Everyone in the whole world should know by now, but we’re just a few weeks away from the release of Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption 2, aka the game everyone is waiting for.
We’ve been treated to some pretty stellar trailers and gameplay footage, and fans can’t get over how damn realistic this game looks.
Not only will players actually see snowflakes actually melt on the game’s protagonist Morgan, but they’ll also see mud dry, break, and fall away from his clothes. Oh, and there’s the whole horse-balls-shrink-in-cold-weather thing too, which will highlight the effects of a cold winter.
Speaking of your horse, you’ll be able to truly form a bond with it, making it your horse buddy through all your wild, wild adventures.
You will need to care for your horse to build a stronger bond, and doing so will help to give you better physical control over your horse. This will make it easier to ride, especially during combat.
If the bond with your horse is poor, your horse may also act erratically.
There will be the opportunity to own multiple horses. Different horses will have different roles. For example, some horses may be better at carrying more, whilst others may be faster. The saddle and saddle bags on your horse can be used to carry weapons, gear and supplies for you or your camp.
There is also a living, breathing ecosystem of wildlife in Red Dead Redemption 2. All of the animals will have unique, intelligent behaviour that will respond to you and other animals nearby.
Some animals, like wolves and bears, can be dangerous, and will even be seen attacking non-hostile prey.
So far, we’ve seen the likes of deer, moose, birds, bears, wolves, opossums, lizards/geckos, crocodiles and farm animals like chicken, sheep, and cows.
The wildlife won’t just serve as a distraction. There will be an in-depth hunting feature that will be useful for gathering resources to make money or to take back to your camp.
Hunting will have its own mechanics and challenges. Players will have to stalk wildlife out in the open world and hunt them down. In the gameplay trailer, we saw the player using a bow to take down prey.
If you injure but don’t kill your prey, you’ll need to use a ‘hunter sense’ to track down the injured animal.
So far we know that animals will give resources like animal pelt that can be sold, and the animal itself can be taken back to your camp.
In terms of combat, you’ll be able to actually shoot people in the balls, with characters reacting to you making a move on their little cowboys.
Hand to hand combat will be the most in-depth and satisfying combat system we’ve seen from a Rockstar game yet.
Take the Grand Theft Auto 5 hand to hand combat and then elevate it to a new level. New combat features include all of the following:
- Grappling
- Punches
- Dodges
- Blocks
Players should have lots of control over how they engage in hand to hand combat and the AI will respond intelligently.
The Dead Eye system will be coming back to Red Dead Redemption 2 and it will be better than ever.
We also know from the trailer that there will be a variety of weapons, each of which will have their own unique features.
The examples we saw in the trailer include:
- Scoped rifles
- Shotguns
- Revolvers
- Bows
Each weapon will have realistic recoil, reload, and other weapon mechanics.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is set to release on the Xbox One and PS4 on Oct. 26