Red Dead Recap – Part 2

Reading Time: 4 minutes

I’ve put a couple of more hours into playing Red Dead 2, and it’s starting to pull me in a bit more now.  Getting to the first town, and setting up camp, has undoubtedly made the game more exciting and it’s now moving at a faster pace.

Horsehoe Overlook

I have settled into my first camp at Horseshoe Overlook, which is close to the town of Valentine.  Dutch is the Camp Leader, and he has set up a Camp Fund, to which you can donate money and items.  The camp has to be kept stocked with food, medicine and ammunition.

It’s in the Camp that you further realise the great lengths that Rockstar have gone to so that the game feels as alive as possible.  People are walking around the camp, having chats and interacting with each other.  You can greet people, or antagonise them.  It was in the camp that I learnt you could change your outfit depending on the weather conditions.  Wearing something that makes you too hot, or too cold, has consequences on your health and status.  You can also exchange animal furs for upgraded equipment.

Furthermore, you can grab some soup to eat, play dominoes, change your outfit, sleep, and shave!  Yes, shave!  I’m not sure thst the ability to shave is really worthwhile, however, I am told that it could come in handy in terms of hiding your identity later in the game.

Great time in Valentine!

Valentine is the first town you come to, and it has everything that you might expect to find. A saloon, a Sheriff’s Office, hotels (with more than rooms available!), Doctor and a General Store, amongst others.  The General Store was where I picked up some tonics and medicines for myself and my horse.  I was impressed by the details in the catalogue.

Valentine was also the scene of my first, predictable, bar fight!  Although you could see it coming a mile off, it was still a lot of fun.

It was in Valentine that the most memorable thing so far happened.  I went for a “quiet couple of drinks” with Lenny.  Let’s say that it turned into an epic night!  You do feel like you’re drunk playing this part of the game.  Little details like the camera swaying back and forth, people’s faces becoming blurry, and the on-screen text being muddled up, all add to the experience.  It was interesting to learn that a friend’s night, who is also playing the game, ended up differently to mine.

Horsey, Horsey, don’t you stop!

I had the unfortunate experience of losing one of my horses. We were happily galloping along, when unbeknownst to me, what looked like a little jump, was a huge drop! Suffice to say, I went flying and my poor horse could not be saved. The heal option wasn’t available, so I had to put my poor horse down.

This did make me feel a bit sad, and I can imagine that later in the game, once you’ve had the same horse for a long time, you would become attached. A little bit like when you used to with a Tamagotchi you had managed to raise.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you will join me next time for Part 3.