GamesActionRed Dead Redemption 2I’m playing Red Dead Redemption 2 for the first time and it’s complicated my feelings about fast travel in open-world gamesWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesActionRed Dead Redemption 2I’m playing Red Dead Redemption 2 for the first time and it’s complicated my feelings about fast travel in open-world gamesWhen you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)
I didn’t unlock fast travel inRed Dead Redemption 2until halfway through chapter three. It was an accident – I’d managed to amass a healthy stash of money, and after maxing out the rest of the gang’s lodgings, stashes, and other necessary accoutrements, I finally bit the shotgun slug and invested in Arthur’s. Lo and behold, a fast travel map appeared, nailed to the wood of his caravan like a tempting will-o-the-wisp on a foggy night in the bayou. I used it once or twice and then never did so again.
To my memory, the game didn’t indicate that Arthur’s second upgrade would unlock fast travel in RDR 2. All I wanted was a ready stash of bullets to grab every now and again, though I’d always found plenty to loot from dead O’Driscolls, Pinkertons, and LeMoyne Raiders alike. Once upon a time I might have let out a victorious cheer, but for the first time in perhaps ever, I realized that I had not been missing this staple RPG-like mechanic at all. It speaks to a broader discussion these days aboutthe role of fast travel in games, but it’s also a testament to the immersive storytelling power that comes with stopping to smell the horse manure for once.
Let’s go, boy
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)
Ride or die(Image credit: Rockstar Games)Arthur’s legacy lives on, buthas Red Dead Redemption said everything it needs to?
Ride or die
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)Arthur’s legacy lives on, buthas Red Dead Redemption said everything it needs to?
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)
Arthur’s legacy lives on, buthas Red Dead Redemption said everything it needs to?
Red Dead Redemption 2 has been a formative experience for me so far. As someone who never had much of an interest in the whole cowboy fantasy, I can’t believe that I’d rather ride for twenty realtime minutes across the vast Wild West than warp myself across the map.
(Image credit: Rockstar Games)
The frustration very nearly made me put down the game entirely. Eventually, though, the more languid, realistic pace of Arthur’s journey began to make sense to me. It really wasn’t about getting from A to B as fast as possible, but the process of getting there at all. Watching Arthur soothe Rambo with gruff words of praise, stopping to hunt some deer on a wide open plain, and lighting up a cigarette while the sun goes down all started to feel equally as important as the missions themselves.
Through Arthur, I finally appreciate the joys of taking it slow when it comes to exploration and adventuring in sprawling open-world games. I’ve still taken trains and carriages once or twice, admiring the beauty of the cinematic cutscenes that display how Arthur is physically getting from Saint Denis to Strawberry, but only when it feels necessary to his story.
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I can’t believe that I’d rather ride for twenty realtime minutes across the vast Wild West than warp myself across the map.
I can’t believe that I’d rather ride for twenty realtime minutes across the vast Wild West than warp myself across the map.
This close bond I’ve formed with Arthur as a character is not making Chapter 6 any easier for me emotionally. Still, there’s a melancholic sense of acceptance about it that’s pushed fast travel from my mind completely. The world in Red Dead Redemption 2 feels so alive, moving around you instead of because of you. I don’t want to miss a moment of its vibrance in the time Arthur has left – and I certainly won’t waste it on fast-traveling.
Check out some moregames like Red Dead Redemption 2if you don’t want the gun-slinging days to end just yet.
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GAME REVIEWSMOVIE REVIEWSTV REVIEWS
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
1
Nemesis review: “A magical sense of tension”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
2Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
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Arcs review: “A whole lot of game in a small package”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
3Path of Exile 2 review: “A stellar start to a thrilling and brutal dark adventure”
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4Indiana Jones and the Great Circle review: “The best adventure Indy has embarked on in over 30 years”
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5Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
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Marvel Rivals review: “So preoccupied with trying to be like Overwatch that it forgets to play to its own strengths”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
1Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
1
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 review: “Keanu Reeves as Shadow is wasted whilst Jim Carrey steals the show”
2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
2Mufasa: The Lion King review – “It’s no Hakuna Matata but this Disney origin story is a class above the 2019 movie”
2
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3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
3
Kraven the Hunter review: “The insistence on an R-rating helps save this, with a decent helping of bloodthirsty action”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
4
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim review – “An uninspired expansion of the most iconic screen take on Tolkien”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
5Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
5
Nightbitch review: “Amy Adams' disappointing dark comedy is all bark and no bite”
1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
1Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
1
Doctor Who 2024 Christmas special review: “Ncuti Gatwa is as magnetic as ever in this delightful festive treat”
2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
2Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
2
Secret Level review: “An uneven experience with serious highlights that ultimately make up for the misses”
3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
3Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
3
Skeleton Crew review: “Perfectly captures the vibes of classic Star Wars with a swashbuckling twist”
4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
4Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
4
Creature Commandos review: “James Gunn’s heartwarming, R-rated tale about super-monsters proves that the DCU is in good hands”
5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”
5
Cobra Kai season 6, part 2 review: “Returns to the sort of hard-hitting form that made it such a fan favorite in the first place”