Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of the most successful games of all time. Selling over 50 million units worldwide, this open-world western grabbed players with its sophisticated storytelling, lifelike motion capture performances, immersive world design, and so much more. Indeed, it'll more than likely be a while until another game will be able to match it in categories such as these.
This all being the case, Red Dead 2 is not a perfect game. For all the amazing things the game does, there are plenty of things that a sequel can change or add to the formula that would improve upon what's been done, much like how RDR2 improved upon its own predecessor. Here are just a few things that a sequel to Red Dead Redemption 2 could add or improve upon with a few changes.
6 A Brand New Story
It's certainly not that RDR2 has a bad story. If anything, it has one of the best in all of gaming. It is, however, the perfect game to leave these characters on, especially when combined with the first Red Dead Redemption.
Something that would be fascinating and potentially amazing would be a brand-new story set in a whole different era. The recent Red Dead games have been about the death of the Wild West; however, it would be a fun to play a Red Dead game set at the height of the Wild West just before it began to decline. It would almost like Red Dead Revolver, but with a more modern presentation.
5 Narrative Choice & Multiple Endings
While RDR2 does give the player some control over Arthur's ending via the Honor system, the broader narrative is much more linear. Currently, only side missions afford the player any degree of control over how they end, if they do at all. A sequel could change this by allowing the player to affect the main story through specific choices, such as which jobs they do, how they do them, and perhaps how they interact with key characters, whose fate would be determined by the player.
Rather than a simple Honor system slightly altering the same ending, player's narrative choices could completely change it, as well as other moments in the main story.
4 Custom Main Character
What if, instead of playing as a predetermined character like John Marston or Arthur Morgan, Rockstar took the multiplayer character customization and implemented it into single player? This would allow players to progress through the game's main story as their own customized character.
Fans of games like Cyberpunk 2077, Fallout 4 or even Halo: Reach should be familiar with this concept, where everything about their character, including their outfit, race, hair color, gender, build, and more are determined by the player.
3 Faction / Town Reputation System
.jpg?q=50&fit=crop&w=1500&dpr=1.5)
RDR2 does have a system of crime and punishment for when the player stirs up some ruckus is town, but towns and specific faction groups don't necessarily react to the player based on their history with that town. A good example of this is how the player can go right back to Strawberry after breaking Micah out of jail like nothing ever happened.
In the sequel, it would be cool to see towns remember the player's actions and react accordingly regardless of their standing with local law enforcement. Shopkeepers could adjust prices based on reputation (or even ban players from entering if they're rep is too low), citizens could be either welcoming or more combative, and much more.
2 Personalized Weapon Customization
One area in which RDR2 actually is somewhat lacking is its weapon customization. While the game doesn't have a bad system by any means, it's not very deep. Virtually every weapon usually has two or three generic upgrades that do the same things for each gun. On top of this, each upgrade is easily purchasable after a certain point in the game.
A good way to fix this would be to give each gun unique upgrades. Maybe one revolver has a special grip that can be added, or a particular lever action rifle can be cut down to a Mare's Leg configuration. In addition, customization options themselves can be found by exploring the world and applied via paying a gunsmith, rather than simply purchased with little to no inconvenience.
1 Modernized Controls
There's no two ways about it, Red Dead 2's controls are definitely dated by modern standards. Things like the simple act of running require the player to spam one button for an extended period. Additionally, the same buttons are used for wildly different acts, which will inevitably result in frustrating (if also a little hilarious) mishaps. The controls also feel rather sluggish at times, though this could be due to the game's realistic animations.
The next game in the series should prioritize bringing its controls into the modern era. Otherwise, it will be yet another game from Rockstar that lacks intuitive controls.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is available for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.