The West is a big place, or so I’m inclined to believe after kicking around in Red Dead Redemption. Between Mexico and the fictional Western-America border states, there’s quite a bit of real estate to traverse, and along with that expanse comes an often overwhelming amount of detail. During my time playing and reviewing the game, I began mentally taking note of these small touches; over time, the list grew longer and ultimately blossomed into this feature.

While this list is certainly not perfectly comprehensive, it does cover a fairly broad range of in-game occurrences, and if nothing else it should encourage you to keep your eyes open to everything as you play the game.

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1.) TUMBLEWEEDS

Ah, the tumbleweed. This dusty prince of desert flora will not only lend authenticity to your time in the wilderness, it’ll make any duel infinitely more badass.

2.) STREET PREACHERS

In case you weren’t aware, the West is not the purest of lands. Luckily for you, this man is willing to talk himself blue in the face if it means saving your soul from the evils of the world, so maybe listen a little as you walk past him into the saloon.

3.) COW HERDING

Almost more than any other facet of Red Dead, I admire Rockstar’s ability to craft the artificial intelligence of their cows. Seriously, hats off to them for so perfectly capturing the pure and unbridled stupidity of the bovine. Herding cattle is a dreary exercise in futility; even if you manage to corral them, these cows will waste no time in throwing themselves blissfully off a cliff.

That’s right, there’s absolutely nothing you can do to prevent it.

4.) NEWSPAPERS

Newspapers in Red Dead Redemption play essentially the same role that television and radio does in Grand Theft Auto; that is, delivering a little slice of the respective culture in a form topical to the time period.

5.) SALUTING

If there was a tutorial that demonstrated this, I must’ve missed it. Regardless, it was a pleasant surprise to learn that you could greet and salute NPCs at the push of a button.

6.) MOSEYING

Saunter. Stroll. Amble. Whatever you want to call it, you can do it pretty well in Red Dead, and as shown above, John Marston has the requisite long gait for a grade-A gunslinger.

7.) HORSE MUSCLES

The level of detail on the horses, especially the ligature and deformation of the muscles, is quite amazing, and really signifies the massive leaps our industry has made in the illustrious field of horse modeling.

8.) MOUNTING YOUR HORSE MID-RUN

Sometimes you’re just in too much of a hurry to wait for your horse to stop. When the moment comes where you and that horse are in a state of complete mental sync, you’ll be able to pull one of these off.

9) RANDOM INCIDENTS

Things happen all the time in Red Dead Redemption, whether you choose to participate or not. Horses get stolen, wagons are held up, and well-meaning prostitutes get battered by their drunken customers.

Though I couldn’t possibly enumerate each and every little event that could occur in the game, I’ll use this video as a visual demonstration:

Another example: On several occasions, I’ve ridden across an individual crying over the recent death of someone he presumably cared about. Most of the time, these people would stop after a while and ride off. Once, though, I witnessed a women pull out a pistol, shoot herself in the head, and crumple to the ground next to the man she was mourning over.

10) NPC CAMPS

Tired after a long ride? Eager to meet new people? Well feel free to ride into the camp of any group you find on the side of the road and pop a squat, because they’ll take you in, no questions asked!

11) CIRCLE COVER

Mesmerizing

Red Dead’s cover system is nearly identical to the one found in Grand Theft Auto IV, except that in the former, most of the things you can hide behind, like rocks, can also be circled. Indefinitely.

12) TRAIN RIDING

Though they’re not always the most practical means of conveyance, there’s a certain romanticism that comes with riding a train into the sunset, provided you can get on one. This leads us to…

13) JUMPING FROM HORSE TO MOVING TRAIN

Though it’s only used in one mission, this awesome ability, which makes waiting at the station a thing of the past, is available to use at all times.

14) EXECUTIONS

Historically accurate? Perhaps not, but delivering a point-blank shot to the gut of an unfortunate and unsuspecting foe certainly fits the gruesome and intense nature of Red Dead.

15) OUTHOUSES

Unfortunately, not everything in Red Dead Redemption is as perfect as it should be, as proven by this shameful, shameful oversight.

Avert your eyes!

Really, what’s your problem Rockstar? How many outhouses have you ever seen in real life with rectangular seats? Everyone knows those things ought to be circular. It’s like you don’t even care!

Much better

16) BEING DRUNK

If you hoist enough whiskey at the ol’ saloon, you’ll be treated to several minutes of drunken John Marston staggering awkwardly, struggling with stairs, and falling over everything in his path. Unfortunately, drunkenly riding your horse (à la GTA IV) is not an option.

17) LIMB SHOOTING

There might not exist an act as purely satisfying as shooting man’s legs out from under him in slow-motion, which is why the Euphoria Engine ought to be implemented in any game that features both guns and legs.

18) NOOSE CUTTING

At any time, a distressed individual might call upon you to save his friend from being hanged. Sparing him is optional but well worth it if you’re a fan of The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

You're the one who does the cutting

19) THE SKY

At any given time, the sky in Red Dead looks absolutely stunning and complements the environment in a fantastically organic way. To fully enjoy it, I highly recommend turning off the ever-present radar and just riding aimlessly for a while.

20) A CAR

You can find this nature-killing, civilization-inducing abomination hiding in the game’s most modern city. Make sure to give it what it deserves.

21) SHOOTING HORSES

This may seem a little morbid, but  it’s really more about causing the person riding the horse to fall off in a comical fashion. In no way do I or anyone else at CFD! approve of or endorse horse slaughter (even if it is funny).

22) THE INTRODUCTION TO MEXICO

About, oh, maybe a third of the way through the game, John Marston crosses the border to continue his journey in Mexico. After a lengthy and unexpected raft ride down the San Luis River, Marston rides out into the Mexican desert, to great thematic effect.

This sequence, along with another that occurs towards the end, is very much a look back on things that have happened to John Marston up to that point in the game, as well as a subtle reflection on his current situation.

23) THE WILHELM SCREAM

On a more serious note, we have “The Wilhelm Scream”. A staple of all good movies (western or otherwise) since the beginning of time, this ubiquitous exclamation makes every shootout in Red Dead substantially more authentic.