‘Red Dead Redemption 2’ Gameplay Trailer: The Ugly West Never Looked So Pretty

Rockstar’s open-world Western is only a couple of months away, but we’re only now getting a better look at what you’ll actually do in the game. Given its pedigree, it might not surprise you to hear that Red Dead Redemption 2 will be huge — Rockstar is touting this as its most immersive and detailed game yet.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is a prequel starring Arthur Morgan, the leader of a group turned into outlaws following a failed bank robbery. You’ll be traveling across America in 1899, avoiding the feds through environments that include cities, deserts, swamplands, and snowy mountains that will be full of predators, prey, and scavengers. And yes, John Marston will be there, as this is the same gang that made him into an infamous gunslinger. Rockstar says that you’ll be able to get to know the whole crew as the game will let you to talk to any member at any time — and they’ll give you things to do, such as missions. You can even take people out on specific activities with you, such as fishing and hunting, and you can also play a variety of games with them. It seems that Rockstar wants to make bonding a big part of Red Dead Redemption II.

As a roaming gang, your hub will be a camp that will need to be supplied with such as food and money. Unsurprising, then, that you’ll be able to stage robberies, though Rockstar claims that the game will give you plenty of non-violent interactions with the world as well. You can apparently talk to anyone in the game, and your options will vary depending on the context (in the video you see buttons for actions such as greet, antagonize, defuse, stop witness, threaten, dismiss, beat, and rob.) You can do everything from praise or scold a dog, to hold up stage coaches, and your choices will grant you “honor” that will affect the way people see you in the game. Characters will remember if you kill people they care about.

Dead Eye, the gameplay mechanic that allows players to slow down time and line up shots, is also back, and the close-quarters combat system has been revamped. Guns are apparently more realistic when it comes to recoil and reloading. Also, if you wound an animal there’s a chance they’ll start getting away, in which case you’ll have to track them down, old-school.

Special attention has been given to horses this time around, which will all have varying temperaments, likes and dislikes. You’ll be able to feed and groom your horse, and over time, your bond will grow closer. The more experience you build up with a horse, the better stats it will have — and the easier it’ll be to calm it down should it ever become scared.

Red Dead Redemption II releases on October 26th, 2018 for PS4 and Xbox One, making it Rockstar’s first new game developed for current platforms.