Red Dead Redemption 2

Red Dead Redemption 2 is a 2018 action-adventure game developed and published by Rockstar Games. The game is the third entry in the Red Dead series and a prequel to the 2010 game Red Dead Redemption. The story is set in a fictionalized representation of the United States in 1899 and follows the exploits of Arthur Morgan, an outlaw and member of the Van der Linde gang, who must face the challenges of a declining Wild West, while attempting to survive against government forces, rival gangs, and other adversaries. The game is presented through first- and third-person perspectives, and the player may freely roam its interactive open world. Gameplay elements include shootouts, robberies, hunting, horseback riding, interacting with non-player characters, and maintaining the character's honor rating through moral choices and deeds. A bounty system governs the response of law enforcement and bounty hunters to crimes committed by the player.

The game's development lasted over eight years, beginning soon after Red Dead Redemption's release, and it became one of the most expensive video games ever made. Rockstar co-opted all of its studios into one large team to facilitate development. They drew influence from real locations as opposed to film or art, focused on creating an accurate reflection of the time with the game's characters and world. The game was Rockstar's first built specifically for eighth-generation consoles, having tested their technical capabilities while porting Grand Theft Auto V. The game's soundtrack features an original score composed by Woody Jackson and several vocal tracks produced by Daniel Lanois. Development included a crunch schedule of 100-hour weeks, leading to reports of mandatory and unpaid overtime. Red Dead Online, the game's online multiplayer mode, lets up to 32 players engage in a variety of cooperative and competitive game modes.

Red Dead Redemption 2 was released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in October 2018, and for Windows and Stadia in November 2019. It broke several records and had the second-biggest launch in the history of entertainment, generating US$725 million in sales from its opening weekend and exceeding the lifetime sales of Red Dead Redemption in two weeks. The game received critical acclaim, with praise directed at its story, characters, open world, graphics, music, and level of detail, but some criticism at its control scheme and emphasis on realism over player freedom. It won more than 175 Game of the Year awards and received multiple other accolades from awards shows and gaming publications. It is considered one of eighth-generation console gaming's most significant titles and among the greatest video games ever made. It is the fourth-best-selling video game with over 82 million copies shipped.

Gameplay

Red Dead Redemption 2 is a Western-themed action-adventure game. Played from a first- or third-person perspective, the game is set in an open-world environment featuring a fictionalized version of the United States in 1899. It features single-player and online multiplayer components, the latter released under Red Dead Online. For most of the game, the player controls outlaw Arthur Morgan, a member of the Van der Linde gang, as he completes missions—linear scenarios with set objectives—to progress the story; from the epilogue, the player controls Red Dead Redemption protagonist John Marston. Outside of missions, they can freely roam the interactive world. They may engage in combat with enemies using melee attacks, firearms, bow and arrow, throwables, or dynamite, and can dual wield weapons. The player can swim as Arthur but not as John.

Red Dead Redemption 2's world features different landscapes with occasional travelers, bandits, and wildlife, and urban settlements ranging from farmhouses to towns and cities. Horses are the main forms of transportation, of which there are various breeds with different attributes. The player can steal horses and must train or tame wild horses to use them; to own a horse, they must saddle or stable it. Repeated use of a horse begins a bonding process, increased by leading, petting, cleaning, and feeding it, and the player will acquire advantages as they ride their horse. Stagecoaches and trains can be used to travel; the player can hijack a train or stagecoach by threatening the driver and rob its contents or passengers. The player may witness or partake in random events in the world, including ambushes, crimes, pleas for assistance, ride-by shootings, public executions, and animal attacks. They may be rewarded when helping others. They may partake in side activities, including tasks with companions and strangers, dueling, bounty hunting, searching for collectibles such as rock carvings, and playing poker, blackjack, dominoes, and five finger filet. Hunting animals provides food, income, and materials for crafting items. The choice of weapon and shot placement affect the quality and value of meat and pelt, and the player can skin the animal or carry the carcass, which will rot over time, decrease its value, and attract predators.

Some story moments give the player the option to accept or decline additional missions and lightly shape the plot around their choices. They can choose different dialogue trees with non-player characters (NPCs), such as being friendly or insulting. If they choose to kill an NPC, they can loot their corpse. The Honor system measures how the player's actions are perceived: morally positive choices and deeds like helping strangers, following the law, and sparing opponents in a duel will increase Honor, while negative deeds such as theft and harming innocents will decrease it. Dialogue and outcomes often differ based on Honor level, and attaining milestones grants unique benefits: high Honor provides special outfits and store discounts, while low Honor grants more items from looting.

In addition to health and stamina bars, the player has cores, which affect the rate at which their health and stamina regenerate. Freezing or overheating rapidly drains cores, preventable by wearing weather-appropriate clothing. The player can gain or lose weight depending on how much they eat; an underweight character will have less health but more stamina, while an overweight character can better absorb damage but with less stamina. Eating and sleeping replenishes cores. The player can bathe to remain clean and visit a barber to change hairstyles; hair grows realistically over time.

Weapons require cleaning to maintain their performance. Using a certain type of gun extensively improves weapon handling, reduces recoil, and increases the rate of reloading. The player can take cover, free aim, and target a person or animal. Individual body parts can be targeted to take down targets without killing them. Weapons consist of pistols, revolvers, repeaters, rifles, shotguns, bows, explosives, lassos, mounted Gatling guns, and melee weapons such as knives and tomahawks. The player can use Dead Eye to slow down time and mark targets. Once the targeting sequence ends, they fire to every marked location in a very short space of time. The Dead Eye system upgrades progressively and grants abilities such as targeting fatal points.

When the player commits a crime, witnesses alert the law; the player can stop them to avoid repercussions. Law enforcers investigate once alerted. When the player is caught, a bounty is set on their head; as they commit more crimes, their bounty grows higher and more lawmen will be sent to hunt them. If the player escapes the law, bounty hunters track them down. After committing enough crime, the U.S. Marshals will be sent to the player's location. To escape law enforcement, they can evade the wanted vicinity, hide from pursuers, or kill them. The bounty will remain on their head, lawmen and civilians will be more vigilant, and regions where crimes have been committed will be on lockdown. When caught by lawmen, the player can surrender if they are unarmed and on foot. They can remove their bounty by paying it off or spending time in jail.

Synopsis

Setting and characters

The world of Red Dead Redemption 2 spans five fictitious U.S. states: New Hanover, Ambarino, and Lemoyne are located to the immediate north and east of New Austin and West Elizabeth, which return from Red Dead Redemption. Ambarino is a sparsely populated mountain wilderness, with the only settlement being the Wapiti Indian Reservation; New Hanover encompasses a sweeping valley, woody foothills, and plains, while featuring the livestock town of Valentine, the riverside Van Horn Trading Post, and the coal town of Annesburg; Lemoyne is composed of bayous and plantations resembling the Deep South, and is home to the Southern town of Rhodes, the Creole village of Lagras, and the former French colony of Saint Denis, analogous to New Orleans. West Elizabeth consists of wide plains, dense forests, and the prosperous port town of Blackwater; the region is expanded from the original game with a northern portion containing the mountain resort town of Strawberry. New Austin is an arid desert region on the border with Mexico and centered on the frontier towns of Armadillo and Tumbleweed, featured in the original game. Parts of New Austin and West Elizabeth were redesigned to reflect the earlier time: Blackwater is under development, Armadillo is a ghost town as a result of a cholera outbreak, and Tumbleweed is on the decline.