Arthur Morgan is the main character in Read Dead Redemption 2 and even though at points he might be frustrating and makes a lot of mistakes, he is still one of the most beloved characters in gaming, both because of his emotional journey, and because, let’s be honest, spending that much time with someone would probably make anyone like even an annoying character.
Red Dead Redemption 2 though doesn’t have only its main character to lean on to be considered a great game. It has amazing secondary characters, amazing missions, a super long but interesting prologue, and lots and lots of choices for the player. All of these reasons together are what make this game replayable, but they are not the only ones.
7 Getting The Gold Medals
The first time a player goes through the story missions, it’s almost impossible to get the 104 gold medals that are available in the game. The game has the option for the player to repeat the mission, but there are not a lot of people who would replay a mission straight away just to get the gold medal, especially if that mission is one of the super hard ones.
But when replaying the game, there is a chance to actually go for it and get that Gold Rush trophy (which requires a gold medal in 70 story missions) or even go further and aim to get all 104 of them. It’s really up to the player and their patience, but since they have decided to replay it, they might as well get all the rewards that the first playthrough made them too keen to move on to focus on.
6 Finding All The Weapons
There are more than 50 different weapons in Red Dead Redemption 2 and unless someone is really into getting them all in the first playthrough, chances are that the second playthrough is the one that is going to give the gamer the necessary patience and keenness to get all of them.
Some of the best melee weapons are a bit harder to find than others and the player might need a little bit of help from guides to find them, but they are definitely worth it. For example, who has time in the first playthrough to locate the Broken Pirate Sword that’s hidden in a wrecked boat near the islands? Probably none, unless they stumble upon it by luck.
5 Having Fun With Opposite Player Choice Options
One of the most fun things that a player can do when replaying the game is to play with a different morality path than the one that they had initially chosen. Most of the time, a player going the first time through the game will choose the high honor path and will save all the “damsels in distress”, no matter what form they come as.
But in replaying, the gamer can have some fun with choosing the low-honor path, which might just make for some hilarious (and way more profitable) choices. Another way is for the player to play “half-and-half”, meaning that in difficult situations they might choose the more honorable path, but when dealing with a bank robbery or witnesses, go for the eviler option.
4 Hunting All The Animals
Apart from players who get excited about hunting animals, most of the players would just hunt when the game requires them to and not give a second thought to it. When replaying though, the gamer has the choice to become very good at hunting and find out that they are enjoying it as much as the other activities.
For example, how many out there know how to properly store pelts? Or that the player can stare at bears to intimidate them? There is a whole new world if someone gets serious about hunting, and apart from the Legendary Animals, there are 38 species and 234 animals that the player can explore, and also some challenges that are tied to hunting many of them.
3 Completing All Side Missions
Outside the main story, there are more than 100 side missions that the player can choose whether to take on or not. Some of them might turn out to be superbly interesting, and some of them just menial tasks that would just earn the character some stats or money.
Either way though, when replaying the game, it’s a lot of fun for the player to find out that they have missed this or that quest, even if they are a player who goes for almost 100% completion (which in this game is just insane to achieve it).
2 Finding Easter Eggs
That is more of a fun thing to do than anything else, but as in so many games, Red Dead Redemption also has some interesting Easter Eggs that players absolutely love to stumble upon.
Just to give a taste of what’s there, Arthur can pass by a hobbit house, there is a glitch from the previous game that developers made real in this one, there is a ghost train, a tiny church, and even a strange man whose painting becomes more and more complete every time the player visits the location.
1 Going For That Heroic 100% Completion
Getting the 100% completion in Red Dead Redemption 2 is not as easy as it is in some other games, and that is why whoever gets that 100%, instantly becomes a hero. The player has to complete 107 story missions, 10 stranger missions, 5 bounty hunter missions, 25 chance encounters, survive a gang ambush, and clear 6 gang hideouts. Now, these are some numbers written, but when the player gets down to them, they can realize exactly how much time each of them would take – and it’s a lot. Oh, and these are just for the missions and events.
There are also the collectibles, the compendium, the player stats, and miscellaneous, each of them with their own goals as to what the player has to do to complete them. What do they get for all of this? The Best in the West Trophy, and also a secret cutscene. Is it worth it? It’s up to the player and the time they have in their hands, and, of course, their patience.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is available now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.