5 New Things We Learned About Red Dead Redemption 2 Today

Red Dead Redemption 2 is Playable in First-Person

For the most part, Rockstar Games has thrived in the third-person space, in 2014 though, Rockstar implemented first-person mode into Grand Theft Auto V’s 2014 PS4 and Xbox One release and it totally changed how players approach and experience the game.

Clearly, Rockstar is happy with how that turned out because we now know that the entirety of Red Dead Redemption 2 can be played in first-person mode. As if this game wasn’t already going to make you feel more like a cowboy than you ever have before, first-person mode is sure to add an entirely-new level of immersion to your experience.

You Have to Take Care of Yourself, and Your Weapon

One of the most exciting aspects of Red Dead Redemption 2 is Rockstar’s promise to deliver a truly alive and active open-world. If the way Arthur Morgan changes while you play is any indication, Rockstar is on the right track.

As you play Red Dead Redemption 2, Morgan’s hair and beard will grow, and the only way to counter that is to get a trim at a barbershop. Hopefully, we can choose different beard and hairstyles. Something tells me that smile up above would look way more Western with some Jeff Bridges facial hair in the mix.

On that same note, Rockstar has applied the living open-world approach to not only your beard and hair, but Arthur Morgan’s general health as well.

If you want Morgan’s stamina to increase, consider riding your horse less and traversing by foot more, because to increase your stamina, Morgan actually needs to do some running himself every now and then. It will also be up to you to maintain Morgan’s health. He’s a human which means he needs to eat and drink, and when those things don’t happen, his health and stamina will begin to regenerate slower and his movements will be more sluggish than normal.

On top of all of that, you’ll also need to bathe to keep yourself clean and wear the appropriate clothes to survive — keep that jacket handy for those snowy mountains.

Finally, while some people might groan at this, it turns out that in Red Dead Redemption 2, your weapons will degrade without proper care. Not too much is known on this feature, but we have learned today that if a weapon gets wet, it will decrease in stats. That makes sense, too.

In fact, Rockstar could have taken it a step further and made it so where weapons won’t fire when wet (because that’s what would actually happen if revolvers, rifles and shotguns in this time period got too soaked). It’ll be interesting to see just how far the elements and time affect Arthur Morgan’s guns.

Dead Eye Can Be Upgraded to Reveal Weak Points

In Red Dead Redemption, John Marston’s Deadeye ability could be upgraded to last longer. In Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar is taking those upgrades up a notch and doing so with some inspiration from a fellow open-world behemoth: Bethesda.

In Fallout, players can us the V.A.T.S system to reveal weak points on the enemy among other things. Now, in Red Dead Redemption 2, Arthur Morgan’s Deadeye ability can be upgraded to do the same. Just in case you didn’t know the head was the most efficient area to shoot an enemy, Deadeye will now have your back.

There Are Five Fictional States for Your Gang to Explore

While we don’t know the names yet, we’ve learned today that in Red Dead Redemption 2, players will be able to explore five different fictional states in the Wild West. Furthermore, each of these states will represent a different type of US topography.

From the picture above, we know we’re going to explore that classic canyon-based western frontier. We’ve seen snow-capped mountain regions and we’ve seen the Dutch gang set up camp in a forest area. If that’s three of the different topographies we will see, we’ve still got two left to discover.

You Can Ring a Train’s Bell

We couldn’t help but add this one in. Arguably the most important new feature in Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar has finally given players (okay so maybe just me) what they want: the ability to ring a train’s bell.

Have you ever been hurtling along a train track just dying to make that machine whistle or that bell ring? Well your (okay so again, maybe just mine) prayers have been answered. If you hear a train with a seemingly broken train bell in Red Dead Online, fear not. That’s just me pressing the button to ring the bell over and over again.