Red Dead Redemption 2

***Red Dead Redemption 2*** (stylized as ***Red Dead Redemption II***) is a western-themed action-adventure video game developed and published by Rockstar Games. It is the third entry in the *Red Dead* series and a prequel to 2010's *Red Dead Redemption* and was released on October 26th, 2018 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and on November 5th, 2019 for PC.

Set in a fictional recreation of the American Old West in 1899, *Red Dead Redemption 2* focuses on the life of Arthur Morgan and his position in the notorious Van der Linde gang. The game follows the gang's decline as they are pursued by lawmen, fellow gangs and Pinkerton agents. The narrative revolves around the characters of Dutch van der Linde, John Marston and Micah Bell in addition to Morgan.

*Red Dead Redemption 2* is set in an open world consisting of five American regions, which the player can explore as they proceed with the story, and can be played through both third-person and first-person view. As Arthur Morgan, players can interact with the game world in several ways, including story missions, side quests, challenges, randomized events, and hunting. An Honor system, returning from the previous game, changes accordingly to the player's actions towards non-player characters.

Upon release, *Red Dead Redemption 2* received widespread universal acclaim; it was praised for its writing, themes, characterization, open-world design, visuals, realistic elements and attention to detail, though it also received criticism for its control scheme and the effect of realism on the gameplay. A commercial success, *Red Dead Redemption 2* had the second-biggest launch in the history of entertainment (behind fellow Rockstar Games title *Grand Theft Auto V*), generating $725 million in sales from its opening weekend and shipping over 23 million copies in retail.

## Contents

* 1Gameplay
	+ 1.1Hunting and fishing
	+ 1.2Maintaining Arthur
	+ 1.3Maintaining John
* 2Development
* 3Synopsis
	+ 3.1Plot
* 4Information
* 5Release
	+ 5.1Editions
		- 5.1.1Special Edition
		- 5.1.2Ultimate Edition
		- 5.1.3Collector's Box
	+ 5.2Guidebooks
* 6Reception
* 7Trivia
* 8Gallery
* 9Trailers
* 10External Links
* 11References
* 12Navigation

## Gameplay

*Red Dead Redemption 2* is a western action-adventure game set in an open world environment and played from a third-person perspective, featuring single-player and online multiplayer components. The game has new features absent from the previous game. For example, new mechanics such as using a bow and arrow, dual-wielding revolvers, wading in water and using a canoe have all been introduced. Wildlife and hunting in the game have also improved.

The game focuses heavily on player choice for the story and missions. During *IGN'*s First Look preview on the topic of how player choices can affect interactions and missions, Rob Nelson, Co-Studio Head at Rockstar North said: *“We try to give you options within a lot of these missions to choose how you approach it, whether you'll send your buddies in first or whether you'll go in first.”*

Players can communicate with any NPC in ways much different from previous Rockstar games. They can choose options such as having a friendly chat, having a threatening chat in order to steal money from the NPC, or they can simply take out that character and loot the corpse.

In a further expansion of immersion, players need to take care of their equipment, such as their weapons, by cleaning them. In terms of character customization, players have the option of visiting a barber for a cut and style; however, the styles available to players depends on how much they have let their character's hair naturally grow over the course of the game. Characters will have different sets of clothes for different weather conditions, have to regularly eat and bathe, and actions that were once more automatic have been greatly expanded upon in detail, including skinning a kill and examining objects.

### Hunting and fishing

Hunting and fishing are essential skills for survival in the wilderness, providing food, materials, and a source of income. A huge variety of fish swim the many rivers, lakes, and streams, and selecting the right bait or lure is key to a successful day's haul. Tracking an animal takes focus and patience; move carefully and watch the wind direction or players will alert their prey. The choice of weapon and shot placement is also very important and will affect the quality of the meat and pelt, which in turn affects the price that traders will pay for them. Players need to make sure to pick the right gauge of rifle for the size of the animal that they are hunting, or master the use of the bow for a quiet and clean kill. If prey is injured, they will try to escape, forcing players to continue pursuing them.

After a successful hunt, players can either skin and butcher the animal on the spot or take it with them whole. Animal skins and carcasses will rot over time if not properly tended to, and this both decreases their value while making them stink, and makes the character a target for wild animals when out of town. Skins, parts, meat, and entire carcasses can all be loaded onto horses to be sold to the butchers or at the general store in town, taken back to camp for the stew pot, or crafted into clothing or other items. Trappers can craft more exotic goods for players.

### Maintaining Arthur

Unlike previous Rockstar games, *Red Dead Redemption 2* features hair that grows. Over time, Arthur's hair and beard will grow longer. Should the player wish to remove Arthur's beard, his beard can be either trimmed or completely shaved off at camp. If players decide they want to cut off his hair, they'll have to visit a barbershop, where the barber will cut their hair/facial hair, or style it professionally in ways Arthur can't do at camp. No hair can be "added" at barbershops in the same way as in previous games, or in real life. For example, if the player decides to shave off Arthur's beard, he will not be able to select a styled beard with a curled mustache.

In addition, Arthur can also bathe. This isn't necessary, but if the player is covered in mud or blood, NPCs will comment on Arthur's smell or appearance. If Arthur doesn’t bathe for an extended amount of time, Susan Grimshaw will forcibly make him wash at camp. Furthermore, Arthur needs to sleep and keep himself healthy, otherwise, he'll feel tired and drained of energy. If Arthur is underweight, his stamina will diminish more slowly, but his health will drain more quickly. If overweight, his health will deplete more slowly while his stamina will diminish at a faster rate. Arthur's weight is best when it's at a perfect or moderate level.

While Arthur is sick, his cores will be reduced by a fixed percentage and he will only be able to eat a limited amount of food. Arthur will only get the benefits he needs by sleeping. If Arthur eats too much while he is sick, he will start coughing immediately afterward.

### Maintaining John

After completing the mission "Red Dead Redemption" the player will be able to play as John.

Over time, John's hair and beard will also grow longer. Should the player wish to remove John's beard, it can be either trimmed or completely shaved off in the bathroom at Pronghorn Ranch *(Epilogue - Part One)* or Beecher's Hope *(Epilogue - Part Two)*. If the player wants his hair styled professionally, they must go to a barbershop. If the player wishes to style long hair, they must grow out John's hair/beard. Players may find John's scars to be visible if his facial hair is short.

John can also bathe. This may be just something the player can do, or serve as a function. If John is dirty and has not bathed in a while, other civilians will make comments on his smell. John needs to sleep and keep himself healthy, otherwise, he will feel tired and drained of energy.

John's weight is also a big part of maintaining his health. If his weight is average his stamina and health will not be affected. If John is underweight, he will have less health but more stamina; while if he is overweight he will have more health but less stamina.

## Development

Development of *Red Dead Redemption 2* began in 2010 as production drew to a close on its predecessor, *Red Dead Redemption*. It is unclear exactly when development started, some sites like Vulture state that development began in early 2011 while others like IGN claim that development started in 2010.

In early 2011, Dan Houser, co-founder of Rockstar Games and head writer for the company, began talking to Rockstar San Diego about a potential follow-up to the first *Red Dead Redemption*. When Dan Houser was interviewed by Vulture, he said that by late summer of 2011, he had a "broad outline and rough flow of the game defined". By Autumn 2012, many of the game's missions started to shape up, although the scripts for the missions were very rough at the time and weren't completed.

It was at this time that read-throughs of the scripts commenced, this was done via video conference calls with directors of gameplay, art design, and animation from Rockstar offices around the world.

The final script for *Red Dead Redemption 2*'s main story is approximately 2000 pages long. However, with the addition side-content and additional dialogue, Dan Houser estimates that if the pages were stacked, they "would be eight feet high". In cohesion with the script, vast efforts were made to further bring it to life by spending a total of 2200 days on the motion-capture work. This also required vast amounts of actors; a total of 1200 actors were involved in the motion-capture sessions, 700 of them with dialogue.

The first motion-capture sessions commenced in 2013 at Rockstar’s motion capture studio in Bethpage, New York. The majority of the sessions were directed by Edge.

Later in 2015 the renowned composer Woody Jackson was brought in to compose the game's music. "We have 192 interactive mission scores, and we thought about the music constantly from the time we brought in [composer] Woody Jackson in 2015", says Ivan Pavlovich, Rockstar’s music supervisor.

By mid-2017, the acting for *Red Dead Redemption 2*'s story was completed. At this time, the story was approximately 65 hours long, but a 5-hour portion of the game's story was later cut from the game. At one point, the protagonist Arthur Morgan had two love interests, but Dan Houser said: "we decided one of them didn’t work", and scrapped the idea as a result. In fact, whole missions were removed, with the reason being as follows: “they were never going to work technically or be quite slick enough, or they felt superfluous. We removed a mission on a train where you had to deal with bounty hunters, because it was fun at first, but then it wasn’t. This part of the process is always about compromise and horse trading. Everyone always loses bits of the game they love”.

Under 2017 and much of 2018, the game was polished and tested to its full extent. In 2017, work was also started on the online-counterpart of the game: *Red Dead Online*. Story segments were assembled and additional motion-capture work was done.

It is unknown exactly how many were involved in the development of the game. According to Rockstar's open "Thank You"-letter, a total of 3168 individuals are credited for their involvement in the game. However, this does not include any of the 1200 actors, thus the exact figure can be estimated at around 4368.

As of late 2023, it is unknown whether or not there will be any additional add-ons or updates to the game.

## Synopsis

After a robbery goes badly wrong in the western town of Blackwater, Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang are forced to flee. With federal agents and the best bounty hunters in the nation massing on their heels, the gang must rob, steal and fight their way across the rugged heartland of America in order to survive. As deepening internal divisions threaten to tear the gang apart, Arthur must make a choice between his own ideals and loyalty to the gang who raised him. Set in the American frontier in 1899, *Red Dead Redemption 2* follows the story of Arthur Morgan, a member of Dutch van der Linde's outlaw gang.

### Plot

In May 1899, after a failed ferry heist in the thriving port town of Blackwater, Dutch Van der Linde and his gang are forced to flee the area. One of the members was killed, and one was shot (and later died). The gang makes an attempt to cross the snowy mountains north to avoid the law, leaving their substantial money stash behind. Its members include Arthur Morgan, John Marston, Hosea Matthews, Dutch’s right hand man, Bill Williamson, Javier Escuella, Lenny Summers, Charles Smith, Sean MacGuire, Uncle, Abigail Roberts, Molly O'Shea, Tilly Jackson, Simon Pearson, Leopold Strauss, Karen Jones, Susan Grimshaw, Josiah Trelawny, Mary-Beth Gaskill, Reverend Swanson, and Micah Bell. The gang set up a camp in the deserted mining town of Colter as a temporary shelter. Arthur, Micah and Dutch find a homestead holding a party, but then realize that the party is hosted by the O'Driscolls, a rival gang. The trio defeats them and find Sadie Adler, a widow whose husband was killed by O'Driscolls. They take Sadie under their wing.

In order to fund their escape south, Dutch has the gang rob a train belonging to the wealthy oil magnate Leviticus Cornwall. A furious and vengeful Cornwall then hires the Pinkerton Detective Agency, who sends Agents Andrew Milton and Edgar Ross to apprehend the gang. Realizing that the progress of civilization is ending the time of outlaws, Dutch and the gang decide to gather up enough money to retire and escape the law for now. The gang relocates south to the state of New Hanover, and the gang perform numerous jobs and heists to gather enough money, as Dutch continually promises one last, big heist that will secure their freedom.

After a deadly shootout with Cornwall and his men, the gang is forced to relocate when Milton discovers their camp. In Rhodes, they meet the Grays and Braithwaites, two rival families potentially hoarding civil war gold. The gang works for both families to pit them against each other, but both families find out they have been played by the gang, resulting in an ambush by the Grays that kills Sean at Rhodes, and the Braithwaites kidnapping John's son, Jack. The gang slaughters both families in retaliation, and learn that Jack has been sold to crime lord Angelo Bronte.

Dutch, John, and Arthur head to Bronte's mansion in Saint Denis to confront Bronte and retrieve Jack. Bronte returns Jack and embraces the gang, but then leads them into a trap. In retaliation, Dutch kidnaps Bronte with the gang and feeds him to an alligator, murdering him. At this point, Dutch has grown convinced that there is no future for the gang in the United States and leads them into a Saint Denis bank robbery to gather enough money to move overseas. The Pinkertons intervene, and Milton executes Hosea in front of the gang. A shootout ensues, in which Lenny is killed and John is arrested. Arthur, Dutch, Bill, Javier, and Micah escape on a boat to Cuba.

A torrential storm sinks the ship, and the men wash ashore the isle of Guarma, where they become embroiled in a war between the tyrannical sugar plantation owners and the enslaved local population. The group successfully aids the revolution against the plantation owners and secures transport back to the United States. The group reunites with the rest of the gang. After fending off a Pinkerton assault on the camp, Dutch becomes paranoid that a gang member is working as an informant, causing their failures. After relocating again, Dutch obsesses over one last heist. Although he insists that they must wait to liberate John, Arthur and Sadie disobey Dutch to rescue him. Soon after, Dutch manipulates a local Native American tribe into conflict with the United States Army to draw attention away from the gang, against Arthur's wishes. Dutch begins to doubt Arthur's loyalty, in part facilitated by Micah Bell's manipulations, who has eagerly taken Hosea's role as Dutch's right-hand man.

Meanwhile, Arthur becomes concerned that Dutch is no longer the man he knew, increasingly resorting to murder and paranoia, and abandoning their ideals. Arthur later discovers that he has contracted tuberculosis from when he collected a debt from a diseased farmer, Thomas Downes back in Horseshoe Overlook, giving him only a short time to live. Faced with his own mortality, Arthur reflects on his actions and how to protect the gang following his death.

Several gang members become disenchanted and leave, while Dutch and Micah arrange one final heist of an Army payroll train. Arthur convinces John that following the heist he must leave and start a new life with his family. Dutch later murders Cornwall, blaming him for the Pinkerton's actions. Arthur's faith in Dutch is finally shattered when he leaves John for dead during the heist and refuses to rescue Abigail when she is captured by Milton. Arthur disobeys Dutch's orders and rescues Abigail, with Sadie's help. During the rescue, Arthur is ambushed by Milton, who reveals that Micah has been working as an informant for the Pinkertons since their return from Guarma before he is killed by Abigail.

Before Arthur heads back to camp to confront Micah, he tells the women to leave for safety, bidding them farewell. Arthur arrives at the camp telling Dutch that Micah is the Pinkertons informant with the latter denying it. This initiates a standoff between Arthur and Micah. John unexpectedly appears telling Dutch he left him to die. Arthur tells everyone to pick their side and the gang is dissolved with Susan and John siding with him. Javier announces that Pinkertons have arrived which distracted Susan allowing Micah to fatally shoot her. Dutch draws his guns and tells everyone who is ''with him'' and ''betraying him''. Bill, Javier, Micah, Joe, and Cleet joins Dutch's side against John and Arthur. Before anything could happen, Pinkertons led by Edgar Ross launch an assault on Beaver Hollow, but all six manage to flee into the wilderness. Arthur accepts his fate and either buys John time to escape by confronting the Pinkertons, or heads back to camp to retrieve Dutch's money stash. After either option, Micah ambushes Arthur and Dutch intervenes in their fight. Arthur convinces Dutch to leave Micah with the latter telling him to join him and get the Blackwater money. Dutch abandons both men and Micah angrily leaves. If played honorably, Arthur succumbs to his tuberculosis and injuries and peacefully dies facing the sunrise with a Buck basking under the sun. If played dishonorably, Micah executes him with his revolver and in place of the buck, the player will see a Coyote under the rain.

Eight years later, John is attempting to lead an honest life and provide a living for Abigail and their son Jack. Finding work at a local ranch, John is forced to fight back against a group of outlaws threatening his employer. Believing that John will never escape his old life, Abigail leaves with Jack. In order to convince Abigail he's changed, John buys a plot of land with the intention of turning it into a ranch. He reunites with several surviving gang members, including Uncle, Sadie, and Charles. Uncle and Charles help John build his ranch while Sadie provide him with bounties to pay off his bank loans. Upon Abigail's return, John proposes to her. Eventually, Sadie comes across information of that one of Micah's men is in Strawberry and informs Charles and John. Abigail pleads John not to go but he tells her to understand that if it ain't for Arthur, everything they worked for including the ranch wouldn't exist. John leaves with Sadie and Charles to avenge Arthur. The trio came across Cleet and threaten to hang him if he wouldn't tell them where Micah is. Cleet then reveals that he is at Mount Hagen with his gang and that they fell out because of Micah killing a little girl. Cleet will either be hanged or shot by Sadie.

After arriving at Micah's camp, Charles and Sadie are wounded by his men, forcing John to continue alone. After gunning down several of Micah's men, including Joe, John confronts Micah and Sadie corners him. Dutch unexpectedly appears with Micah taking Sadie hostage and initiates a mexican standoff between the three. After an exchange of words, Dutch shoots Micah for betraying the gang, Micah drops Sadie and tries to kill both of them but John manages to end Micah for good. With Micah dead, John tries to thank Dutch but he leaves without saying a word. John then takes the money that Micah and Dutch had since recovered from Blackwater, and uses it to fully pay off his loan. Later, John formerly marries Abigail, and they both look forward to living a new life on their ranch, alongside Uncle and Jack, while Charles leaves for Canada to start a family there and Sadie leaves for South America.

The fates of surviving gang members are revealed in newspaper articles, letters, NPC dialogue, random encounters, and several mid-credit scenes: Pearson became the proprietor of the general store in Rhodes, Swanson became a priest in New York, Tilly married a lawyer, Mary-Beth became a romance novelist, Karen presumably died of Alcoholism, and Strauss was arrested and killed in captivity, staying loyal to the gang and revealing none of the gang's secrets. Meanwhile, Agent Ross, now working for the Bureau of Investigation, discovers Micah's corpse. He and his partner Archer Fordham follow the trail straight to John's ranch, foreshadowing the events of the first game four years later.

Upon 100% completion, a scene will play, depicting John Marston visiting Arthur Morgan's grave after getting revenge on Micah. John looks at the grave to which he says "I guess we're just about done, my friend."

## Information

* Characters
	+ Arthur Morgan
	+ John Marston
	+ Van der Linde gang
* Locations
	+ New Hanover
	+ Ambarino
	+ Lemoyne
	+ West Elizabeth
	+ New Austin
	+ Guarma
* Storyline missions
* Compendium
	+ Weapons
	+ Hunting
	+ Animals
	+ Fishing
	+ Plants
* Activities
	+ Companion Activities
	+ Point of Interest
* Transport
	+ Horses
	+ Trains
* *Red Dead Online*
* Trophies/Achievements
* Cheats

## Release

On October 16th, 2016, Rockstar Games changed all of their social media and Newswire images to two red and black Rockstar logos, one of which appeared faded in a similar way to several *Red Dead Redemption* screenshots. The following day, Rockstar teased another photo, appearing to show Dutch's Gang walking in front of the sunset. On October 18th, 2016, Rockstar formally announced *Red Dead Redemption 2*, and a trailer was released on October 20th, 2016.

On May 22nd, 2017, Rockstar announced the game was delayed until spring 2018 and released screenshots from the game.

On September 28th, 2017, Rockstar released the second trailer, revealing Arthur Morgan as the game's protagonist and Dutch van der Linde as one of the central characters. The trailer also revealed that the number "2" had been changed to the Roman numeral "II," similar to that of the *GTA* series.

On February 1st, 2018, Rockstar delayed the game for the second time, announcing the release date for October 26th, 2018, along with 7 new screenshots of the game.

A few months later on April 30, 2018, Rockstar announced that a third official trailer would be coming the following Wednesday on May 2, 2018, at 11 AM Eastern time. Along with the announcement, they also added a promotional video snippet showing the protagonist, Arthur Morgan, holding a revolver along with the date of the release of the third trailer.

On May 3 and May 4, 2018, several news outlets gave their first hands-on impressions of the game, with a total of 33 new screenshots released as well. On May 4, Rockstar Games also announced that they will unveil first details on the game's special editions and more the following month. Two days later on May 6, Rockstar released 10 additional screenshots scattered out between their Facebook, Instagram and Twitter accounts.

The following month on June 4, Rockstar Games released first details on the game's special editions including digital pre-order bonuses, Collector's Box and more.

On July 23, announced the Red Dead Redemption II Complete Official Guidebook and the two variants of it, as well as confirming the release date of October 26 for the book.

On July 31st, 2018 Rockstar announced that the pre-order bonuses have been extended to August 15th, 2018.

On August 8, 2018, Rockstar Games announced that an official gameplay video of the game would be released the following day on August 9, 2018, at 11 AM Eastern time. Along with the announcement, a promotional image was also attached to the Newswire post.

1/31

On August 30, 2018, Rockstar Games announced the Outlaw Essentials Collection, featuring various limited-edition items, everything from t-shirts, domino sets and shot glasses, to iPhone cases and much more. The collection is planned to release on the Rockstar Warehouse in the near future.

On September 5, 2018, Rockstar Games posted a proclamation from the Pinkerton Detective Agency issuing the killing or capture of Dutch van der Linde. The proclamation features significant plot details.

The following day on September 6, 2018, Rockstar Games posted a total of 23 new promotional character art for various members of the Van der Linde gang. With an interval of 30 minutes between each.

The next day on September 7, 2018, Rockstar Games announced a dedicated page for the Van der Linde gang on the official Red Dead Redemption II website featuring all of the original artwork along with quotes and bios for each character of the gang. They also made the original artwork available for download via the Rockstar Downloads page.

### Editions

#### Special Edition

Pre-ordering any version of the game includes the following:

* The War Horse
* The Outlaw Survival Kit

The digital versions purchased through the Xbox and PlayStation Stores include the above, and additionally, include:

* Pre-order by August 15, 2018, to get an exclusive Treasure Map and a cash bonus for *Red Dead Redemption 2* Story Mode.
* Bonus cash for Grand Theft Auto Online. The regular edition awards the player with 500,000 GTA$, the Special Edition gives 1,000,000 GTA$, and the Ultimate Edition is worth 2,000,000 GTA$.

Story Mode content
The *Red Dead Redemption 2: Special Edition* contains a selection of exclusive content for Story Mode including:

* Bank Robbery Mission and Gang Hideout: Get access to a Bank Robbery Mission, in which Arthur and his fellow gang members come up with a plan to break in and rob the bank in the southern town of Rhodes. Elsewhere, the Del Lobos Gang has taken over a hacienda - clear this gang’s hideout and rob their stash for a lucrative take.
* Dappled Black Thoroughbred: This thoroughbred racehorse sports a reverse-dappled black coat and has exceptional speed and acceleration. Get the Nuevo Paraiso Saddle, handmade in dark chocolate leather with silver medallion detailing. This horse and saddle are available in *Red Dead Redemption 2* Story Mode.
* Talisman and Medallion Gameplay Bonuses: These Story Mode items give Arthur a hand whenever they are equipped. Attaching the Eagle Talon Talisman to his boot, Arthur’s environmental awareness skill will last longer. By carrying the Iguana Scale in his personal Satchel, Arthur will take less damage while riding on horseback.
* Gameplay Boosts, Cash Bonuses, and Discounts: The Core Stat boost benefits Arthur’s Stamina, Health, and Dead Eye Cores. Earn more cash during robbery missions with the Van der Linde gang, and when hunting and selling animal carcasses. Receive discounts on all upgrades to the Van der Linde gang’s camp and more.
* The Nuevo Paraiso Gunslinger Outfit: This Story Mode outfit for Arthur is inspired by the clothing worn by vaqueros and banditos south of the border. The outfit features a wide-brimmed black cowboy hat, deep indigo coat, worn denim chaps, leather gloves, and boots.
* Access to additional weapons in Story Mode.

#### Ultimate Edition

The *Red Dead Redemption 2: Ultimate Edition* contains all the Story Mode content from the Special Edition plus additional bonuses for a head start in online. Get access to three weapons at the Gunsmiths in Story Mode and online: the Volcanic Pistol, Pump Action Shotgun, and Lancaster Varmint Rifle.

Online content
* Bonus Outfits: Get two outfits for an online character. The Blackrose Bounty Hunter Outfit features a long oxblood-colored coat and a vest with gold pocket watch chain. The Copperhead Enforcer Outfit features a fur-lined saddle-brown leather waistcoat and two-tone gloves.
* Rank Bonuses: Can rank up faster in online, up to rank 25.
* Black Chestnut Thoroughbred: Thoroughbred racehorse in a black chestnut coat; also receive the exclusive High Plains Cutting Saddle crafted in jet-black leather with gold metal accents. This horse and saddle are available online.
* Access to the Survivor Camp Theme: Customize personal Camp in online with access to the Survivor theme.

#### Collector's Box

The *Red Dead Redemption 2: Collector’s Box*, available exclusively from select retailers and the Rockstar Warehouse, features a curated assortment of outlaw essentials all packaged in a thick-gauged metal tithing box (*Red Dead Redemption 2* sold separately).

* Metal Tithing Box with Lock & Key: Inspired by the lockbox used by the Van der Linde gang to stash contributions to the camp’s upkeep, this thick gauged metal box includes a lock & key and features black metal band detailing and an engraved Cornwall Freight & Commodities plaque.
* Collectible Challenge Coin: Featuring the majestic American Buffalo on one side and a scenic landscape on the other side, this engraved, the gold-colored collectible coin comes in a magnetic presentation holder with a black, engraved plaque describing the history of this endangered species.
* Double Sided Puzzle: This double-sided, 100-piece wooden jigsaw puzzle features an illustrated view of the bustling port of Saint-Denis on one side and a classically inspired Rockstar Games logo on the reverse.
* Six Shooter Bandana: A staple for any frontier outlaw, this bandana features a traditional paisley-inspired pattern with hidden weapon iconography throughout.
* Treasure Map: Printed on durable, unrippable paper, this exclusive treasure map reveals the location of some buried treasure that may start Arthur on a search for more riches hidden throughout the world of *Red Dead Redemption 2*.
* Pin Set: This set of six individual pins includes representations of key weapons from *Red Dead Redemption 2* including a shotgun, revolver and Dead Eye “X” marker. The set comes in a canvas carrying bag
* Playing Cards: Commemorate the outlaws of the Van der Linde gang with this fully illustrated deck of playing cards featuring key members of the gang including Arthur Morgan, John Marston, Javier Escuella, Bill Williamson and Dutch van der Linde.
* Wheeler, Rawson and Co. Catalogue: The one-stop shop for everything from weapons to clothing, the Wheeler, Rawson and Co. Catalogue is an essential shopping tool for a turn of the century life. This complete 150-page book is a replica of the edition found in stores throughout *Red Dead Redemption 2*.
* 12 Cigarette Cards: These beautifully-illustrated collectible cards can be found throughout the world of *Red Dead Redemption 2*. This physical collection includes one select card from each set like Famous Gunslingers and Outlaws, Stars of the Stage and Marvels of Travel and Locomotion.

### Guidebooks

The *Red Dead Redemption II Complete Official Guide* is presented in two distinct variations:

Standard Edition
Packed with essential information about every mission, character, and feature of this vast and detailed world, the Standard Edition includes an at-a-glance walkthrough, dedicated maps chapter, comprehensive reference sections, and an all-encompassing index.

Collector's Edition
The premium hardcover Collector’s Edition features everything from the Standard Edition, printed on superior quality art paper, and also includes an exclusive character art gallery.

Both editions of the guidebook are available after the game's launch on October 26, 2018.

## Reception

*Red Dead Redemption 2* received "universal acclaim" reviews on Metacritic getting a metascore of 93/100 on PC based on 44 critic reviews, and 97/100 on both PS4 & Xbox One based on 99 critic reviews and 33 critic reviews respectively.

## Trivia

* Players can use their horse to automatically travel to any desired waypoint (autorun). In, *Red Dead Online*, the player may use their map whilst riding to get an idea of where they are in the world as they move. The method of enabling it is as follows:
	1. Put a waypoint marker anywhere on the map.
	2. Sit on your horse and start riding on the road by holding down X (PS4) / A (Xbox One) / L-Shift (PC).
	3. Hold down the Touchpad (PS4) / View-Button (Xbox One) / V (PC) to trigger the cinematic view.
	4. Let go of all buttons. The horse will ride to the waypoint automatically.

* The main plot of *Red Dead Redemption 2* draws many parallels from the 1992 crime film *Reservoir Dogs*, in which a group of six robbers must survive the aftermath of an ambiguos failed robbery that the viewer never sees but is a vital turning point and is constantly brought up throughout the story. Indeed, the game itself shares several references and plot beats that appear to be heavily inspired by the movie, including: the ambush of a police force during the robbery, the struggle caused by a trigger-happy member in the group which led to a huge shootout, the presence of an informant within the gang, the criminals kidnapping a person whom they think has useful information, and both the gang in *Red Dead Redemption 2* and the gang in *Reservoir Dogs* have one final confrontation which ends up in a Mexican Standoff between three parties.