Red Dead Redemption 2: The Trifecta is a realistic overhaul, free to download now

Realism is the name of the game in a Red Dead Redemption 2 mod that’s free to download, should you be craving a much-needed boost to the authenticity of the game.

We say this as massive Red Dead Redemption 2 fans: some of the realism in the game, specifically concerning society and culture, is a little lacking. Don’t misunderstand, there’s way more positives than niggling negatives in this masterpiece of a sequel. However, we’re always looking at ways to improve on a great thing, and the Red Dead Redemption 2 ‘The Trifecta’ is the ideal way to do just that.

To contrast all that realism, let's take a look at Red Dead Redemption 2 epic wins and hilarious fails!

Created and uploaded by WhyEm on NexusMods, this PC expansion is a “catalogue merge for 1899 Firearms, Eastern’s Epic Extras and WhyEm’s DLC”, which will give you a much more realistic experience when bartering in shops, working out your ammo limit, and sorting through your inventory. This means you can kiss goodbye to being able to carry more than is feasible in Arthur’s satchel, as well as the ammo limit now being true to the weapons of the time period.

It’s a challenge, but one we relish. Of course, if you’d prefer to keep the game as vanilla as possible, aka true to how it was released, there are still plenty of secrets to discover. One such hidden gem is of Arthur Morgan singing, an in-game special that doesn’t always trigger, as one player found out after several playthroughs without the experience.

And if that doesn’t hold your interest, you can always look to the future of the franchise, though, be warned, it’s not a positive prospect for Xbox Series S/X and PS5 players. If Red Dead Redemption 3 happens, it won’t be on current-gen consoles, of that we’re almost certain. But with that dramatic change comes the opportunity for Rockstar Games to give fans the franchise’s first female lead, which would be a welcome contrast to the previous two outings.

All in all, we’d argue there are a lot of ways you can keep Red Dead Redemption 2 going in your hearts and your minds. Make sure to try ‘The Trifecta’ to see if you have what it takes for the grittier side of living in the wild west.