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The ‘Red Dead Redemption 2’ Trailer: What Can We Learn From It About Online Gameplay And More?

By Patrick Frye
Published on: 08:59 PST, Oct 20, 2016

The Red Dead Redemption 2 trailer has dropped officially from Rockstar Games, and while it’s technically a teaser, there are things we can learn from it. For one, it may be more directly related to its immediate predecessor than RDR was to Revolver.

Red Dead Revolver sent us on a shooting spree as Red, the son of Nate Harlow, sought revenge on General Diego for killing his father in a back-stabbing deal gone wrong. The Western-themed shooter was a hit, ensuring we would get a sequel.

It’s not clear, going by the latest game’s title, if Redemption was a sequel or a spin-off to Revolver. It was set in the same relative time period but centered around John Marston instead.

Marston was a former outlaw whose wife and son were taken hostage by the U.S. government in exchange for his services as a hired gun. Aside from the setting and the name, Redemption‘s story had next to nothing in common with Revolver. Of course Grand Theft Auto has done that too.

Rockstar Games has yet to reveal anything about the story, other than that it deals with “an epic tale of life in America’s unforgiving heartland.” The “epic” part of that statement from the developers might be a nod toward the recent acquisition of the “Red Dead Online” domain, meaning it will be the world’s first Wild West MMO on the multiplayer side.

With the success of Grand Theft Auto Online, Rockstar Games has proven they can turn an open-world game into a virtual playground shared among friends (and enemies). The possibility of a Red Dead Online game means gamers can host their own versions of The Magnificent Seven, or possibly collaborate in multiplayer bank and train robberies.

The lack of gameplay details revealed in the Red Dead Redemption 2 trailer certainly appears to point in that direction. Instead of any one character, it seems to be emphasizing the wide open countryside using a distinctly Midwest and desert landscape with mountains, trees, and dry grass, according to GameNGuide. It seems to be drawing inspiration from Mad Max and Far Cry at the same time, thriving greenery combined with a sense of dustiness and desolation.

There will also be animals roaming the world, and it’s unknown to what degree they might be important. In Ubisoft’s Far Cry series and Assassin’s Creed: Black Flag, animals play a role in crafting what you need. You could fashion yourself a new holster for more guns, for example, by killing the appropriate wildlife. Far Cry even uses their meat as a health boost in Primal.

You might even shoot a bull just to use its skull to decorate your fence, as seen in part of the trailer.

Forests are also present, which could host some cover-based squabbles among players just looking to do something despicable for fun.

Much like in Far Cry Primal, you might use campfires as save points. This begs the question of whether you can build one any place where it’s dry, or if they’re pre-set.

There might also be the opportunity to steal horses from barns to get away with that bag of gold you just stole from another player’s storage barn.

Another scene shows two people in a rowboat, possibly meaning water travel faster and safer than swimming. It could also indicate the possibility of fishing to feed yourself later.

A train makes its way through the countryside, possibly a sign that there will be train robberies to pull off as in Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. Also like Syndicate, it appears there will be stagecoaches to take for a quick getaway.

Another scene shows what appear to be birds of prey chowing down on an animal’s corpse. If this is added alongside hunting, it might make hunting a bit more challenging. Who knows what other predators might be after the same thing you are?

Toward the end of the Red Dead Redemption 2 trailer, there appears to be an oil field on fire. This might mean that you could grow wealthy, only to have some arsonist literally burn it all down.

The trailer finishes with seven people racing on horseback, mirroring the second image Rockstar Games tweeted this week. This appears to be a recurring theme, like forming a seven-character posse might be the key to success in the main story.

We will know more about what Red Dead Redemption 2 will be like as its PlayStation 4 and Xbox One release date nears in Fall 2017.

[Featured Image by Rockstar Games]

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