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Red Dead Redemption 2

Observations from the First Red Dead Redemption 2 Trailer

Female protagonist? Prequel? We take a closer look at the new trailer from Rockstar.

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Unless you just woke up from a coma you'll know that we got Red Dead Redemption 2's first trailer yesterday. Many have expressed their disappointment at the "lack of content" in the trailer, so we decided to sit down and analyse it to see if we missed anything. Spoiler: yes, we did.

Ecosystem
This isn't brand new, as animals hunted each other in Red Dead Redemption, however, this trailer seem to indicate that the ecosystem has been fleshed out even further. Around 18 seconds into the trailer we see a raccoon-like creature attacking a rodent. Then, after 43 seconds, four vultures are feeding on a coyote carcass while a dog barks at them. You could come across bears or a pack of wolves strolling along almost like friends in the previous game, but that may not be the case this time around. Hopefully we'll get to use this to our advantage when on a hunt.

Red Dead Redemption 2

Hunting
Of course hunting is definitely back. Just look at the man and his trusty steed after 31 seconds. The steed has a dead deer on its back. John Marston preferred skinning his prey right there and then, does this mean that we'll have the option to take it home? Why would we do that? Could it be that the meat will turn bad after a while, that we'll get extra benefits from taking our time, or something like that? Maybe, we're reading too much into it, but there may very well be more options and steps to take in this respect.

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Native Americans
Native Americans played a very minor role in Red Dead Redemption, and the open world barely showed any sign of them. So why is there a dreamcatcher in the tree after 33 seconds? It's also worth noting that the person who's paddling in the background is one of the few people we see in the trailer without a hat. With the other person in the canoe wearing a hat, we're going to guess that Rockstar is going to explore the Native American society even further, and maybe give their take on how a friendship between a cowboy and native would have been looked upon back then.

Red Dead Redemption 2

Swimming
Speaking of canoes, John Marston can't swim in Red Dead Redemption, but the trailer seems to indicate that this game's protagonist(s) might be able to. Fair enough, there are large bodies of water in the last game, but there seems to be even more this time around. Combine this with new transportation options on water, and there's a fairly big chance that we'll be doing some swimming next autumn.

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Time period
The trailer gives us quite a few clues as to when the game is set. After 36 seconds we see a large buffalo herd running alongside a train. Do you remember the small herd (the one you probably slaughtered for a Trophy/Achievement) in the first one? It was that small because the species nearly went extinct around the turn of the century. Maybe a larger herd means that this game is set before the first one? We're not talking tens of years before here, as we also see a few electric street lights after 38 and 43 seconds. Electric street lighting was pretty much nowhere to be found in the US before the 1880s. With the first one being set in 1911, does this mean that we'll play as a younger John Marston when he was part of Dutch's original gang?

Red Dead Redemption 2

Protagonist(s)
When Rockstar first released the picture of the silhouetted seven, many were disappointed that none of them appeared female. Well, teaser images aren't always of the protagonists. Just look at the seven characters riding toward a large town at the end of the trailer. Are we the only ones who think that the person to the far right is dressed differently and has a different bodily shape to the rest of the riders? Could this be a female protagonist, or maybe really Rockstar wants to test their storytelling skills and let us swap between seven characters?

And just as a side note: take a look at the rider to the far left. He's dual wielding two revolvers. This has to mean that we'll be able to dual wield weapons as well, right?

Red Dead Redemption 2

This is just some of the stuff we noticed after watching the trailer a second time. Did we miss anything? Please let us know in the comments below so that we can speculate together.

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Red Dead Redemption 2Score

Red Dead Redemption 2

REVIEW. Written by Magnus Groth-Andersen

"A watershed moment, an instant classic, another high point for a studio which has constantly delivered them for decades."



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