A Red Dead Redemption 2 New Game+ mode is here thanks to the coding efforts of a determined fan, who’s managed to tweak the PC version of Rockstar’s open-world game just enough to enable all the content you can normally unlock as you progress through the main story, right from the off. Yeah, you read that right.
While Rockstar’s cowboy sim is rightly celebrated for its expansive, living open world and attention to detail, there are still so many of us who find we want to experience it all locked behind gates for the first time, rather than after doing the good portion of the excellent story again. Well, thanks to some Red Dead Redemption 2 modding in the Wild West, it can be done on PC.
As ever, Red Dead Redemption 2 modding is possible thanks to the lovely world of PC gaming, even though Rockstar’scowboys and Indians game isn’t particularly mod-friendly. Nevertheless, as you can see from the video above, member ‘sezzco’ of the online PC games community NFS: Rivals has created a “Red Dead Redemption 2 New Game Plus” mod, and it works as described.
Basically, it’s a custom save game that just enables as many features, content, and unlocks as possible right from the off, to give you a kind of New Game+ experience that Rockstar itself never provided. Sezzco notes they couldn’t enable certain things, like the Master Hunter Holster, right off the bat, so it’s set the save game to be as close to 100% completion as possible.
If you’re interested in giving the “Red Dead Redemption 2 New Game Plus” mod a try yourself, be warned that it’s not perfect, as modding Rockstar-produced games is a bit tougher than making a mod for a Bethesda RPG. Also, it’s worth noting that the issues in question only really crop up when using console commands, so as long as you don’t try to rush things manually you should be fine.
Still, it’s a great glimpse into just how deep Rockstar’s cowboy sim goes, and the unique playthroughs you can enjoy thanks to the magic of PC gaming. In fact, the director of Bethesda’s upcoming Starfield has even compared it to Red Dead Redemption 2 in terms of the flow and feel the Western has – we all know what that means, right?
In the meantime, there’s still something very Rockstar about this Red Dead Redemption 2 vampire mod that popped up last Halloween, and remains available for download. And there are plenty of other curiosities to experience in Rockstar’s Wild West – including Red Dead Redemption 2 H bosses turned into Highrises. That’s wild.