Rockstar Games pulled out all the stops in the development of Red Dead Redemption 2, which is widely considered by many to be their greatest game, and rightfully so. The story of Arthur Morgan as he slowly gets disillusioned by Dutch's leadership while trying to avoid the Pinkertons makes for a great tale that will have fans in tears by the end of his journey.
The combat of Red Dead Redemption 2 is pretty difficult in its own right, but some players feel that the difficulty can be upped considerably via many self-imposed challenges that can add a unique spin to the regular gameplay loop. These challenges can serve as a great reason for players to revisit this title, which is never a bad thing!
8 No Dead Eye
Dead Eye is one of the most useful skills in Arthur Morgan's arsenal, being able to use this ability to take out multiple enemies in one go. It makes for a great time as players skillfully land a ton of headshots to make combat more manageable, although it does trivialize certain encounters after a point.
Hence, a rather easy challenge that players can adhere to is not using any Dead Eye during their playthrough. It's a simple and doable challenge that players can start with if the rest of the self-imposed challenges that players have suggested seem way more challenging than they have any right to be.
7 A Barebones Camp
The camp in Red Dead Redemption 2 serves as a comfortable place to retreat after a hard journey throughout the massive open world of this game. It's a safe spot early on, before in-fighting and betrayals lead to players not enjoying the same sense of security they enjoyed in Dutch's camp early on in the game.
There are several upgrades that players can invest in to make the camp more advanced, allowing players to access a wealth of additional benefits. However, with this challenge, players can't invest a single penny in the camp, which can make for a more challenging time as their haven becomes less and less useful as the game carries on.
6 No Aim-Assist Or Lock On
Most third-person shooters feature some form of aim assist, which is understandable. After all, such games are recommended to be played with a controller, and using the thumbstick to aim can feel rather finicky unless the game isn't aiding their aim in subtle or obvious ways.
This challenge prevents players from relying on such a mechanic. Instead, what players have to do is aim manually using either the mouse or the control stick without having any form of sticky aim whatsoever, since that needs to be disabled for this self-imposed challenge.
5 No Purchases, Only Loot
There are many stores spread across the world of Red Dead Redemption 2 where players can acquire a bunch of great weapons, outfits, and other useful items to aid them in their journey. This particular challenge puts a stop to this act and forces players to loot their enemies for items instead.
This can be a bit cumbersome, given the sheer amount of time the looting animation takes at times. Thankfully, as long as players are patient enough to bear this monotony after every encounter, they'll have enough supplies to get through the game without facing a serious shortage of weapons.
4 Keep Zero Cash
Money is an important resource in Red Dead Redemption 2, allowing players to do everything from acquiring new items to improving the camp. As a result, it's important to hoard as much money as possible so that Arthur can purchase whatever he wants instead of having to think twice about every purchase.
However, this challenge forces players to discard any cash they obtain before they can do anything else. As a result, players must learn to live off the land and loot everything in sight if they don't want to face an ammo or recovery item shortage, which can spell their demise in a tough game like Red Dead Redemption 2.
3 No Healing Or Dead Eye Replenishment
During firefights, players will find themselves losing heath and the dead eye gauge in record time as they pop out of cover to shoot their enemies and use their special ability regularly to take out groups of enemies. This makes it important to have recovery items handy that can help Arthur out in a tight spot.
Players won't be able to hoard these items if they decided to pursue this particular challenge, where they can't heal themselves or munch down on chewing tobacco. As a result, players have to be extremely careful in every firefight and not get too overzealous.
2 Stay Wanted Forever
Getting a bounty in Red Dead Redemption 2 can be a pain, but players can still manage as long as they pay off this amount regularly. A very high bounty can lead to lawmen and bounty hunters hunting down the player every step of the way, which isn't ideal in the slightest.
With this challenge, players can never pay off their bounty. This forces them to be way more careful in public and not beat up people willy-nilly, since they'll be unable to get rid of the people who'll start hunting them down if this amount reaches astronomical levels!
1 1 Life Per Chapter
One of the most hardcore challenges that anyone can attempt in Red Dead Redemption 2 is the one where players only get access to one life in every chapter of the game. A save file must be created at the start of every chapter that players must go back to whenever they die.
Suffice it to say, this challenge can prove to be a nightmare to complete if players aren't careful while exploring the open world at every step of the way. A single errant death can have dire consequences and set players back quite a bit, which is not ideal in the slightest.
Red Dead Redemption 2is available to play on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.