Red Dead Redemption 2 released to overwhelming critical praise, becoming one of the highest rated games of this entire generation. Fan reception, on the other hand, has been positive but not nearly as overwhelming with a 7.7 user score on Metacritic. By all means, Red Dead Redemption 2 does a lot of things right, and manages to be one of the most immersive gaming experiences ever created. However, with a few small changes, it could have been even better.
Ways Red Dead Redemption 2 Could Have Been Even Better
Fast Travel Options
There’s no doubt that Red Dead Redemption 2’s world is gorgeous and packed with things to see and do. However, a more natural fast travel system could definitely be useful in the game. It’s totally fine to make it so that you can only fast travel between stage coach points or train stations, but the ability to fast travel back to your camp is desperately needed.
Quite a few times in Red Dead Redemption 2 you’ll ride out on one of the main missions, going quite a distance from your camp, only to have to ride all the way back again once you’ve completed it. Even worse if your horse manages to get out of range of your whistle you’ve gotta either track it down or hoof it yourself to the nearest settlement.
Now, these things aren’t major detractors from Red Dead Redemption 2, but honestly adding more fast travel options in wouldn’t have hurt the immersion. Especially considering the game doesn’t even make it clear how to get fast travel options in the first place.
Ways Red Dead Redemption 2 Could Have Been Even Better
More Control Over Survival Mechanics
We recently wrote about how Red Dead Redemption 2’s survival mechanics feel a bit half-baked, and the game would have benefited by allowing players some degree of control over how prevalent they are.
While playing Red Dead Redemption 2, you’ll need to keep Arthur Morgan well-fed and rested to keep his cores up, have him bathe to stay presentable to NPCs, clean his weapons to keep them powerful, and more. For the most part, these survival and resource mechanics don’t intrude on the game a ton, but they end up being a nuisance that you easily forget about.
The big problem is that they aren’t implemented strongly enough to really feel important, but at the same time you also can’t just forget about them if you choose to. It would have been nice for players to have an option to make the survival mechanics stronger or virtually non-existent.
For players that simply want to explore the world and story at their leisure, it would have been great to have an option to just turn everything off and not worry about it. At the same time, for players that are really into survival experiences, it’d be a good option to let them double down on the mechanics and really get a challenging experience.
Of course, this is something Rockstar could implement in the future, and hopefully, they do.
Ways Red Dead Redemption 2 Could Have Been Even Better
A Tighter, More User-Friendly Control Scheme
Without a doubt, Red Dead Redemption 2’s biggest flaw is its cumbersome control scheme. Controlling Arthur Morgan still feels like you’re moving around a sack of potatoes, like past Rockstar games. You also still have to mash the X button to get Morgan to run, a uniquely Rockstar mechanic.
At the same time, shooting still feels a bit simplistic, although not bad by any means. It just contributes to this idea that the control schemes of Rockstar games have felt the same for years now, across multiple titles, but they don’t seem to have improved all that much.
It’s made more frustrating because Red Dead Redemption 2 gets so much right in its world, story, and immersive design. The control scheme and problems can detract from that immersion at times because of how unwieldy simply moving around can feel.
Again it’s not that the controls and shooting in Red Dead Redemption 2 are straight up bad, but it definitely feels like things should have been improved upon over GTA V. A tighter, more responsive control scheme could have elevated the game even higher.
Ways Red Dead Redemption 2 Could Have Been Even Better
More Time in the Actual Wild West
Red Dead Redemption 2 is a western through and through, but there’s a surprising lack of time actually spent in the west. Instead, the game’s story mostly takes place in eastern locations in fictional states that resemble the likes of Louisiana and New Hampshire. These locations are absolutely stunning and fascinating to explore, but there’s something about the idea of a western that evokes images of giant red rock structures, arid deserts, desolate prairie, and more.
Now, we’re not saying that Red Dead Redemption 2’s story and setting is bad by any means, and eventually, you do move to more western kind of locations. It just feels odd, however, that the vast majority of the game is spent in areas that don’t fit the bill of the typical western setting.
It just would have been nice to have more opportunities to explore more varied locations, like the canyons of Utah or the arid plains of Colorado. Considering we still have Red Dead Online to experience, which will most likely be a living breathing service, it’s very likely we will get more time to explore more diverse areas.
Ways Red Dead Redemption 2 Could Have Been Even Better
More Forgiving Bounty System
Early on in Red Dead Redemption 2, the game’s bounty system can be pretty brutal to grapple with. Many of the game’s main missions will load you up with bounty you’ll need to pay off, and even doing something like accidentally running into someone with your horse will put a price on your head.
Even more confounding is that any bounty you rack up will still be there after you die, and the only way to get rid of it is by paying money. As you progress further in the game, bounties are easier to deal with as you have more money and better weapons to fight off the law, but it can be really discouraging to get a big bounty early in the game and not have a way to pay it off.
It just doesn’t make sense that your bounty doesn’t go away after dying, especially since the game is so dedicated to immersion. Of course, you can still make a hard save if you want to go on a killing spree, but again it’s just more cumbersome than it needs to be.
Like everything else here, the bounty system doesn’t ruin Red Dead Redemption 2 by any regards, but a few small tweaks and it could have been even better.
Are there any changes or additions you would have liked to see in Red Dead Redemption 2? Let us know your picks in the comments down below.
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