Completing These RDR 2 Achievements Make It Feel Like a New Game

6 days ago 14

RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2'S ARTHUR MORGAN SURROUNDED BY GAME ACHIEVEMENT LOGOS

Robert Wood is a writer and editor based out of Cheshire, England. He is the author of 'The False Elephant: and 99 Other Unreasonably Short Stories' - 100 stories, each told in exactly 100 words.

Rob got into comics via Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man and the UK anthology 'The Mighty World of Marvel,' which was running Frank Miller's Daredevil, Classic Hulk and Contest of Champions II.

Prior to journalism, he worked in copywriting and copyedited for Oxford University Press. He is on X as @PinchTwigs and Instagram as roobwoodjourno.

Cowboy epic Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of the most sprawling and ambitious games of all time. However, after completing the expansive story missions and running into some of the game's most creative strangers, you may be in need of some more clear objectives to keep your gameplay focused.

Thankfully, there are two achievements in the game that can offer you a totally new experience. Most of Red Dead Redemption 2's achievements feel like afterthoughts, rewarding story progression or crafting. However, there are two achievements that can vastly extend your enjoyment...

Red Dead Redemption 2's Bountiful Achievement Is a Thrilling Challenge

The first of these achievements is 'Bountiful,' which requires you to survive for three straight days with a bounty of $250 in all five states. Reaching the maximum bounty means you effectively lose access to all the helpful features of towns, and you'll be pursued almost constantly by bounty hunters.

Even just the set-up for this achievement is fun enough, requiring you to cause enough mischief to get yourself into the maximum amount of trouble across the entire game map.

red dead redemption 2 arthur morgan shooting a revolver

However, the real fun comes from three days of running (and riding) for your life, with resources dwindling and nowhere that's truly safe to run. Chased by revolver-wielding bounty hunters and their baying hounds, you'll either need to remain one step ahead or else plan exactly where to turn and fight for your life, in places where the environment is in your favor and you can set traps ahead of your pursuers.

red dead redemption 2 posse by moonlight

The resulting experience lasts multiple hours, and focuses your attention on managing constant combat over the wide open spaces of Red Dead Redemption 2, since civilization is now your enemy.

If you want this achievement without the fun, you can hole up in a broken locale like the rooftops of Strawberry or the Loft in Grizzlies East and wait out your time taking potshots, but playing on the run is what's actually enjoyable about this experience.

Red Dead Redemption 2's Zoologist Achievement Is a Whole Other Game

The other achievement every player should pursue is zoologist, which requires you to 'study' every animal across all five states. Studying animals is an active process - get them in your crosshairs or focus on them with binoculars, then push the relevant button (R1 on Playstation, RB on Xbox) to fill out their info in your Field Guide.

red dead redemption 2 image of alligator

Red Dead Redemption 2's animals are incredibly detailed, and scattered across every different environment in the game, with appearances varying by time of day.

Pursuing the Zoologist achievement means stalking alligators in Bayou Nwa and delving into Elysian Pool's hidden cave for the right kind of bat. Mix this achievement with really getting to know photo mode, and you'll find yourself playing an incredibly hardcore nature documentary.

On the way to earning 'Zoologist', you can also try to complete the 'Skin Deep' achievement - which requires you to skin one of every animal.

It's a totally different way to play, and one that isn't without combat or risk. Searching the map for every type of animal means that you'll end up fending off cougar and bear attacks, which pack way more punch when they crash into the midst of your meditative search for a blue jay.

The Zoologist achievement only requires you to study 152 out of the game's 178 animals. Legendary animals, domestic pets and creatures native to Guarma are exempt.

Completing the Zoologist achievement is a more peaceful (but never totally safe) way to explore Red Dead Redemption 2's world, and one which will give you far more appreciation for the subtle details the next time you play its story, now that you fully understand all the different forms of life that exist around you in Rockstar Games' magnum opus.