Red Dead Redemption 2 is a technical marvel. Even those who don't particularly enjoy the gameplay can't help but admit that the graphics, physics, and attention to detail are second to none. It's clear that Rockstar dumped an unbelievable amount of money, time, and effort into creating this game, and it's one of those games that make you gape and say, "Wow, I can't believe they actually thought to include that."
Here we will look at and discuss some of the most amazing details that Rockstar pumped into the game. These are ten of the most incredible details found within Red Dead Redemption II.
10 Horse Shrinkage
We know this one is kind of a meme, but really, how amazing is this attention to detail? In the various cold locations of the game, your horse's privates will actually shrink. This detail has caught the attention of the gaming public at large, and many memes and articles have been written about its bizarre inclusion.
It's so minuscule and unnecessary as to be funny, but therein lies the genius. Even with this, something most people would never notice, let alone even think to notice, is something that Rockstar decided to include. And it is genius. Hilarious, yes, but genius.
9 Arthur's Artistic Skills
This is a wonderful little detail that helped build Arthur's character. Throughout the game, you will come across various unique locations that Arthur will draw in his journal. These drawings are actually quite good and detailed, and it lets you know that Arthur is quite proficient with a pencil.
This gets even more interesting once you take over as John, as his drawings are much more rudimentary and basic. They're mere sketches, in contrast with Arthur's beautiful and poetic designs. It speaks a lot to their characters, and it is one gorgeous detail.
8 Animal Blood
Hunting is a messy business, and this game nicely portrays that through its subtle details. Well, maybe not so subtle, but very interesting nonetheless! After skinning and placing an animal on your horse, your horse's hind will become bloody, requiring you to brush your horse and clean the blood off.
This also occurs when you sling an animal corpse over your shoulder. Once you drop the corpse, Arthur will have a bloody patch on his shoulder and back, requiring you to either wash it off or change your clothes. As we said, it's a messy business, indeed!
7 Arthur's Self Esteem Issues
This is yet another beautiful addition to the game that adds a lot of character to Arthur. Many hotels have mirrors, and if you look into these mirrors, Arthur will often comment on his physical appearance. He's not very happy with himself, to say the least, and will often belittle himself, his appearance, and his very worth as a person.
It can be funny, sure, especially when you hear them in Arthur's kinda funny drawl. But it's still deeply tragic, and it allows us a brief glimpse into Arthur's very unhappy mind. It's just another tragic notch on a story full of them.
6 The Weight Of Books
This is a personal favorite. In most games, books are very stationary objects, often picked up and placed back down like they're made of wood. And sure, that would be understandable if they were hardback, but many are not. In this game, you can go to various shopkeepers and request their inventory book.
Said book is quite robust, and when you turn the pages and give it back to the proprietor, it will move with a very heavy and flappy manner. It's beautifully realistic, and it's another example of this game's gorgeous physics engine. Who knew a flapping book could be so satisfying?
5 Mud
We never thought we'd say this, but this game implements mud in a very beautiful manner. Mud is virtually everywhere in this game seeing as how the paths are unpaved, and as such, it tends to get everywhere. Arthur and his horse leave footprints in the mud, and when Arthur is pushed or falls into the mud, his body leaves behind a very clear imprint.
Not only that, his clothes will be absolutely caked in mud, requiring you to either wash them or change. It sounds frustrating, but it is anything but.
4 Picking Up Your Hat
It's little things like this that truly immerse you into the game. Throughout your journey, you will inevitably lose your hat. Whether it is shot off your head, punched off by a wild swing, or knocked off in a brawl, your hat will appear on the ground before too long.
In this case, you are required to find it again and pick it up. This is required if you want to keep the hat, and while your default and saved hats will be saved, hats you randomly find from people and forget to save will be lost forever should you not pick it back up.
3 Cleaning Weapons
This is another mechanic that sounds unbelievably frustrating in theory but is actually quite fun in practice. Over time, your weapons will degrade due to time, the weather, mud...basically anything that inhibits a weapon in real life. When this is the case, you are required to clean and maintain the weapon with a rag and some gun oil.
Luckily, this only takes a couple of seconds, and all it requires from you is a brief holding of a specific button. But it's yet another detail that significantly adds to the immersion, and it also brings a little strategy to the proceedings, as you must pick which weapons to maintain at which time.
2 Snow Will Melt
There's a lot of wonderful details regarding snow in this game. For example, while walking or riding your horse through the snow, you will leave behind deep footprints in the snow, allowing you to retrace your steps at a later time (providing they don't get snowed over).
Animal bodies also leave significant impressions within the snow when they fall. But perhaps the greatest detail is when you watch snow melt from your clothes after entering a warmer climate. Now that is just insane levels of detail right there.
1 Arthur's Flashy Holstering
One of the biggest tropes of Westerns is when the cowboy blows the smoke from his gun after doing some sort of flashy spin with his gun before holstering it in one clean swoop. Luckily, this game also employs this trope, although you may not know it.
Rather than selecting the fist or pressing R1 one time, simply tap R1 twice in quick succession. Should you do this, Arthur will twirl his pistol around his finger before holstering it with a particularly satisfying "whock." We love it, and we do it every single time.