Red Dead Redemption 2: 9 Ways You're Playing It Wrong

9. Arthur's Journal Is Integral To The Game's Story & Him As A Character

Besides being a handy way to recap past missions, Arthur's journal is an archive of all his innermost desires, opinions, and just precisely how he thinks he fits into this weird world of morally devoid antics and banditry.

Though the game occasionally narrates a cutscene with a few passages (literally only a handful of times in the entire story), you should take the time every few days to open up the journal and get Arthur's thoughts on what's been happening. He'll make sketches of landmarks, animals and people, alongside personal thoughts on whatever actions you just partook in. Often, they can completely reframe otherwise cut n' dry exchanges or action sequences.

Sans main story spoilers, his comments on the Downes family after that first interrogation are fascinating, and you'll find out the threat he made to the child was more "playing a role" in an arbitrary exchange he's become desensitised to, rather than a reflection of his overall personality.

Such a thing is fundamental to the very redemptive arc Arthur goes on, and you'll find Morgan's breakdown of Dutch as a leader from years gone by, plus insight into Morgan and Hosea's relationship, plus exactly how the gang got to be so stranded up in the mountains in the first place.

Yes, a lot of this stuff is technically "part of the story" anyway, but I guarantee you'll have a far better experience making a point of taking it all in.