Red Dead Redemption 2 – 20 More Insane Details You Likely Missed
Red Dead Redemption 2 is infamous for its immersion; the widescreen wild west is simply a joy to be present in, and that is in large part to its minute detail. Rockstar seemingly thought of everything, and the experience for sure benefits from these microscopic details. Here’re twenty such details, although this feature could easily run into the hundreds.
Marko Dragic’s robot rusts
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Kicking things off with one you may have spotted yourself. Visit Marko Dragic’s forlorn robot in 1899 on the snowy crest of the mountain near Colter then compare its appearance should you revisit the same location in 1907. Dragic’s robot will show signs of rust, the tin can man showing the signs of sitting there alone for years.
Missable water effects
In an ode to microscopic detail, Rockstar saw fit to incorporate realistic albeit missable water effects into Red Dead Redemption 2. River water drips off fish caught aloft and flailing off of fishing rods, rainwater dribbles over the edges of hats; the rain itself blows in the wind’s direction and floods through drainpipes during a shower.
Dog barks at a window
Head to the general store in Rhodes and you’ll happen upon a good boy barking at the shop’s window. In a wonderful portrayal of real-life dog behaviour – cute or irritatingly needy depending on your love of dogs – this dog is actually pining for cured meat that is hanging inside. Shame Rockstar never incorporated the ability to feed the game’s dogs; perhaps the only detail missing.
Accurate musician performances
Lesser games might overlook this detail, but not Red Dead Redemption 2! Pay a visit to Reid in Armadillo saloon and observe his piano playing. Remarkably, the notes you hear you see, his fingers punching the keys in perfect harmony with the music. Again, lesser games might not include this, and in truth immersion wouldn’t be lost if Reid’s hands weren’t following the music, but it’s inclusion here speaks to Rockstar’s dedication in including as much insane detail as possible.
Railroad timetable
The Victory Street trolley station in Saint Denis displays a complete map plus railroad timetable for the Cornwall City rail service… just like a real train station. It doesn’t have to, but it does. There’re even realistic indications of how long each loop will take to travel – two hours for the blue loop and one hour for the red loop, if you’re interested.
Signs of horse fatigue
Ahh, your noble steed. So easy to take for granted. Run them too hard though and they’ll start showing signs of wear and tear, like maybe you should give them a rest. Gallop for a while and your horse will start to salivate through fatigue. Dismount and you’ll see signs of salt sweat on their sides, and their poor legs will quiver when they’re desperate for a rest.
Three intertwined deer
Red Dead Redemption 2 is full of random happenstance, and one of the seemingly most out of place encounters is in a set location at Diablo Ridge; you’ll stumble across the sombre sight of three buck deer, lying dead, their antlers interlocked. What’s interesting, and somewhat sad of course, about this is this scene is based on a real-life incident whereby three dead bucks where discovered in the same pose in Ohio in 2015.
Beaver dam realism
Near Annesburg there’s a fully functioning, ultra-realistic beaver dam. Selling the realism is the sight of cut down trees in the surrounding area (complete with intricate beaver bite marks), half-chewed trees marking the beaver’s territory, and a hollow dam interior just like the real thing. Oh, also, there’re beavers scuttling about.
Wild animal behaviour
Sticking with animals for a moment, there’s plenty of wildlife through Red Dead’s vision of Old West, and they all portray realistic behaviour. When chased, possums will play dead; chase a rabbit instead and the rabbit will flee for a burrow to hide in. Stray cats, meanwhile, will hunt rats.
Wolves grieve
Okay, one more entry for the animals, and this is another sombre one. Happen across a pack of wolves and should one or more be dead you’ll see the remaining wolves howling forlornly as if grieving their dead loved ones.
Blackened bodies (from explosions and shotguns)
Shoot a shotgun near the head of an NPC – enough for them to be caught in the blast but not so much they’re taking a shell to the face – and their skin will blacken due to gunpowder residue. Similarly, chuck a Molotov cocktail adjacent to an unwilling victim and the fiery explosion will discard blackness across their skin and clothes.
Sunburn
Scorching sun, like the kind found in Guarma, will actually burn Arthur Morgan’s face. Sunscreen wasn’t invented until 1932, of course, so poor Arthur has no choice but to sport the specific red soreness only too long in the sun can inflict.
Cigarette smoke in miner’s headlamps
Only a minor thing (sorry, pun intended) but observe a miner smoking and their smoke will flash through the beam of their headlamp in truly realistic fashion. It’s cool more than anything – not the smoking, the effect.
Arthur squints on horseback
Okay, so it’s not just the horses than display the struggle of long rides through the wilderness. Arthur himself will squint his eyes during an excessively brisk gallop, the wind in his face presumably too much to bear. The neat thing about this is you’re unlikely to notice this one given you’re looking at the back of his head most of the time.
Horses get spooked
Stand next to a geyser on horseback and watch as your mount leaps away at the sudden sprouting of a geyser. Similarly, canter too close to a dangerous animal – a slithering python for instance – and your horse will show clear signs of distress.
Improved arrows penetrate deeper
It’s to be expected this one, but we can test this for sure. Shoot a regular arrow at a fencepost and look at how deep it penetrates. Now, switch to an improved arrow, shoot at the same fencepost, and you’ll notice that it cuts through the wood much more effectively. It’s another detail Rockstar didn’t have to include given the unlikeliness someone would actually do this, but there you go.
Rail worker tombstone
Forged through grit and fortitude was the central union railroad, and as was grimly typical of extreme manual labour at the time numerous workers unfortunately succumbed to the pressures of such hard work. To mark their deaths, there’s a tombstone adjacent to the railroad.
Ringing the Rhodes bell at night
Yep, dong the bell at Rhodes in the dead of night and you’ll disturb the locals from their slumber. They’ll awake angrily, shouting cries of “hey, I’m trying to sleep” as you witlessly chime the bell for no reason other than to annoy them.
Water trough bullet hole accuracy
Shoot any water trough and the water will leak out, obviously. However, in Red Dead’s never ending quest for realism the water will spill out but only to the level at which the bullet hole is. It’s been said before, but this is a detail Rockstar certainly didn’t need to include because not only is it unlikely someone will shoot a water trough but having some water seep out but not necessarily to the same level as the bullet wouldn’t have ruined immersion at all.
Campfire wood burns to charcoal
And finally, another insane detail Rockstar could have left out. Light a campfire and watch it burn. Watch, wait, and witness the wood as it burns realistically down to charcoal.
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