Gameplay

Red Dead Redemption 2 is a western action-adventure game set in an open world environment and played from a third-person perspective, featuring single-player and online multiplayer components. The game has new features absent from the previous game. For example, new mechanics such as using a bow and arrow, dual-wielding revolvers, wading in water and using a canoe have all been introduced. Wildlife and hunting in the game have also improved.

The game focuses heavily on player choice for the story and missions. During IGN's First Look preview on the topic of how player choices can affect interactions and missions, Rob Nelson, Co-Studio Head at Rockstar North said: “We try to give you options within a lot of these missions to choose how you approach it, whether you'll send your buddies in first or whether you'll go in first.”

Players can communicate with any NPC in ways much different from previous Rockstar games. They can choose options such as having a friendly chat, having a threatening chat in order to steal money from the NPC, or they can simply take out that character and loot the corpse.

In a further expansion of immersion, players need to take care of their equipment, such as their weapons, by cleaning them. In terms of character customization, players have the option of visiting a barber for a cut and style; however, the styles available to players depends on how much they have let their character's hair naturally grow over the course of the game. Characters will have different sets of clothes for different weather conditions, have to regularly eat and bathe, and actions that were once more automatic have been greatly expanded upon in detail, including skinning a kill and examining objects.