WithRed Dead Redemptionhaving recently launched on PC – yes, that’s the original 2010 classic that finally came to PC more than 14 years after the fact – a whole new audience is learning that the incredible attention to detail and obsessive hidden flourishes that characterize the 2018Red Dead Redemption 2can be traced back to that original game. There is astaggering amount of hidden content in these titles,details that have been put there by the developers for the minority of players who happen to notice.
WithRed Deadfever back on the menu, this is as great a time as any to discuss some of the details in question. Whether they end up rewarding the player with tangible in-game benefits or just a beautiful view or line of dialog, all of these are out of the way secrets that are likely to enhance the average player’s sojourn through these titles.
10Towns And Settlements Build Over Time
The Game Doesn’t Even Call Attention To It
Red Dead RedemptiondeveloperRockstar’s attention to detailis unparalleled. The developer is in a league of its own when it comes to furnishing its games with details that aren’t even likely to occur to most players. Take this one –the towns and buildings inRed Dead Redemption 2actually grow organically over time.And not in any way that calls attention to it – there aren’t any big announcements or signboards announcing construction projects or anything of the sort.
Red Dead Redemption 2’s Map Hides A Grisly Connection Between Every City
Each of Red Dead Redemption 2’s major cities are connected by a gruesome coincidence throughout the game’s main story.
Instead,buildings and towns incrementally change over multiple visits, a process that can spread out over dozens and dozens of hours. Seeing the sprawl of Valentine growing over time, or railroads begin to crisscross across the map, serves as a testament to the obsessive attention to detail Rockstar can manage.
9The Flying Machine Has An Easter Egg
A Story Told Across Two Games
Two of the things that help theRed Dead Redemptiongames stand out are their fantastic setting (which is also recreated in the games exceptionally well), and Rockstar’s meticulous, often understated plotting.Both of those points are in peak form with this specific entry, which spans bothRed Dead Redemptiongames.The first game sees John Marston tasked with retrieving feathers for an inventorwho is trying to create his own flying machine. In that game, this is simply a quest that taps into the cool period setting.
However,eagle-eyed players of the prequelRed Dead Redemption 2will notice the skeleton of an unsuccessful flying machineequipped with bird feathers, crashed into the map. This is probably one of the many unsuccessful attempts that happened before theevents of the originalRed Dead Redemptionor simply an Easter egg for long-time fans of the series.
The Hidden Gem That Started It All
TheRed Deadseries broke out with 2010’sRed Dead Redemption, and 2018’s follow upRed Dead Redemption 2is a direct narrative prequel to that game. What is unknown to a lot of the audiences that came on board with either of those two games, however, is that there was anotherRed Deadgame that predated these two–Red Dead Revolver, which launched in 2004and went comparatively under the radar at the time.Red Dead Redemption 2pays homage to the game that started it all in its own fun way.
During one of its many excellent campsite conversations, one of Arthur’s many possible companions Hennigan Stead recounts the story of“[his] brother… [who] used to tell [him] stories about Red Harlow… Legendary bounty hunter bringing the savage outlaws of the frontier to justice"–a direct reference toRed Dead Revolver,which follows the exploits of Red Harlow. This isn’t the only time players can hearRevolverreferenced in the series, as joining campfires in the originalRed Dead Redemptioncan sometimes trigger similar reminisces of the cult classic that started it all.
7Unicorn Sightings Are Special
Everything You’d Expect A Unicorn To Do
TheRed Dead Redemptiongames areno strangers to the supernatural, myths, and folklore. The entirety ofRed Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmareis essentially mixing horror stories and folk tales with a western, after all, so it’s not really a surprise that a unicorn ended up making its way into that game.
Whatisa surprise is just how easy it is to miss it – to get the unicorn, players have to collect all four Horses of the Apocalypse and complete all the Undead Hunter Challenges. After that, they can find the unicorn by Torquemada. Those who do will find it well worth their while.The unicorn ends up being the fastest horse in the game, and it leaves a trail of rainbows in its wake across the countryside.
6Blood Stains Are On Another Level
This Feels A Bit Excessive
An outrageously minuscule detail to receive as much attention as it does is the blood staining on Arthur’s clothes inRed Dead Redemption 2. Now, some of this is right in line with the sort of thing players can expect from pretty much any similar game.Getting shot or hurt leaves the player character with bloody wounds, and the same applies for other characters.
Red Dead Redemption 2 Timelapse Is A Heart-Breaking Reminder Of Arthur’s Story
RDR2 is often praised for having some of Rockstar’s greatest storytelling, and a collection of images taken by a player encapsulates why.
ButRockstar goes above and beyondyet again. For example,if Arthur ever carries or drags along a dead body, then his own clothes end up getting blood stainswhere he was holding the dead person against him. No one would have held it against Rockstar if it had skimped on this one detail, but the studio went ahead and added it to the game anyway.
5Justice Runs Its Course – With Or Without Arthur Morgan
An Immersive World Unlike Any Other
What sets Rockstar’s open world games apart fromthe glut of othersflooding the market is the sheer amount of effort that is put into making the world seem like a real place, independent of the player’s actions or even their existence. In other words,the world in a Rockstar game is one that acts by its own rules even without any involvement or provocation by the playeror the player character.
One amazing example of this – if Arthur visits Valentine after sunset, he can encounter a man trying to drown his wife alive in the trough. Arthur is obviously allowed to intervene and save the woman in one of many ways, but if he doesn’t,returning to Valentine a few days later sees that same man sentenced to public executionby hanging for murdering his wife. Justice won’t wait for players inRed Dead Redemption 2.
4Stolen Land Isn’t Ignored
Not Shying Away From The Ugly Side Of History
There’s a great allure to Westerns and stories following cowboys because the setting is so exciting and represents so many possibilities. But one side of the story a lot of media set in that period fails to properly depict is the story of the Native Americans, an entire culture of people that was displaced by invaders from the land it had inhabited for countless generations by then. Thankfully,Rockstar did not flinch or shy awayfrom this unfortunateugly side to the cowboy fantasy.
One Red Dead Redemption 2 Omission Hurts Immersion, But There’s A Reason For It
Red Dead Redemption 2 doesn’t dedicate itself completely to immersion, but sometimes a little well-employed restraint can be the best choice.
InRed Dead Redemption 2, Valentine was built on land taken from displaced Native Americans. In the evenings, if players happen to be in the hills surrounding the town, they will hear the cries and wails of Native American mothers and their infants. It’s a sordid truth to the story, andRed Dead Redemption 2ends up ringing more authentic for not ignoring it.
3Aliens In The Cameron Fashion
What Is It With These Games And Aliens?
The originalRed Dead Redemptionispositively obsessed with UFOsand aliens, which actually makes sense. UFO sightings were on the rise around this time in history, so it is certainly period appropriate, andcowboy movies and alien stories have had a sort of parallel history in Hollywood and on TVas well.
While there’s a lot of UFO and alien-related content in that game to pick out, one of the most overt references to other alien media – James Cameron’s blockbusterAliensin this case – is surprisingly easy to miss. If John is ever attacked by a wild animal in the middle of the reloading animation,he ends up muttering"Game over man, game over!“Which, of course, is a direct quote fromAliens.
2Cheat Codes In Plain Sight
Remember When Cheat Codes Were A Thing?
Cheat codes are increasingly rare in the era of microtransactions and paid boosters, but once upon a time, they were a proud tradition of the medium.Rockstar continued to include cheat codesin its games even as the rest of the industry was beginning to move away from them in the early 2010s. In bothRed Dead Redemptiongames,Rockstar actually made it easier than ever for players to discover themby having other characters or the world literally spell them out for players over the course of the game.
For example, Bonnie’s famous"Don’t you look fine and dandy"line in the first game can be entered as a cheat code that unlocks costumes for John. Or in the case ofRed Dead Redemption 2,KEEP YOUR DREAMS LIGHTcan be found inscribed inside a drawer in a building, andusing the cheat code lets players summon a buggyto traverse the map at will.
1Vampires Stalk The Streets
Red Dead Redemption 2continues the first game’s obsession with the supernatural by including anentirely different kind of undead monster to focus on – vampires. In St. Denis, Arthur can find five separate pieces of writing around the city totrack down the vampireallegedly terrorizing the city.
This isn’t just an easter egg either –it’s an actual encounter that awards players with an Ornate Dagger as loot. This is in addition to the mystery of the killer terrorizing the city being solved as well, of course. Although its easy to play throughRed Dead Redemption 2without ever tracking down this thread, it’s a great example of the many hidden details that make theRed Dead Redemptionseries special.
