Like many gamers who have plunged headfirst into the impressively immersive world of “Red Dead Redemption 2,” I have been scarred for life by the death of my horse.
In “Red Dead Redemption 2” you play as Arthur Morgan, an outlaw roaming through the American wilderness in 1899. Needless to say, your horse is pretty essential to tooling around looking for trains to rob.
I named my first horse Minty, and since the game rewards bonding with your horse by giving it improved health and stamina, I spent time dutifully brushing him, patting him, and feeding him sugar lumps.
Then the unthinkable happened. While beating a speedy retreat from the law, I rode Minty headlong into a tree. Then into another tree. Then off a small cliff.
As Minty lay dying, the game informed me I could not revive him, and I had to put him out of his misery. The experience was traumatic, but I was comforted to find out that I'm not the only one to lose my horse in unfortunate circumstances.
The cinematic camera is deadly for horses.
"Red Dead Redemption" has a feature which switches the camera angle to look like an epic, sweeping movie. The only problem: It makes steering a little tricky.
When cinematic mode goes wrong pic.twitter.com/F23PxHaMye
— Will Potter (@thequiffisdead) October 27, 2018
Actually a lot tricky...
Switch to the cinematic camera they said #RedDeadRedemption2 pic.twitter.com/WQUNlsN821
— Brian Sharon (@ThatBShar) October 28, 2018
Especially when trains come out of nowhere.
#RedDeadRedemption2 #XboxShare. So this is what happens in cinematic mode pmsl pic.twitter.com/1pOhSYd5kR
— AngeBall (@Heatster101) October 28, 2018
But even in regular camera mode, some people still had difficulty
Horse physics in this game are hilarious. #RDR2 pic.twitter.com/6Oum8U0PDw
— Zatch Mace 𓅭 (@imzatchmace) October 29, 2018
Trying to Tokyo drift my horse wasn't the best idea. #RDR2 pic.twitter.com/Any30yHgsT
— Anthony (@MrADC) October 30, 2018
Got smashed by some horses #RDR2 #PS4share pic.twitter.com/WZtL0BOaaT
— VMP MiniMaww @Moment Slice Monthly/Dio Sega (@MiniMaww) October 27, 2018
Unlike "Skyrim" horses, "Red Dead" horses aren't so good with steep drops
#RDR poor horse, oh good he's ok! #PS4sharehttps://t.co/ngoNrAqE09 pic.twitter.com/PVylTGoDFN
— one incher (@0neincher) October 28, 2018
And Arthur Morgan's horse isn't the only one prone to sudden death
"A series of unfortunate events" #RDR2 pic.twitter.com/KyJ2vEh2OH
— dom (@domvgt) October 28, 2018
To add insult to injury, some players are accidentally punching their horses — although to be fair these horses give as good as they get
https://twitter.com/CharleyyRachael/status/1056142773605281792?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
Red dead redemption 2 death by horse #Rockstargames #Rdr2 #Reddeadredemption2 #PS4sharehttps://t.co/DxGbnvqwNw pic.twitter.com/sxGPf07pUq
— sir kirbington the 3rd (@kriskirby1986) October 28, 2018
A Million Ways to Die in the West, Ep1 The Bridge Horse Punch #RDR2 #PS4sharehttps://t.co/y28RtwAOK3 pic.twitter.com/xMXW31ypUw
— Prico🏴 (@Prico1) October 29, 2018
And the horses aren't the only ones at risk
So don’t get distracted while riding your horse or you might get flawlessly clotheslined by a sign post. #rdr2 pic.twitter.com/EAIeZdbkxC
— tigerchild (@tigerchild) October 29, 2018
https://twitter.com/jfwong/status/1056257497185415168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
And to top it all off: Your horse might spontaneously combust
Theres something wrong with this horse #RDR2https://t.co/SEfyuSGImv pic.twitter.com/2WnRXdeeIf
— wizard🆖 (@casey_macneil) October 29, 2018
So my horse just spontaneously combusted! No seriously! @Rockstargames #RDR2 #RedDeadRedemption2 #PS4share pic.twitter.com/elOu4Ajtw1
— Denashi (@Denashi) October 30, 2018
This is the result of a glitch rather than irresponsible riding, but it seems at least some horses have survived the ordeal.
And for those whose horses died in more conventional circumstances, social media is littered with tributes to fallen stallions.
https://twitter.com/justinmakescode/status/1056641451738705920?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw