The wait is finally over~! Red Dead Online Beta is now live. Grab your horse and ride along for the first hours of gameplay.

Before getting into my own personal gameplay, let’s take a quick look at what Rockstar has to offer for the beta online experience. It was exactly one month ago Rockstar released RDR2 single player, and since then players, like myself, have made our way through the single player campaign. And oh what a journey it was, but that’s not what we are here to talk about today. So the question here is what about the online beta?

What is it?

The online portion entails you creating your own character before escaping from prison. I’ll leave it at that to avoid any spoilers. From there, you can play solo or with your friends. There will be random events populated in the world which include pvp challenges, races, etc.

Players will also have a choice of entering into game mode playlists—similar to GTA Online. Right now that game modes vary between pvp death match, territory control and horseback racing. You also get the chance to join up with one another in a posse—an impromptu party—that will let you cooperative in tasks and compete against each other in parlor games and a wide variety of other things.

New Game Mechanics

  • reworking of the progression system. Players will now earn experience points that will allow them to progress
  • new ability card system to ensure balancing. Players will chose between abilities, now taking the form of cards, and can only have a limited amount active at one time. Cards can be earned and/or bought
  • Shopping just got easier. No need to visit a general store, unless you want to rob it, because online players will have access to their own personal shopping catalogue that can be used at any time to purchase items.
  • New currency. It should come as no surprise to anyone, but with the release of the online mode, Rockstar also added a new currency system (read microtransactions), taking the form of “gold.” Unlike your in-game dollars, gold allows you to buy exclusive luxury items and skip the grind of earning in-game money.

My Gameplay

Character creation: anyone who has played GTA Online is familiar with Rosckstar’s odd choices for charter builders. With RDO, players get a slightly more traditional character creator. Cowboy, cowgirl, big, small, blonde, brunette, you can choose from it all. Although the creator does pale in comparison to more extensive ones found in other online games, but it serves its purpose.

New people: fans of the RDR2’s story will be excited to meet new character as the game introduces a new narrative story that centers around you. Some people from the single player game make their return here with the addition of new story characters. The new narratives will be something I revisit in future posts.

New story: the basic premise of the story is that you have been framed by a dubious person. Who the person is, you do not know. You have been tasked with finding out who did it. The person helping you along is something with a vested interest in finding out the cuprite. Above you are looking through photographs of the suspects.

New camp: along with the new story, you get a new camp and a new companion, but it’s not just any camp like in the single player. This camp is your home base, while here you are safe from being attacked by other players. Your camp can be moved around the map for a few, and your camp is a constant drain of money as there is a daily fee.

New world: well sort of. Players who are familiar with the story know that it takes place completely on one side of the map, preventing you form exploring the other half. As many as speculated, this is where the multiplayer online begins. Once you start in New Austin, you are free to explore the rest of the map with lots to do.

A Mixed Bag

The release of the online portion is a major turning point for the franchise, but it is still far too early to tell if the online experience has sticking power. Building on the wildly popular GTA: Online, I don’t doubt Rockstar will figure it out. The real question is will their greed get the better of them, allowing micro-transactions to destroy the core game. Time will only tell, but until then, catch me out in the wilderness underneath the stars.

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