Red Dead Online’s long awaited Naturalist update arrived yesterday, allowing players to take on the Naturalist Frontier Pursuit. But despite the update’s variety of new wildlife-themed content, including legendary animals, clothing and gear, many fans were left disappointed.
Many took to Twitter to express their disappoint, with most criticizing the update for being “boring” and “contradictory.” One major issue seems to stem from how the Naturalist role contradicts other frontier pursuits. One user complained that it is impossible to simultaneously play as a trader, which requires players to kill animals, as they will anger Harriet, one of the main quest givers in the new update. Another player said that the price of choosing the Naturalist pursuit – 25 in-game gold bars – is simply not worth the unexciting gameplay. Others complained that connection issues were rampant.
Fans were already growing displeased with developer Rockstar over the lack of new content for Red Dead Online, as the game’s previous major update was more than six months ago. This is in stark contrast from Rockstar’s other major online property, Grand Theft Auto Online, which has received regular updates since the game released in 2013. Fans were so displeased that they began protesting online by dressing their character’s up as clowns.
In the new Red Dead Online update, Conservationist Harriet Davenport approaches the player with a mission to track down wildlife so that they can be sedated, sampled for blood, and released. The twist is that players will soon after meet big game hunter Gus McMillian, who gives players the option to hunt and kill the animals for special clothing and weapons instead. It is then up to the player to decide who to side with.
Players receive new gear and equipment depending on which path they choose. Siding with Harriet will give players a special Varmint Rifle, sedative cartridges and tonics that can be given to animals to wake them up after being sedated. On the other hand, hunting for Gus will give the player and improved bow and an elephant rifle. The update comes with other new items as well, including an improved camera and a tonic that allows players to quickly gain or lose weight. Most of the update's changes were made to the game's online component, but there were also small changes to the game's story mode.
While fans continue to vent their frustrations, it is doubtful that they will abandon a franchise as beloved as Red Dead Redemption. Rockstar, while prone to mistakes every now and then, has a way of hooking fans to its games. The developer can still win over disappointed fans, as long as they don’t wait another half year to give them the next update. With Halloween just a few months away, maybe we will finally see Undead Nightmare 2?
Red Dead Redemption 2 is available on PC, Stadia, PS4, and Xbox One.
