RDR2‘s Map is Confirmed Larger at 75 Square Miles
For open world game fans, a huge explorable map filled with rich detail and varied locations is a dream come true. And when it comes to expansive modern gaming maps, Grand Theft Auto 5 (GTA 5) and Red Dead Redemption 2 (RDR2) rank among the absolute best.
So which map reigns supreme in sheer size? Based on extensive research and measurement data, RDR2‘s frontier world edges out GTA 5‘s with an approximate size of 75 vs 59 square miles.
While only 29% bigger on paper, RDR2‘s diverse biomes and rural small towns spread far apart makes traversing the map feel epic in scale. Let‘s dive deeper into the territory these awesome gaming worlds cover.
Breaking Down the Map Sizes
First, a quick data comparison of these two juggernaut game worlds:
| Game | Year | Map Size | Locale | Game Style |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Red Dead Redemption 2 | 2018 | ~75 square miles | American frontier, 1899 | Third-person action-adventure |
| Grand Theft Auto 5 | 2013 | ~59 square miles | Fictional California city, modern | Third-person action |
Based on detailed calculations by experts, we can confirm RDR2‘s frontier landscape is approximately 29% larger at 75 square miles. Just taking a quick horse ride makes it obvious – there‘s miles upon miles of diverse, rugged, untamed terrain begging to be explored across swamps, prairies, forests, and snow capped peaks.
GTA 5‘s fictional California take on Los Santos still delivers a staggeringly detailed 59 square mile city with urban, desert, wilderness, and ocean environments packed together. But the scale feels more compressed thanks to concentration of infrastructure versus RDR2‘s clear horizon lines.
A topographical style view of RDR2‘s expansive and diverse map landscape
Why RDR2‘s Map Feels Way Bigger
While only 29% larger physically, RDR2‘s map gives a way grander sense of scale compared to the equally impressive world of GTA 5. Here‘s some key reasons why:
1. Rural Small Towns Spread Far Apart
Unlike GTA‘s urban consolidation, RDR2 has rural small towns and settlements sprinkled sparsely over its rugged natural landscape. Long journeys are needed to connect these frontier outposts, emphasizing the feeling of distance.
Example Locations
- Valentine
- Strawberry
- Saint Denis
- Van Horn
- Annesburg
2. Wilderness Biomes Make Horizons Feel Distant
When gazing across RDR2‘s sweeping plains, forests, rivers and marshes framed against skyboxes and mountain backdrops, there‘s a real sense of endless frontier in all directions.
RDR2 World Biomes
- Great Plains grasslands
- Lush temperate forest
- Bayou wetlands and swamps
- Grizzlies snowcapped peaks
3. Slow Realistic Travel by Horseback
Much of RDR2‘s world is traversed by trusty horseback at realistic paces. Walking or riding by wagon limits travel speed further. This slower movement pacing amplifies the physical scale as players methodically venture across raw wilderness and winding trails.
Most travel in RDR2‘s world relies on horses, emphasizing the scale
4. Rugged Natural Terrain Adds Scope
As an untamed environment filled with natural obstacles and elevation changes, RDR2‘s landscape has a randomness and physicality that feels organic and epic in scope. Players must circumnavigate mountains, forests, rivers and more.
Challenging Terrain Examples
- Treacherous snowcapped Ambarino peaks
- Lush bayou wetlands filled with gators
- Sheer rocky ridges and canyons
Why GTA 5‘s Map Feels More Compact
Make no mistake, GTA 5‘s modern recreation of Los Santos and the surrounding California environs still delivers a massively expansive world brimming with diverse locations connected by highways, roads, street grids and infrastructure.
But the scale often feels more compressed compared to RDR2‘s frontier. Here‘s some reasons why:
1. Dense Urban Environment
Unlike frontier wilderness, Los Santos features huge swaths of paved roads, buildings, houses, traffic and infrastructure filling space in compact proximity. This gives a busier gameplay feel in tighter spaces.
GTA 5‘s Los Santos depicts dense urban environments
2. Verticality and Underground Access
With skyscrapers, raised highways, rooftops and also subway/sewers, GTA 5‘s environments emphasize verticality and underground access adding gameplay layers within the same relative land footprint.
3. Faster Vehicles Reshape Scale Perception
Supercars, planes, helicopters etc combined with dense roads and infrastructure means GTA 5 players can traverse massive in-game distances rapidly without getting a sense of the full breadth travelled across. Fast movement essentially compresses perceived space.
The Verdict: RDR2‘s Map Size + Scope Feels Way Bigger
While only about 29% larger physically at 75 square miles, RDR2‘s map gives a vastly grander sense of frontier scope and scale compared to GTA 5‘s equally detailed but more compact 59 square mile modern city.
Slow horseback travel aside rivers, forests and mountains against clear horizon backdrops amplifies the epic 1875 era american wilderness in all directions. GTA 5‘s condensed urban playground still delivers in scale and density – just in a more vertical package.
So in summary – GTA 5 and RDR2 both have best-in-class maps, but moving through frontier horseback vs modern supercars reshapes perception, making RDR2 feel much more massively expansive to explore.
What do you think – which open world feels bigger to you? Share your thoughts in the comments!
