By most accounts, Red Dead Redemption 2 was a huge step forward on almost every level from Red Dead Redemption. Obviously, the graphics are the most immediate improvement, as RDR2 still boasts what I would say are some of the best graphics and art style of any game, period. But the systems and mechanics and player interactions were also improved upon in the sequel (which is really a prequel).
But there’s one element that was removed from Red Dead Redemption 2 that baffles me to this day: Being able to board your horse while sprinting.
For those of you that may not be familiar with what I am referring to, allow me to describe it. While running on foot in RDR1, if you whistled for your horse, it would actually keep astride while running along side you. This would afford the player the opportunity to climb aboard, mid-stride and gallop off from the horses maintained running speed instead of having to mount your horse from a resting state and get it up to speed from a stopped position.
But in RDR2, when you whistle for your horse while running, it still appears, but instead of catching up to you and running alongside you, it merely keeps a distance of about ten or so feet behind you. What this means is you have to stop, turn around, and run back to your horse, who in return stops moving and just waits for you to double back and hop on top of it before it begins to saunter and eventually gallop. What this effectively does is make both you and your horse into sitting ducks, inviting a whole maelstrom of bullets and other deadly projectiles to have their way with you.
But let me tell you, in RDR1, when you need to hightail it out of a shootout, being able to pull off this horse-mounting maneuver can really save your skin.
And I’m not the only person to lament its exclusion, as evidenced by this old Reddit thread and this one, as well as this GameFAQs thread. But after Googling a variation of keyword combinations, I couldn’t really find much of a reason why this mechanic wasn’t included in RDR2. And aside from the aforementioned posts, I couldn’t find much outcry about it — and a little more outcry could result in its future inclusion in an update down the road, or at the very least a comment from someone at Rockstar as to why it was removed in the first place.
Does this render RDR2 unplayable? Of course not. Has it increased the number of gunshot-related deaths or mission failures? Not noticeably. So really, it isn’t the absolute end of the world, but just a personal gripe I will have to take to my grave.
So if you’re listening, Rockstar, please be my Huckleberry on this one, so I can run along my faithful stead and ride off into the sunset as I was once able to do.
