Red Dead Redemption 2 has been a massive comeback for the Red Dead Redemption game made by RockStar Games. It comes as no surprise that many people bought a copy when it was released. The game itself is not particularly hard to complete unless you play on very hard skill sets, but it does take a good number of hours. The storyline is long and fascinating, and you will often find yourself captured by the game completely.
The game has 6 main chapters which don’t sound like a lot if you compare it to games like Uncharted which can have 20-22 chapters per game, but the chapters in Red Dead Redemption 2 are rather long. It takes quite some time to finish a chapter, mostly because of the number of quests you have to complete, and then because the map is absolutely humongous.
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD!
Red Dead Redemption 2: Chapter 1: Colter Walkthrough and Guide
You start Red Dead Redemption 2 with a cutscene talking about 1899 America, at the end of the Wild West era. The plot is a bit hard to understand initially, and it mostly remains unclear throughout the game. It appears that a robbery went terribly wrong back in the western town of Blackwater. Dutch Van der Linde and his clan suffered a serious blow when the law rounded them and managed to injure Davey (who later dies), and little Jenny.
With the law on their tails, the Van der Linde clan makes an escape toward the mountains when a terrible blizzard starts. This is where the game starts with its cutscene. In fact, we never get to see what happened at Blackwater, and Arthur, the character you get to play with, also doesn’t know because he wasn’t there when the law broke in.
The initial cutscene shows the remainder of the gang slowly pushing through a heck of a blizzard towards the mountain side having Davey who’s taken a bullet to the gut agonizing on a wagon waiting to pass away.
It seems like the law lost their tail in that tremendous blizzard and they manage to arrive in Colter, an abandoned mining town. There are some shanty buildings that they can use as a camp for a few days. This is essentially where Chapter 1: Colter starts.
Finding food, alcohol, and supplies in Colter
After a short cutscene where the gang settles into one of the abandoned buildings in Colter, Abigail pronounces Davey dead. Dutch Van der Linde (the leader of the gang) gives an encouraging speech and then takes Arthur Morgan (the player) with him to explore the area and attempt to find some supplies.
You got to imagine what they must have felt. No food, no drinks, the law on their tail trying to kill every single one of them, a heck of a blizzard.
Eventually, Dutch and Arthur start riding into the blizzard in an attempt to scout ahead and look for food. They reunite with Micah Bell, a new member of the gang who’s only been with them for a few months.
The trio rides ahead until they find a small ranch blazing with sound and lights – sounds like a party. They soon come to realize the rival gang, the O’Driscolls are there having taken the small ranch by force from the Adler family.
A fight ensues between the O’Driscoll gang members and our trio, with the O’Driscolls getting wiped in the process. Arthur, Dutch, and Micah begin looting whatever they can from the small ranch having found Mr. Adler already dead in a wagon.
They soon realize that Mrs. Sadie Adler, his wife, is still alive having successfully hidden from the O’Driscolls for three days. After a short quarrel that accidentally sets the Adler ranch on fire, Sadie joins the gang having nothing left to look out for there.
At some point, Arthur Morgan and Charles Smith, a native American gang member, are going to hunt as the food is running low. Charles’ hand is injured from the events before the game starts, so he teaches Arthur how to use a bow.
You go together on a hunting trip where you successfully manage to hunt deer. The meat is enough to keep the gang alive for a while and you get to bond with Charles Smith. You will see why this is important later on in the game.
Robbing Leviticus Cornwall’s Train
While wiping out the O’Driscolls at the Adler ranch, one of them spills the beans about Colm O’Driscoll’s plans to rob one of Leviticus Cornwall’s trains. You continue the chapter by storming a nearby O’Driscoll camp at the end of which you get the plans and enough dynamite to blow up a mountain.
Despite some hesitation from some of the gang members, Dutch Van der Linde proceeds with his plan to rob the train. Initially, they plan to blow up the train tracks with dynamite, but Bill fails to trigger the explosion due to Arthur’s miswiring.
The gang quickly rides towards the moving train and jumps on it. A quick fight with Cornwall’s guards ensues, after which Arthur successfully stops the train using the emergency brake. After blowing the secure compartment with dynamite and evacuating the remaining guards, the boys start looting the train.
You won’t find a lot of stuff inside, but Arthur does find Bearer Bonds which we learn from Dutch that are easily sold to the right folks. With Dutch satisfied with his finds, you get to choose between killing or sparing the remaining unarmed guards, after which you start the train and jump off.
Back to camp, you are planning to go further down into the Heartlands. Hosea, Dutch’s right hand, knows some places where you can lie low for a while. The chapter ends with the trip towards Horseshoe Overlook near Valentine and marks the end of the snowy chapter.
Final Thoughts
This chapter is one of my favorites in the whole Read Dead Redemption 2 game. I love the blizzard, the hunting trip with Charles, and yes, even the train robbing part. We get introduced to the Dutch Van der Linde gang’s life and the struggles of being an outlaw in 1989 when the era of the wild west was coming to an end.
We also get to know Sadie Adler, a very strong character later on in the game. Having lost all she cared about, Sadie becomes a tough woman with one goal: revenge.
Video walkthrough – Chapter 1: Colter
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