By now, Grand Theft Auto Online has completely embodied the term "sandbox game," as its degree of freedom has given way to numerous in-game creations by its gargantuan player base. Even without the use of mods that wildly change how Grand Theft Auto Online is played, players have still gone as far as recreating Burnout 3: Takedown, utilizing the in-game Rockstar Editor. In this case, a player took it upon himself to recreate the first half of The Weeknd's "Blinding Lights," matching most of the original video shot for shot.
At two minutes long, the video does an incredible job at matching The Weeknd step for drunken step as Redditor Ritul stumbles through Los Santos. After a few quick close-ups and interiors of one of GTA 5's supercars, the video flashes the title of the song just like the original, followed by more quick cuts that invoke The Weeknd's hit single. It's not long before Ritul is racing through the streets alongside the talented singer himself.
RELATED: GTA 5 Player Lands Motorcycle on the Loch Ness Monster's Head
In the comments, Ritul revealed a few of his secrets, including the one-to-one drunk stumbling seen at the beginning. Amazingly, the answer is simple - Ritul got his character drunk prior to shooting the scene. Additionally, a few other small tricks to hide the editing UI allowed Ritul to pull off the stunt.
A separate, fuller version posted to the same subreddit was created around 9 months prior to this one, meaning the idea isn't entirely fresh. However, Ritul does deserve credit not only for making the creation entirely on his own, but finding creative ways to stay true to the original video in style, dress and drunkenness. Something of this quality would be considered near-impossible given the age of GTA Online, so it's great that some players can still enjoy the game without any major modifications.
On the other hand, Grand Theft Auto Online has a huge modding community that allows players to act as Goku, shoot animals and vehicles from guns, and even fully immerse themselves in a dedicated roleplay. NoPixel, among the most popular roleplaying communities, has seen an influx of popular Twitch streamers, namely xQc. As expected from the controversial streamer, he's already seen his second ban from the NoPixel server.
In any case, Rockstar is keeping a watchful eye out, as it likely doesn't plan on releasing Grand Theft Auto 6 anytime soon due to the insane success of GTA Online. However with the constant updates, both from the creative modding community and Rockstar itself, playing the game won't get old anytime soon.
Grand Theft Auto Online is available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One. PS5 and Xbox Series X versions are in development.