No small detail is overlooked. It is the collection of countless minor details that makes _ Red Dead Redemption 2 _ so captivating. It is unbelievably satisfying watching horses trudge through miles of deep snow en route to a mission, only to find the same player-made snow trail upon returning to the mission’s point of origin. Throw a corpse into the river, and the body will continue on until it gets stuck, or flows into a lake at the mouth of the river. And last, but not least: hats. Hats easily fly off in the heat of a shootout or during a bar fight, but any hat can be picked up and worn by Arthur. Collecting hats across the western frontier might be one of the most satisfying, unofficial mini-games within _ Red Dead Redemption 2 _ . In fact, as of this writing, the topic of hats was actually trending for the game on Twitt
That last point, in particular, is one of the most significant driving forces behind the story in Red Dead Redemption 2 , as the Van der Linde gang’s outlaw way of life quickly comes to a head against the advances of modern life and civilization. Taking place in 1899, the turn of the century and growing government intervention into the West has Dutch, Feybreak Island Exploration Arthur, and the rest of the gang embark on a journey to seek refuge from the forces that are seeking to eradicate them entirely.
Red Dead Redemption 2 brings with it new realistic gameplay mechanics for maintaining Arthur’s well-being. Failing to eat for a few hours results in Arthur becoming hungry and sluggish. Horses must be groomed and cared for in order to be most effective for speed and travel. While this sim-style element might seem like a chore, it ultimately aids in pulling players into the world and grounding their experience with a sense of real
While these relationships definitely had their use in these action-heavy segments of the demo, the interactions that Arthur has with the other members of the gang also play out in more narratively-driven ways. While trekking through the mountains with John and Bill in a later story section that we played, I had the option to talk to Bill along the way to learn more about the rival gang camp that we were about to ambush. Staying silent would have been a completely viable option as well, but having those type of options speaks to the ways that Red Dead Redemption 2 is aiming for a more dynamic and natural way for players to interact with its world and characters.
All of this dynamic immersion works beautifully in Red Dead Redemption 2 , mostly through the ways that Rockstar has integrated so many layers of interaction and detail into its environments, characters, and how Arthur can create such an impact within the world as a whole. As much as Red Dead Redemption 2 still feels like a “Rockstar game,” in a lot of ways it also feels like it is a roleplaying game in the truest sense of the term. That’s not to say you should expect it to be Final Fantasy or The Elder Scrolls by any means, but Rockstar has gone to painstaking lengths to make its vision of the West feel as believable and real as possible, and they nail every detail that is part of it.
One of the biggest ways that Rockstar accomplishes this in Red Dead Redemption 2 is by integrating a new “Focus” ability for Arthur to interact with virtually any object, person, or animal that he comes across. By holding the L2 button (as we played the game on PS4 Pro) without a weapon holstered, Arthur can choose from a variety of ways to engage with oncoming travelers, shopkeepers, and other NPCs in the environment, whether that’s to greet them, antagonize them (likely resulting in a violent conflict), rob them, and more.
Of course, many of those strong character moments especially revolve around Arthur Morgan, one of the senior members of the Van der Linde gang and the character who players will take control of throughout their journey in Red Dead Redemption 2 . As a man that has essentially been raised since childhood as an outlaw, Arthur owes his life to Dutch and that experience has shaped him into a fierce protector of the rest of the Van der Linde gang, though Arthur has plenty of his own conflicts and backstory that players will discover over the course of the game. While Arthur has his own proclivities towards violence and conflict out in the world, how far he is willing to push things is left for the player to decide as they control Arthur throughout the story and take action, and that’s all in part from the Honor system at play throughout the game’s world.
One of the interesting, yet grotesque mechanics in Red Dead Redemption was the skinning of hunted animals. The animal itself was full of blood splatter and oddly accurate noises. Now, we didn’t get a look at whether or not that exact process is part of this new Red Dead adventure, but we were treated to a hint at a possible new mechanic. One of the scenes shows a man guidimh his horse back to what seems to be his home. The horse is carrying a deer carcass, as well as a few other supplies. Does this mean that players will not only have to kill animals, but also harvest them by taking their entire carcass back to base? We really have no idea, but it would add a lot of depth to a repetitive, yet fulfilling mecha