'Red Dead Redemption 2' Release Date, Features: This Is How the Dev's Are Breathing Life into the Upcoming Game

“Red Dead Redemption 2” and its promise of a living and breathing world for players to freely explore have been the center of discussion from Rockstar Games.

Rockstar Games recently released a feature preview on their website on the fauna that fans can expect to encounter in “Red Dead Redemption 2.” The preview mentions that “Red Dead Redemption 2” will be the home of up to 200 species of animals, including birds and fish, which players can expect to interact with their environment in unique ways.

The feature preview also includes images of some of the common animals that players will encounter. The images of bears, deer, coyotes, and horses are all presented like zoological vignettes as if the creatures were drawn by an explorer.

While the preview does not include pictures for all the animals, it does mention the possibility of encountering bison, wolves, geese, and rodents such as possum. As exciting as the preview is describing “Red Dead Redemption 2” and its eco-system, all the described animals and their behaviors are more than just eye-candy.

The preview also mentions two new exciting features which players can engage in and – as the preview mentions – are essential to the “Red Dead Redemption 2” experience. Rockstar Games emphasizes the importance of hunting and fishing as game mechanics which allows players to create materials for trade, food, or for crafting equipment. The type of weapons players use and the kind of game they hunt can be decided by the players.

The last feature that the preview touches upon is more personal to the player. The preview mentions that players can breed up to 19 different breeds of horses in “Red Dead Redemption 2” which can become their personal companions. Players can take care of their horses to improve their stamina, performance, and handling as well as growing closer to them to ensure a loyal and trustworthy steed. Horses in “Red Dead Redemption 2” will also be heavily customizable.

Fans of the game looking forward to the living world that Rockstar Games is promising can get their copies of “Red Dead Redemption 2” when it is officially released on Oct. 26.