Given that many games incorporate a lot of exploration, the ability to move from one location to another in an instant is a key component. Most open world games feature a fast travel mechanism, and though some players may decide to ignore it in favor of soaking up the landscape, it can prove invaluable to those who don't have time to trek miles and miles. No more is this true than in Red Dead Redemption 2, and while there are ways to get about a bit quicker, one person decided to incorporate a more modern method.
As spotted by PCGamesN, user kostas96b created a mod that's simply called "Portals." As the name suggests, it enables the ability to add portals to Red Dead Redemption 2, allowing for a more convenient way of fast traveling. A video on Nexus Mods shows the player setting one up at a campsite. They then open up the in-game map and mark a spot in Valentine. Moving into the portal, Arthur Morgan is transported to the local town. It does take a second or two to make the transition because the game still has to load in that part of the map, but it's an effective way of getting from one place to another without hiring a stagecoach or riding on horseback.
Although it's not the biggest, the map size of Red Dead Redemption 2 is still significantly large, measuring roughly 75 square miles in total. That pales in comparison to something like Death Stranding or Final Fantasy 15 which have 250 and 750 square mile maps, respectively. Still, the opportunity to quickly move across the fictionalized turn-of-the-century American landscape in this way will be intriguing to some. Of course, it should be said that "Portals" is just for fast travelling and doesn't actually incorporate any puzzle elements from the Valve masterpiece.
It's good that the modding community is still out there looking to make improvements or just add new ideas to Rockstar's Wild West series, especially given that the fate of the franchise is not really known right now. With Red Dead Online updates beginning to wind down, it's possible that this installment is going to be left behind as well.
Admittedly, that's only because Rockstar is now working on Grand Theft Auto 6, which fans have been waiting on for a long time. It's likely that RDR2 will be pushed aside in favor of the upcoming GTA entry, but many fans will stick by it, especially if custom add-ons keep being made for the series overall.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is available for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: PCGamesN, Nexus Mods