Huge thanks to DISPLATE for sponsoring this here vid.  Go to https://displate.com/@bandercoot and use code BANDERCOOT to get up to 33% off on your orders.

Do NPCs in Grand Theft Auto IV actually have jobs, homes, routines, and places to be? Or is Liberty City’s realism just an elaborate illusion?

I spent seven in-game days stalking GTA 4 NPCs across Liberty City to find out where they actually go. I followed pedestrians for 24 hours, chased random drivers across the entire map, rode the subway with commuters, tracked taxis carrying passengers, followed an ambulance responding to an emergency, investigated Burger Shot customers, and even pursued airplanes over Francis International Airport.

GTA IV is still celebrated as one of Rockstar Games most realistic open-world games. Its cars have weight, its pedestrians react dynamically, its restaurants are enterable, and Liberty City feels like a place that exists beyond the player. But how much of that city is truly being simulated?

Timestamps:
0:00 INTRO
0:55 DAY 1 - THE PEDESTRIANS
3:12 DISPLATE
4:14 DAY 2 - THE DRIVERS
6:12 DAY 3 - THE SUBWAY
8:06 DAY 4 - THE TAXIS & AIRPLANES
10:00 DAY 5 - THE AMBULANCES
12:05 DAY 6 - THE RESTAURANTS
14:22 DAY 7 - PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER

#gta4 #libertycity