A New Level of Realism
Perhaps the most obvious standout from the latest Red Dead Redemption 2 trailer is simply how stunning the game looks. The three previous story and tone piece trailers have already showcased its beauty, but seeing the game properly in action has perhaps highlighted a new level of realism unseen in the open world genre. And no, it wasn’t running on a supercomputer and optimized to look as good as possible —Rockstar confirmed the game was running in 4K on a PS4 Pro. Besides, it’s the animations and nuances of the game’s physics engine that really caught the eye here. The beauty of Red Dead Redemption 2 is much more than just the glitzy textures and sparkling water effects we’re normally dazzled by in trailer reveals.
Seriously, how good do the animals look? From what little we’ve seen so far, Rockstar seems to have perfectly captured the posture, shape, and realistic motion of animal movement. No easy task, of course. It’s something that other open world games from as far back as Skyrim to more modern offerings such as Far Cry 5 have never quite prevented from appearing wooden and stiff. The manner in which Morgan’s horse bucks and weaves as pulls on the reigns (which you can visibly see), and the animal’s skittering sideways before it picks up speed and heads in the direction its commanded to is incredibly authentic. Later, Morgan is seen grooming his horse, brushing it down with a brush, and you can see small clouds of dust and hair puff from its skin.
Elsewhere, the gunplay was another area of animation that demonstrated the fidelity of each character’s animations. In particular, as Morgan primed cartridges into the chamber of his revolver, or cocked his rifle as it spewed empty rounds out of the breach. Did you notice the way the Sherif pulls his rifle off his shoulder strap and into his hands? During actual shooting sequences, too, the force of each shot rocks Marston’s shoulder back, and the cracks of gunpowder firing bursts of smoke that’s convincing beyond anything we’re accustomed to in Grand Theft Auto V. And in Red Dead Redemption 2, dead bodies fall to floor in eerily realistic fashion, crashing limp from horses without the comical ragdoll physics we’re used to being implemented to mimic lifeless motion.
These are just a handful of examples of the small details in animation that look set to immerse you in the world of Red Dead Redemption 2, but there are so many more. The snow deformation, the imprints in the mud, the raindrops, birds flying from rooftops spooked by gunfire, and then there’s the lighting… oh, the lighting!
Yes, we’ve seen other more linear games achieve some of these feats before, but Red Dead Redemption 2 is filling an enormous open world with these tiny details, which makes it all the more astonishing.
Bonds Between Characters
An open world can be made to look pretty, and it can even be packed full of content for players to keep themselves occupied for dozens of hours, but without the interactions to bind it all together, it ultimately ends up as nothing more than a playground: fun to play in but lacking the emotional gravitas that takes it to a next-level gaming experience.
CD Projekt Red managed to bring The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt’s open world to life thanks to an almost absurd amount of narrative and dialogue, a feat that was rightly praised in reviews. In all honesty, though, it was a handful of truly meaningful story arcs peppered among scores of other quests in that game that truly lasted long in the memory. The most colorful and vibrant characters and the bonds between them are what made the world feel so believable, and largely why we wanted to keep playing. This latest Red Dead Redemption 2 trailer is sending all the right messages that the bonds and interactions between player and NPCs are going to form a central pillar of the experience.
I’m fascinated by the notion of being part of a nomadic tribe of gangsters, moving through the wilderness and setting up camp where it pleases us. More than the idea of being a wanted outlaw, though, it’s the humdrum of daily life and bonds shared between members of the community that looks like it has the potential to make every interaction a meaningful one in Red Dead Redemption 2. The camp is said to be a hub for players, a way to socialize and engage with different gang members. This is what sticks out to me most. Providing for the community, the stories around the fires, the gossip, the betrayals, and the nitty-gritty of being a criminal —the trailer shows us snippets of what appears to be a colorful cast. And that all looks as though it will add a sense of immersion and depth to rival even the most brilliantly written video game scripts.
Immersion Through Interactivity
The best open world games are typically beautiful, and they often keep us invested in interesting narratives. Red Dead Redemption 2 promises to do both of those things, but more importantly, it’s potentially offering a level of interactivity that might very well make it the most immersive open world environment of all time.
From what we’ve seen so far, it seems Rockstar is intent to re-calibrate our expectations for where and when these interactions take place. Even the most mundane of interactions are given new weight with a system that allows us to aggravate or talk down hostile NPCs, indicated by a HUD appearing in the bottom right of the screen. And this same HUD seems to pop up during cinematic engagements, too, giving us the option to deal with situations according to preference, presumably shaping the narrative in the process.
More than just the way we as players are able to interact with the environment, it’s the way that Red Dead Redemption 2 will feed information to players that might well prove revolutionary for open world design. It looks set to achieve this by updating players with information and new quests in an organic and streamlined way. I’ve already written about my hopes that the game changes open world design: the way players engage in quests, moving beyond the archaic practice of having to approach an NPC with a certain icon above their head to take quests. It’s something that has existed in open world design for far too long. It was first described by IGN following their own behind-closed-doors preview, but we’re certainly seeing that system in practice during the trailer. As Marston walks through camp, he’s approached by NPCs full of gossip, he overhears other conversations on the way past. Ultimately, whether you chose to engage or ignore these quests, tasks, clues, or whatever they might be, it looks to all be done according to whether you want to stick around and keep listening rather than activating an icon. That’s infinitely more compelling, and if it proves the case, the sort of inventive game design that will move the genre forward in a meaningful way.
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