Your behavior in Red Dead Redemption 2 has a significant impact on how NPCs and other characters treat you.
In Rockstar Games’ new Western title Red Dead Redemption 2, your behavior has consequences. If you aim your revolver at the innocent old man sweeping his porch, he might suddenly drop to his knees. If you approach him without a revolver, he might wish you a nice day.
Your behavior shapes the story.
Think carefully before you draw a revolver
You play the story of Red Dead Redemption 2 as Arthur Morgan. Around you unfolds a lively spectacle with NPCs all going about their work. These NPCs react to what you do.
How does your behavior affect NPCs? If you ride into a town with your revolver holstered, the NPCs notice that you seem to come with good intentions. They greet you, say hello, and are friendly. It’s different if you have drawn your revolver. You don’t even have to aim it, just hold the firearm in your hand. The population immediately thinks, “Ups, I don’t want anything to do with that” and changes their demeanor, perhaps even avoiding you.
If you aim at NPCs, their reaction depends on their character. Some will fall to their knees and beg for their lives; others will draw their own revolver and turn the tables.
Your actions are so strongly tied to the outside world that you are not just playing a protagonist. Rockstar apparently wants you to also live like Arthur Morgan.
The context changes the encounters
When you as a player encounter an NPC, you can decide what happens. Are you nice and greet them? Or will you rob them?
No weapon needs to be in play for such robberies. If you meet an opponent with little backbone, you can persuade them with words to give you their money.
As an example of the freedom of choice, the US site IGN mentions a situation from the game demo. As Arthur Morgan, you go to a fisherman’s camp. You remain unnoticed by the fisherman, but his dog notices you and barks. His owner initially ignores the dog, and you loot his camp, stealing his pocket watch. But because the dog won’t stop barking, the NPC fisherman checks and notices you, demanding that you stop immediately.
What now? Are you aggressive or do you leave? You are now faced with the choice to say, “Leave me alone, I’m going already” or to aggressively put the fisherman in his place and tell him to disappear. If you are particularly aggressive, you could also kill the fisherman. Then a bounty will likely be placed on you.
And the bounty for murder is much higher than that for robbery. Your choice.Claimed bounties bring respect: If you ride into a town carrying completed bounties on your horse, NPCs can see that. They then know that you’ve already killed people and treat you with a great deal of respect.
What does this gameplay mean for you? For the player of Red Dead Redemption 2, this means that you don’t just mindlessly follow one quest script after another. You have an influence on how the world interacts with you and behaves.
The story of Red Dead Redemption 2 runs deep. After a heist goes wrong, Arthur is on the run with the Van Der Linde gang. In the new trailer for Red Dead Redemption 2, we see what they experience during this flight.
