore and followed the success of Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, arriving before GTA 4. Players explored Bullworth, tackled missions and used items such as marbles, stink bombs and slingshots; the article argues these had practical uses as well as comic appeal. Twenty years on, the writer laments that Bully has neither a sequel nor a modern remake, while noting that a new instalment would need to reflect changes in school life.
In short
- Bully brought Rockstar’s open-world format to a fictional school.
- It earned an 87/100 Metascore in 2006.
- Two decades later, it still has no sequel or remake.
Explained simply
Bully is an open-world video game released by Rockstar in 2006. It takes place at Bullworth Academy and in the surrounding fictional town, where players follow teenager Jimmy Hopkins as he navigates school life and confronts bullies.
Rockstar was already known for games such as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, which give players freedom to explore and take on missions. Bully brought some of that approach to a school setting, with comic tools such as marbles and stink bombs also used in gameplay.
The game was well reviewed, earning 87 out of 100 on Metacritic’s review average. Its setting and characters have kept it in discussion, while a follow-up would have to account for how school life has changed since 2006.