The bigger these massive GTA-style sandbox games get, the harder it becomes to remember where the hell everything is. Even with Spider-Man, a game set in a loose recreation of a city I’ve been to a bunch of times, I found myself pausing to see the map and reorient myself every other mission.
Rockstar doesn’t want you having to pause Red Dead Redemption 2, its massively awaited title that’ll finally land later this week. Hell, they’re happy to let you turn the on-screen map and HUD off entirely, if you think it’s killing the immersion.
That’s why the company just announced the aptly named “Red Dead Redemption 2 Companion App.” Download the app to your iOS or Android device, link up your PS4/Xbox, and your smartphone/tablet becomes your map. It’ll let you view your current in-game position, swipe/zoom around to see what’s nearby and set waypoints that’ll show up back in the game to lead the way.
Now, RDR2 isn’t the first game to chart out the companion app territory. EA released companion apps for a few recent titles (Mirrors Edge, FIFA, etc), and Bethesda built a super in-depth Pip-Boy companion app back in 2015 for Fallout 4. Rockstar itself was tinkering with companion apps with Grand Theft Auto 5 way back in 2013. But as an obsessive map checker, I’m loving this one all the same.
In addition to the map, the RDR companion app will also show you your character’s running stats and vitals, and let you view his in-game journal to recap the story so far. The app will ship on October 26th, the same day the game itself goes live.