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The cut-throat, Western-themed world of Red Dead Redemption 2 can be intense and downright brutal at times, but a player has discovered an unusual and disturbing anomaly that is evoking a different kind of shock and amusement from viewers.
Published by Rockstar Games, Red Dead Redemption 2 is an open world game set in 1899, which takes place in a setting styled after the Wild West. Players can acquire a horse for companionship and transportation. Bonding with the horse is an important aspect of the game; horses which are groomed and well-fed will gain new abilities, which has implications for gameplay. It’s little wonder, then, that seeing one's beloved horse in distress can be disturbing. That’s exactly what happened for one player, MaoMaoTheCreator, who witnessed the strange incident in a recording posted to the Red Dead Redemption 2 community on Reddit.
The video shows the player (as protagonist Arthur Morgan) riding their horse, a Warped Brindle Arabian, until the camera briefly changes angles and fades out. When it fades back in, Morgan is shown huddling over a fire. The horse appears to be missing until its face suddenly pushes through the ground. It continues to struggle and squirm, slowly raising up from the earth like a zombie breaking out of a casket. Then, after lying on its side for a moment, the horse finally gets up on all fours, seemingly unharmed.
The anomaly appears to be a glitch, possibly caused by a collision error with the terrain, although an exact cause has not yet been identified. Whatever the case, this wouldn’t be the first time that horses have been implicated in unusual and creepy glitches in the game. Horses can apparently combust into flames in certain circumstances, and horse carriages are known to sometimes fly into the air when crashing in a particular way. The horse saddle has also produced some very unusual results, such as forcing protagonist Arthur Morgan to start rapidly spinning around at the point of his waist.
Red Dead Redemption 2 has earned something of a reputation for having quirky bugs, which in most cases are fun to discover. While these glitches can be disturbing, they can also offer entertainment value. Some Reddit commenters expressed their amusement at the scene. MaoMaoTheCreator also enjoyed the strange glitch, describing it as “the funniest thing that has ever happened” to them in the game.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is available now on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
