RDR2 Horse permadeath seems like a massive design failure

[PlanetSmasher]

The worst part for me was this thing where I saw some guys on the side of the road, one of them goes "that's a real pretty horse you got there" and then without even a second's hesitation he shot me in the head and died. When I respawned, my horse was just gone. Either they killed him or stole him, I don't know which.

I've now made it my mission to punish every single Lemoyne Raider I come across. Every last one.

 

[Deleted member 2625]

The worst part for me was this thing where I saw some guys on the side of the road, one of them goes "that's a real pretty horse you got there" and then without even a second's hesitation he shot me in the head and died. When I respawned, my horse was just gone. Either they killed him or stole him, I don't know which.

I've now made it my mission to punish every single Lemoyne Raider I come across. Every last one.

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yeah I had the same reaction, haha.

I kill all the Lemoyne Raiders I can find and I absolutely love throwing a stick of dynamite into a Klan gathering

 

[Finale Fireworker]

The only times I have ever lost a horse when when I've ridden it off a cliff, after which I promptly exited and reloaded.

I've never lost a horse in a gunfight. It seems like this would be very difficult to do. But I'm sorry that you've suffered this.

 

[PCPace]

Game needs the horse fairy

 

[nib95]

Only time I lost a horse was when I accidentally rode one off this river bank edge, and it drowned down stream. I just reloaded my save. To be honest the fact that your horse could die did add a different fear and responsibility element to the game. Any time I was ambushed if I could not engage the enemies straight away, I would immediately sprint away on my horse as fast as humanly possibly, only turning around to shoot when I knew I had some distance and safety. If my horse had taken any damage, I'd dismount before engaging.

It's just one of the reasons I also manually save a lot in this game. You never know what can happen, so you need to be a fairly close save reload away just in case.

 

[chrisypoo]

I see this complaint pretty often, and it's odd to me as I'm still on the first horse in the game that I bought, and he's never died once. I can see how it's annoying, but if you play carefully it's a non issue.

 

[Ceileachair]

OP sounds like maybe it's a glitch. Every time my horse and my character die, I go to a stable pay a fee and my horse is back. Don't forget horse insurance..

 

[headspawn]

I'm like 50+ hours in, used a single revive tonic on my Arabian the entire time... never seen this happen. The times I've been downed and maybe lost her, I went to the stable and it was no big deal.

 

[MazeHaze]

I hate it. Had my dude Big Montana for 30 hours. I completed a mission and whistled for him and I got the message pop-up that he died. Don't even know how or why. Then I got a spotted horse I named Cool Spot. Had him for about 20 minutes, until I was riding to a mission and 20 dudes poppes out of nowhere and killed my horse immediately and murdered me before I could even react. I'm done naming and caring about horses now.

 

[Spartancarver]

It's objectively bad game design, and far from the only such example in this game, but it will be defended because R* and because it's RDR2.

 

[Atomic Playboy]

I've played through the entire game once, I'm probably 50 hours deep into my second playthrough, and I've only had a horse killed on me once (damn LeMoyne Raiders ambushed me under an overpass). And the thing is, it taught me a valuable lesson; prioritize your horse over everything else. It's not just the artificial 1-4 bonding levels within the game structure, it's the feeling that I've been constantly brushing and feeding this animal for hours and hours now and I feel a legitimate connection to it; I can go off on some long exploration and not see anyone from my camp for weeks on end, but Tiny is always there. If I get set upon by bandits, I don't just automatically stop dead in my tracks and try to kill them all from a stationary position, I turn and run as fast as possible because I don't want to put my horse in harm's way. So for me, the mechanic works, because it does encourage me to play as though my horse is irreplaceable.

 

[Spartancarver]

Every "realistic" mechanic (cores, managing your hygiene, polishing your weapons, etc.) is a major failure. It's a crippling aspect that totally drags down an otherwise unbelievably great game.

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Yep.

It's like they made a really, really fun game and then were like, "Now how do we suck some of that fun out, that's too much fun for just $60. Let's make the controls bafflingly stupid and indefensibly shitty and add cores and hygiene lol"

 

[chainlinkspiral]

I pay respects to my steed.

 

[NekoNeko]

The game throws so much money at you that getting a replacement isn't really a problem. Plus it's not like there are many other things to actually spend money on

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if it's easily replacable why even have perma death? just give me back my horse.

 

[Kunka Kid]

I see this complaint pretty often, and it's odd to me as I'm still on the first horse in the game that I bought, and he's never died once. I can see how it's annoying, but if you play carefully it's a non issue.

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I was about to write the exact same thing. I've played for hours and hours and still have the first horse I bought. Guess we're lucky? Hard to tell how widespread this is.

 

[Van Bur3n]

How do y'all lose your horses. I've only lost one horse, and it was during a random encounter when it was scripted to happen, and I decided to keep it that way and not load a previous save before it was hilarious to me. Next horse I got after that I kept throughout the whole game.

It's objectively bad game design

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This is not the correct use of the word. I insist you look into the definition of the word. I implores you, even.

 

[Deleted member 17092]

Never had a horse die and I'm in chapter 6. I fail to see how this is a real issue anyway given how much money you have and there is nothing to spend money on.

 

[CaptainKashup]

It's not a design failure, it's the whole purpose of the horse bonding mechanic.
I'm sorry to say that but git gud, man. Take care of your horse, plan accordingly.

 

[Spartancarver]

This is not the correct use of the word. I insist you look into the definition of the word. I implores you, even.

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Nah, it is.

Believe it or not, some game design decisions can be objectively bad.

See also: RDR2's controls.

 

[Nimby]

What is it with this game and people claiming journalist collusion lol

 

[Faenix1]

I've killed two arabians now. The biggest pain in the ass part is getting full bond again.

It's getting old. Stupid bounty hunter ambushes.

 

[deim0s]

Ran into the infamous "horse permadeath" last night with an expensive horse (Arabian).

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You can still get Arabians at St. Denis for free OP. Well, unless R* already patched it.

 

[Ryo]

It's actually a brilliant design feature, you just gotta get good.

The only thing that pisses me off is when you take the train and your horse starts wandering around in front of the train as you spawn.

 

[IIFloodyII]

I had a horse die because of a ambush, got caught by a dynamite that starts the ambush, it felt real bad, which was the point.
I killed every O'driscoll from that point on with Incendiary rounds.

 

[EchoChamber]

How do y'all lose your horses. I've only lost one horse, and it was during a random encounter when it was scripted to happen, and I decided to keep it that way and not load a previous save before it was hilarious to me. Next horse I got after that I kept throughout the whole game.



This is not the correct use of the word. I insist you look into the definition of the word. I implores you, even.

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insist?

 

[Van Bur3n]

Nah, it is.

Believe it or not, some game design decisions can be objectively bad.

See also: RDR2's controls.

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I have a feeling this sentiment of yours is one based on personal feeling and not that of fact because it is impossible to come to any factual conclusion on something that is subjective in nature, but I think you knows this already.

insist?

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Yeah... Insist.

 

[Thrill_house]

I actually like it. My first horse I lost on one of the first missions. Had to lasso a guy running away, i nudged a train we were riding besides and the poor girl bit it. I got the dude but felt absolutely crestfallen. I gained a few levels with it and really enjoyed how it rode.

You better believe I have taken care of every horse since, especially the wild high stat race horse I found and broke. Horses were a huge deal and an important part of your property during the old west and I think this mechanic is there to drive that point home.

 

[Zynn]

"Easy, boy."

 

[Deleted member 41178]

Over 140 hours in the game and I didn't lose a single horse, if anything I would say they are too resilient.

I remember being chased by the cops through Saint Denis and my horse was downed three time,s cleared the cops around me and used the Horse Reviver to bring him back. Also once when a fall was higher than I expected, but again Horse Reviver bought him back.

There were a few times when I went over a rock or straight into a tree that I expected them to die but they just got up and carried on.

Spoiler: Ending Spoiler

Ok, the only time I did lose a horse was at the end but there is no way to stop that so it doesn't count.

 

[blackmass]

Nah, it is.

Believe it or not, some game design decisions can be objectively bad.

See also: RDR2's controls.

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RDR 2s controls are not bad.That's the same controls like in GTA 4, RDR, GTA 5 (highly acclaimed games). And you guys are surprised? What the fuck is wrong with you people?

 

[P-MAC]

I dunno man I played through the whole game without losing any horses, it's a lot harder for them to die than it is for you to die. I've even seen my horse get shot in the head more than once and be fine, or fall off pretty large rocks and be ok. It sounds like you just had some real bad luck unfortunately. Also you can catch Arabians in the wild, never pay big money for a horse they're not hard enough to come by to justify that.

 

[Deleted member 3183]

RDR 2s controls are not bad.That's the same controls like in GTA 4, RDR, GTA 5 (highly acclaimed games). And you guys are surprised? What the fuck is wrong with you people?

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They're not the same as GTAV's. I've tried them both back to back, GTA's controls are significantly more responsive (and they weren't that responsive to begin with!)

 

[CaptainKashup]

For a more detailed answer then my previous "git gud"..
My first horse died because of my mistakes. I jumped with it from a place that was too high for the poor fella. For some reason, I thought I would be able to do it.
Broke both of his legs and had to watch him die slowly.
My mistakes killed him and I wasn't even mad, just sad to lose my friend.

You might not like this mechanic but that doesn't mean it's a design failure. It's normal to feel bad if you horse die, that's the point.

 

[Conkerkid11]

I'd be fine with it if it weren't for the fact that your horse's stats are essentially tied to how long you manage to keep it alive for. Can't really grow attached to a horse and care about it if I know some random shit's just gonna erase all that progress later.

Its your fault your horse died

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Nah, that's a load of bullshit. Game's got so many damn bugs that cause your horse to instantly die or just vanish off the face of the earth.

RDR 2s controls are not bad.That's the same controls like in GTA 4, RDR, GTA 5 (highly acclaimed games). And you guys are surprised? What the fuck is wrong with you people?

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lol

 

[Nintendo]

That's one of the best features. My horse only died twice but it was an incredible experience.

 

[inner-G]

I finished the game with the first horse I got

It wasn't even a good breed, I think it was actually a working horse of some type lol

 

[bonch00ski]

I refused to get a horse after I got my first one, I built a bond with that bitch that couldn't be taken away.

 

[Qudi]

OP you have the ability to slow time. If anyone comes near my horse i immediately activate Deadeye shot that fucker as fast as possible. You let your horse die. Not the game designers.

 

[Bend]

I liked having something to care for, personally. I did stupid shit like try to keep it well fed and brushed. It went down once or twice in combat and I made it a priority to use the revive tonic and get it away. If I knew it was always going to be fine anyway it would have drastically changed that relationship.

 

[zsynqx]

Bonding with your horse was one of the best aspects of Red Dead 2, so that design choice made perfect sense to me.

Spoiler: Late game spoiler

It's the reason my horse's death at the end hit super hard. That moment definitely wouldn't have worked as well if I hadn't kept the same horse throughout most of the game.

 

[Araujo]

To me the worst Design flaw was during a firefight with some bandits where i got shot out of my horse, and my horse was near death on the floor, so while i was trying to take out the bandits near it so i could use a tonic to revive it, the auto-aim fixed my aim on my Horse, making ME kill it.

 

[TickleMeElbow]

My first horse died in a similar fashion.

Was ambushed close to the camp in chapter 2, and they murked my horse and I within like 5 seconds lol. It was actually the first time I got ambushed, and since it was relatively early in the game I was caught off guard.

I was actually bummed about it, which is the intended purpose of the horse permadeath mechanic, so in that sense it's pretty effective imo. I would've been devastated if it was a horse I had a higher bond with.

I have some issues with the game, but the permadeath thing isn't one of them.

 

[PenultimateFantasy]

And this is why journalist reviews are just blinded by big name games like this and faults are actually invisible to them. Honestly never trust reviews on games like this, they will skip all the faults and problems just because they have to go with the crowd so they can continue getting hits on their website.

Sure it's not a bad game and still decent with amazing attention to detail but there are so many issues too in terms of controls, actually being fun etc...there are many other games out this year that have been better it's more like a 8/10 rather than "GOAT this gen" they are making it out to be.

I have seen more faults with this game being discussed than most other games that aren't even as good so there's clearly a problem with game review scores giving it so high in correlation to what it actually deserves. There's clearly a problem somewhere where the game doesn't resonate as a 9.8 with a lot of people when you read so much criticism against it.

I mean you didn't see this kind of or amount of critical discussion detailing faults with examples like Mario Odyssey, Link Between Worlds or God of War. So what exactly is the problem here? Are journalists just really blinded by Rockstar or bought out or something? I don't get it. I thought games were judged fairly. Seems not.

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it feels like with RDR@ they had loads of great ideas, made it look beautiful, great writing, great story, great music - thye piut them all in... and then no one actually played through the final game

 

[zsynqx]

What is it with this game and people claiming journalist collusion lol

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I love the posts insinuating that anyone who loves this game is a just a mindless fanboy who only praises it because it's made by Rockstar.

Edit: Oh hey, like this one.

It's objectively bad game design, and far from the only such example in this game, but it will be defended because R* and because it's RDR2.

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[fracas]

I played through the entire game with the first horse you get.

I never once saw it as an issue.

 

[Absolute]

I bought a horse for $900 dollars in Saint Denis. Hopped on the nearest train to Valentine. When I arrived my new horse had vanished. Not in the stables, straight up gone.

The only thing I can think of is that the train ran him over in the cutscene leaving St D. I was very mad but I got over it once I went treasure hunting.

 

[Kotze282]

It just doesn't make any sense that you get a new shitty horse when your actual one dies. Completely defeats the purpose of that design decision, which is immersion and realism.
Would love having to continue on foot and try to get a new horse somehow, something that the game never really makes you do.

 

[SinglePlayerFan]

I remember not watching this video because I wanted to experience taming the horse myself and after I did it I was like, that was it? Then I watched the clip and it made sense. I still rode Artax until the end. You were a good horse and I would have been bummed to have lost it to a random event.

 

[DrScruffleton]

This happened to me too, there was literally nothing I could do to prevent it from happening. Got ambushed and died in 2 seconds. Couldn't reload because I don't manual save in games like this. Super lame

 

[ZangBa]

My stupid horse managed to kill itself while I was doing a mission involving a train. No way I could have prevented it, I didn"t even know it died until after the mission. This feature is basically there to grief people for their own nonsense design decisions you have no control over.