Highlights

  • Missing features like horse deeds and safe houses from Red Dead Redemption are sorely missed in RDR 2 's realism-focused world.
  • Not being able to fast travel from temporary camps in RDR 2 can make long journeys tedious but adds to the realism.
  • The absence of access to Mexico in RDR 2 shrinks the game's world for players familiar with the original game.

Red Dead Redemption 2 offered quite a change from the original world of New Austin players explored in Red Dead Redemption. While the expanded gameplay and world found in the sequel offered players plenty of new things to do alongside staples from the first game, not every notable feature seemed to return in the second game.

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With reasons resulting from a far larger map and an aim at realism, many features from Red Dead Redemption failed to appear in the sequel, for better or for worse. Between convenient mechanics and missing map locations, there are more than a few features from Red Dead Redemption missing from Red Dead Redemption 2 that are sorely missed.

5 Horse Deeds

Purchase Horse Deeds To Acquire The Same Horse Forever

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One of the most obvious changes between the first game and Red Dead 2, the far more realistic approach to horses, is certainly a bit of a learning curve for players familiar with how these mounts worked originally. While in the sequel, horses are presented as far more unique as individuals and require bonding with Arthur to get the most out of them, the horses in Red Dead Redemption are far less picky.

Although horses in Red Dead Redemption also have a bond mechanic, the existence of the horse deed item completely outweighs the minor benefits presented. Should the player's horse die or otherwise be lost by any means, the player can simply use the deed to spawn an identical horse within moments. For valuable and useful horses like the Hungarian Half-bred and American Standardbred, having permanent and infinite access to the best horses in the game for as little as $750, no matter what fate befalls them is distinctly missed in the realistic and deathly permanent world of Red Dead Redemption 2.

4 Auto Travel From Temporary Campsites

Fast Travel At Any Camp To Roam The Open-World With Ease

rdr2 campfire

Given the emphasis on the main camp for the Van der Linde gang, the loss of fast travel from the player's temporary camps that can be set up in the wilderness isn't a shocking downgrade but is still a missed convenient aspect from Red Dead Redemption. With the sequel again having a stronger focus on realism, being unable to instantly travel from the middle of nowhere to a bustling city makes enough sense, but still leads the player to travel sometimes too often.

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Since the world of Red Dead Redemption 2 is so much larger than the original, the inability to fast travel from anywhere and essentially ignore all the features within this new environment makes sense. Even with that in mind, being on top of a mountain and needing to travel to Lemoyne isn't a great trip, even with sights along the way.

3 Access To Mexico

Losing a Major & Expansive RDR Location For More States After New Austin

red dead online mexico

Even with Red Dead Redemption 2's map expanding the game's version of the American West, the missing Mexico locations definitely shrink the game slightly for players familiar with the first game. While the story of the second game doesn't necessarily gain anything by having access beyond the Mexican border, and the epilogue cannot go into the country as it would contradict events in the first game, the presence of the location just out of reach is still annoying.

The most interesting thing about the loss of Mexico as a location is the proof that it was considered an environment the player could travel to, with parts of buildings existing. At the very least, players can explore this region in the original game.

2 Safe Houses

Free Ammo, Outfit Changes, And A Safe Space To Sleep

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A feature that is made useless with the traveling Van der Linde camp, the ability to buy what was effectively a safe house throughout New Austin in Red Dead Redemption offered players a much-needed base location. While the camp offers more to the story, characters, and many more gameplay features, having access to a safehouse pretty much anywhere on the map is much appreciated, especially when it shows John's lonely journey to save his wife and son, and features a collection of houses across New Austin.

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Offering effectively free extra ammo every day and allowing the player to pass time in a completely safe location, as the name would suggest, the gang's camp has effectively become the upgraded version of the safehouse, just not as convenient, but the immersive activities of the NPCs really help make it a superior design.

1 Clothing Powers

Unlocking Outfits Used To Provide Unique Bonuses

Red Dead Online Posters and Screenshots of Chaps Clothing Items

Outside of clothing offering specific resistance to weather conditions and saddles offering certain benefits for horses, the loss of special benefits from outfits is absolutely missed from the original Red Dead Redemption.Beyond any concerns of fashion, the additional perks of cheaper ammo or faster dead eye charge would have been perfect in the sequel.

With many of the better outfits requiring the player to complete challenges, special outfits like the savvy merchant or deadly assassin clothes were a reward for dedicated players. And with the surplus of clothing and outfit options in Red Dead Redemption 2, adding small perks to clothes outside of talismans and trinkets could have been a perfect combination.