Summary
ARed Dead Redemption 2player has come up with a new way to play Rockstar’s Wild West game. Their proposed “hardcore mode” rules could allow even veteranRed Dead Redemption 2players to refresh their sense of challenge and discovery.
Even without the expansive multiplayer options found inRed Dead Online, the single-player portion ofRed Dead Redemption 2is one of the largest and longest open-world gamesto be found on modern platforms. It contains dozens or even hundreds of hours of distinct activities, story missions, and character moments spread out across a massive map approximating the American southwest and parts beyond. Even within the game’s distinct structure, there are ways to play it differently, allowing variety throughout multiple playthroughs.
Of course, any game with a substantial community eventually gets a set of “unofficial” rules. Sometimes these are undocumented multiplayer practices, likethe unspoken rules ofHelldivers 2. InRed Dead Redemption 2’s case, user javc13 devised a set of self-imposed rules that they called “Hardcore mode” as a way to inject new challenge and variety into their third playthrough of the game.
Javc13’s rules amounted to a drastic stripping back of the level of assistance given to players by the game’s systems and interface. These included turning off the in-game minimap, as well as shutting down HUD elements like a targeting reticle, ammo counter, and aim assistance. In addition, javc13 suggested other austerities like limiting the number of upgrades acquired, eschewing fast travel, and donating the majority of Arthur’s earnings to the camp. Javc13 even half-jokingly proposed never using external guides, such as where to findRed Dead Redemption 2dinosaur bones, just to make the game “virtually impossible” to complete.
Fellow players on the subreddit were amused by javc13’s proposals, and even added a few of their own to make the game even harder. One suggested neverclearing theirRed Dead Redemption 2bounty, to add an element of being hunted constantly by bounty hunters and dogs. Another suggested playing entirely in first-person view, on account of the game being quite a bit more awkward to control compared to dedicated first-person shooters.
Given thatRed Dead Redemption 2doesn’t have a specific, officially designed hardcore mode of its own, players have been manipulating the game’s settings and, in the case of the PC version, using mods to customize the experience to their own liking. Javc13’s rules (and some comments) seem partly devised in jest, but one can’t discount some players' desire for a challenging, unforgiving vision of the Wild West that aligns withRed Dead Redemption’sown harsh outlook.
Red Dead Redemption 2
WHERE TO PLAY
America, 1899. The end of the wild west era has begun as lawmen hunt down the last remaining outlaw gangs. Those who will not surrender or succumb are killed. After a robbery goes badly wrong in the western town of Blackwater, Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang are forced to flee. With federal agents and the best bounty hunters in the nation massing on their heels, the gang must rob, steal and fight their way across the rugged heartland of America in order to survive. As deepening internal divisions threaten to tear the gang apart, Arthur must make a choice between his own ideals and loyalty to the gang who raised him. From the creators of Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption, Red Dead Redemption 2 is an epic tale of life in America at the dawn of the modern age.
