Over the years since Red Dead Redemption 2 was released, the community that's built up around the game has developed a variety of bizarre and intriguing challenges that players can test themselves against. One player just shared an incredible time-lapse video of themself beating the so-called Stew Bowl challenge, which requires fans to walk across the Red Dead Redemption 2 map while carrying a bowl of stew.
In a game with so many ways for players to interact with the world, and vice versa, it is very easy for animal attacks, outlaws, or sheer bad luck to make players spill their stew. This isn't the first time a player has filmed the long and gorgeous trek across Red Dead Redemption 2's sprawling map, but it still appears to command respect from other fans.
Redditor GAME-LAPSE filmed the trek in a three-minute-long time-lapse video depicting Arthur Morgan making the long journey from Valentine to Saint Denis on foot while clutching a bowl of steaming hot stew in his hands. His walking pace is notably quite slow, but the scenery flies past on all sides. The result is a video that allows viewers to appreciate the craftsmanship that went into Red Dead Redemption 2 without subjecting them to any gruesome surprises.
The video showcases both GAME-LAPSE's skill as a player and the gorgeous environments of the game. Watching Arthur slowly trek through snow-covered forests to towering mountains, weaving his way around rivers and across railroad tracks, may have quite the impact on fans. The journey lasts for three days and three nights before Arthur reaches his destination and finally eats the bowl of stew--which should probably have gone bad by that point, but it would appear that not everything in the game is entirely realistic, even before Red Dead Redemption 2's mods come in.
As of this writing, it appears that fans have warmly received both the video and GAME-LAPSE's accomplishment, with many asking questions about the process behind the clip. According to GAME-LAPSE, this video took two hours and 14 minutes to film, but they also ended up with about 11 hours worth of failed attempts. Some of the obstacles they faced included wild animal attacks, NPCs bumping into them, a random event spawn causing Arthur to throw the stew away, and Arthur just deciding to drop the stew for some reason. Another user thanked them for the explanation before heading out to try the Stew Bowl Challenge themselves. Red Dead Redemption 2 may have complicated the series' narrative themes, but it also gives players the opportunity to play around in a giant, intricate sandbox.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One