Red Dead Redemption 2 Free Download Adds GTA 5 Gameplay Twist

A new Red Dead Redemption 2 free download has added a familiar GTA 5 gameplay twist, and it might be worth a go based on that premise alone.

If you’re a fan of Rockstar Games titles, it may sound obvious when we say that Red Dead Redemption 2 and GTA 5 are quite different types of games.

One’s a cowboy simulator set in the old west, and the other is a modern crime driving game, after all. But still, there is a bit of crossover there in terms of appeal at least.

While Red Dead Redemption 2 may not resemble GTA on the surface, one unique gameplay twist has been added which may have closed the gap ever so slightly.

Red Dead Redemption 2 mod adds gangs

Rededrunk’s Factions is a new mod for Red Dead Redemption 2 which adds gangs and factions into the open world for you to face, similar to the way gangs worked in older GTA games.

“I always liked how in those games, gangs actually existed in the open world,” writes the mod’s author, Rededrunk.

"Gangs would be hanging around in the city and despite how subtle it was, it really added to the atmosphere. But in RDR2, every gang encounter is scripted and/or is tied to missions.”

The mod adds these gangs living naturally across the entire map. They’ll run supplies, loiter around towns, and dynamically fight other factions too. It’s an interesting way to flesh out the world a little.

Rockstar Games / Rededrunk

Here’s a little preview, in case you wanted to see how the mod behaves in real time.

Rededrunk actually built a full relationship system between the factions, meaning they react to each other as well as the player. And these relationships can change depending on who controls certain areas across the map.

Some gangs own certain territories, after all, while other areas are contested, so this could become the site of a bloody massacre at certain points.

Rededrunk has designed the mod with Red Dead Redemption 2’s 1899 time period in mind, rather than the epilogue’s 1907 setting. Therefore, some factions may continue to exist there that would not have existed at the time.

Altogether, it sounds like another mod that brings Red Dead Redemption 2 to its fullest potential. After all, as great as the game is, there are some features that still feel a little lacking in many regards.

You can download Rededrunk’s Factions now from the Red Dead Redemption 2 page on Nexus Mods.