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

7. Spend Hours In The Camp

The place where missions are more triggered than play out, some of Red Dead's most poignant and well-written character moments happen back at camp.

Granted, there are couple of spots where defined gatherings play out as part of the overall story and you can spend time interacting with the entire gang; laughing with friends, getting drunk, singing songs and seeing what makes people tick. What you're missing though, is you can do this all the time.

Rockstar have written a ludicrous amount of dialogue and coded scores of animations fleshing out every single character, and by indulging in the camp environment, you'll see far more of it than just treating this area like a mission hub.

Pearson's backstory in the Navy, Bill Williamson's termination from armed service, Lenny's parents and Javier's initial interactions with Dutch to join the gang - there's a rich extension to Red Dead 2's main thread everywhere you look. Even Arthur's conversations with Mary-Beth are arguably essential to "getting" how morally complex he is as an individual.

We're not used to taking in such a gargantuan game holistically, and you'll miss multiple backstories or an all-round greater feeling of immersion if you're just dropping off carcasses for meat stew and moving on.