Rockstar is known for delivering meaty games. Even their linear titles, like Max Payne 3, are overflowing with painstaking detail begging for countless replays. Their most recent title, Red Dead Redemption 2, continues this trend, putting players into an unbelievably expansive open world. This western’s map is so big, it contains a large portion of the prior entry’s landscape. Size is not the only thing that matters, however, as a massive wilderness would mean nothing if lifeless. Inside the sandbox is a plethora of side missions, lifelike NPC’s, vibrant wildlife, and random encounters that all come together to create one of the most impressive gaming worlds to date.
Given all there is to do in Red Dead Redemption 2, most players probably missed some minute, but important, details. The next twenty five entries will highlight the most important of these. The entries include interesting tidbits about the plot, easy to miss encounters, and a couple of secret locations. It should be noted that there are some heavy spoilers here, so those sensitive to plot details should wait until beating the game before diving into this article. Besides, one shouldn’t hunt for secrets until they have experienced the excellent story.
So mount up those saddles, because here are 24 Things Players Completely Missed In Red Dead Redemption 2
The Letter To Bonnie
Bonnie MacFarlane’s absence from the campaign was unfortunate, but at least she shows up in Red Dead Online. She doesn’t miss out on the single player entirely, however, since she is mentioned in this easter egg.
Laying down by a shore will be a seemingly lifeless body. Start to loot him and he will startle the player, gargling out his last words. The letter on his person reveals he was none other than Bonnie’s husband. He is in one of several locations, so be sure to search the beach near every body of water.
The Maniac
The wild west was a violent place, but even this sick individual would make a hardened outlaw’s skin crawl. This deranged psychopath not only takes lives, but desecrates their remains while leaving tiny clues, like some sort of twisted game.
Players who put together the hints can eventually find the criminal’s house. It is decorated as one would expect a madman’s house to be. After a confrontation, Arthur brings him in, but is ultimately forced to end his life. For those who want to look for the bodies, start searching in New Hanover or Lemoyne.
Finding Pearson In The Epilogue
After the gang splits up, the lucky survivors go their separate ways, forging their own paths. Most of them don’t stray far, though, and can be located during the game’s closing chapter. The jovial camp cook, Simon Pearson, can be found enjoying a quieter life in Rhodes.
Upon visiting him in the town’s general store, players will be relieved to learn that he is doing okay, having married and settled down. There is still a picture of his former outlaw compatriots hanging on the wall, but that life is behind him now.
Getting Knocked Out At Camp
Arthur’s story always ends the same, but getting there is a different journey for every player. People can be honorable, a knave, or a pest towards everybody who crosses their path. Be careful as a bully, though, because the game hits back.
If Arthur antagonizes the other members of the gang long enough, one of them will eventually come up and knock his lights out. Several different characters will do it, and will keep doing it if the character’s behavior persists. Most of the gang members are decent folk, so just be kind to them.
Finding The UFO
This is one of the studio’s most grounded projects to date. Absent is the ridiculous spectacle of the Grand Theft Auto games, and in its place is hard-hitting drama. With that being said, there is still room for the fantastical.
Some of the side missions dip their toe into the surreal, but none of that compares to finding an actual UFO. It takes a little bit of effort and traversing, but if the right sequence of events are followed, players will get a short glimpse of one in the night sky before it disappears.
Finding Tilly In The Epilogue
Tilly Jackson is a supporting character in every sense of the term. Not only is she important to the story, but she literally supports and guides Arthur through his trying times, becoming one of his best friends by the end.
It is good to know, then, that she ends up in a good place after the story is completed. Tilly can be found in Saint-Denis during the epilogue, and doing so will cause her to write a letter to John afterward. She marries a lawyer and eventually starts a family.
Gertrude Braithwaite
The Braithwaite’s are a family chock-full of mysteries. One of these can be uncovered by Arthur, but there is little he can do with the discovery: Gertrude, Catherine Braithwaite’s daughter, in an outhouse on the west side of the Braithwaite Manor.
This would be intriguing enough on its own, but there’s more. Visit the site with Penelope Braithwaite in “The Course of True Love V” and she will vow to help her. Returning once more in the epilogue shows that Penelope did come back for her mentally ill cousin.
Just How Arthur Got TB
The revelation of Arthur’s illness initially seems like it comes out of nowhere, but dwelling on the matter will connect all the pieces together. Furthermore, Arthur will reveal the origins of his illness to certain friends.
When retrieving debts for Leopold Strauss, he encounters Thomas Downes. While beating the tar out of him for not having the money, Thomas coughs up a heap of blood in Arthur’s face. This is what ultimately gave him the fatal sickness. If he had shown a little more compassion towards the debtors, he might have lived a little longer.
Mysterious Cave Dweller
There are some mysterious characters to encounter in the world of Red Dead Redemption 2, and most of them are hostile. At best, they put on a kind face until their chance comes to stab Arthur in the back. However, there are a few kind souls, such as the mysterious, unseen man who lives in a cave.
Go to a certain point on the map, and a friendly voice will call out to the player. From here, he will engage in pleasant conversation. Some have theorized this is Sasquatch given his history with the franchise, but that has yet to be confirmed.
The Remains Of A Giant
If the cello driven band, Rasputina, is to be believed, giants really did exist in the past. Red Dead Redemption 2 also seems to believe this, as the remains of one can be found by those who look close enough.
Climb up Mount Shann to find the massive bones of a mysterious creature. Specifically, it’ll be somewhere around the letter “T” on the map on the mountain. Arthur will also jot down the find in his journal. It is unknown if they belonged to a large human or a different species entirely.
Finding Rains Fall
Rains Fall is introduced at a vital time in the story. Arthur begins to lose faith in one father figure, Dutch, and finds one who remains honorable through devastating times. Like many of the characters, his arc ends tragically, but he at least gets out alive.
Head to Annesburg during the epilogue and the noble chief will be sitting by the train station. He and John will have a short exchange where he reveals that his tribe relocated to Canada, and that he returned to mourn his late son, who was fatally wounded during the story.
Arthur Morgan Had A Son
Arthur, despite being the main character, is still shrouded in mystery by the end of the game. Little is known about his past, his parents, or his family. Those who kept their ears peeled while playing found out a little more about the outlaw.
Arthur had a son named Isaac. He got a woman, Eliza, pregnant after a brief encounter, and visited the two every few months to help raise the child. Sadly, the two were slain in a home invasion. Given the severity of the situation, it is understandable why the protagonist rarely talks about his late family.
The Meteorite
Life was cheap in the wild west. Any number of folks would put their own kin out to pasture if it meant making a buck. Some dangers also came from above, as one unlucky home in the world found out.
Head to Roanoke Valley, a bit north of the letter “E” on the name, to find a ruined house. Inside will be the remains of people scattered about. The player can then pick up a meteorite, which put a hole through the roof and ended the lives of everyone inside.
The Differences In Arthur And John’s Journal
Taking a page out of its predecessor’s playbook, Red Dead Redemption 2 switches the player character for the epilogue. This prequel goes several steps beyond the first part, since the epilogue is many hours long, rivaling the length of most average games.
Marston is not simply a clone of Arthur Morgan either. Particularly, if one compares their two journals they will see just how much dedication went into separating the two. Arthur was a talented artist whose sketches reflect this skill, while John’s scribbling can probably be outdone by most preschoolers.
Exploring New Austin
Red Dead Redemption 2’s map is so massive that a large chunk of it is not even visited during the story; but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth exploring. New Austin, for example, contains several interesting encounters and missions, some of which set up the events of the first game.
In Armadillo, players will see a town in ruin from a cholera outbreak and a sheriff resigning from his post. Going to Tumbleweed will introduce players to a sheriff ruling with an iron fist in an attempt to eradicate the gangs. This sheriff also offers bounty missions.
Learning Reverend Swanson’s Fate
Reverend Swanson starts the game as a walking mess. He’s an addict who succumbs to vices of all sorts, something not exactly befitting of a Reverend. Through the course of the journey, he starts to clean up his act, and he leaves right before everything falls apart.
In the epilogue, it is briefly mentioned that he moved to New York to resume his preaching. Reading the Blackwater Ledger No. 74 will show that the cleaned up “Man of God” had succeeded, becoming a minister at the First Congressional Church of New York.
The Strange Man From Red Dead Redemption
Fans of Red Dead Redemption will remember the Strange Man, both from the game and how he haunted their dreams at night. The enigmatic figure also appears in the prequel, but only to deepen the mystery surrounding him.
One can stumble upon what appears to be his home in Lemoyne, but no one is there. Inside is an unfinished portrait that is slowly completed as the player revisits the location. In Armadillo, a shop owner has a similar portrait hanging on the wall, and the clerk says someone gifted it to him.
Visiting Your Fallen Comrades In The Epilogue
A lot of characters meet their end throughout the campaign, most of whom were beloved. The campaign has a high body count, but it was especially painful to see these friends go. If one feels so inclined, they can pay their respects to the fallen family members in the epilogue.
Most of the characters are located in close proximity to where they were slain, and visiting all of them nets a trophy or achievement. Of course, one should not do it for the reward, but to give John some closure.
Accessing Mexico
Mexico was one of Red Dead Redemption’s weaker segments given its insignificance to the overall story. The prequel shows the country on the map, but it is seemingly inaccessible. Clever gamers have since found a way to cross the river into the neighboring country.
Using a horse, it is possible to swim to the country and explore. There is nothing to do, considering it is not meant to be traversed, but it is more fleshed out than one would expect. Whether this level of detail means potential singleplayer DLC or a Red Dead Online expansion has yet to be seen.
Giant Snake
If people don’t end Arthur’s life, then the variety of ferocious wildlife will surely do the trick. Most players have probably heard a cougar’s roar mere moments before getting mauled into a game over, perhaps not even seeing their glowing eyes in the night.
Thankfully, this giant snake, located just east of the “O” on the map in Lemoyne, is lifeless. The animal is seemingly a reference to The Jungle Book. Whatever did end this Snake’s life surely earned players’ gratitude as they would not have liked to become its lunch.
