Well, this feels wholesome. YouTube channel 8-Bit Bastard, comprised of Alec Chaney and Niki HQ, puts together videos that excite the explorer and open-world appreciator in me. Seven-day-cycle time lapses in Sea of Thieves. Non-combat drives across the entire map in Mad Max. And now, the second video in 8-Bit Bastard's Red Dead Redemption 2 documentary series, The Five States. The five states, in case you aren't currently staring at the game map, are Ambarino, Lemoyne, New Austin, New Hanover, and West Elizabeth.
The first video visits the northernmost state of Ambarino. Ambarino features places like the Wapiti Indian Reservation, the abandoned settlement of Colter from Chapter 1, and the Grizzlies East where you and ol' Hosea Matthews bagged your first legendary bear—and subsequently said "Peace out!" to the lady that needed a ride on your horse immediately afterwards.
This second video, above, visits New Hanover. I spent 40 or 50 hours here before even thinking about moving on to Chapter 3. I know New Hanover forwards and backwards. Yet 8-Bit Bastard manages to take a more scientific route to the land, talking about the ample daily rainfall, the strong winds and billowing clouds coming from the Arctic and North Atlantic, and even the acidic, nutrient-rich, underground origin of the water that flows into the Elysian Pool.
8-Bit Bastard doesn't focus on the man-made stuff here. It treats Red Dead's map like a nature documentary. Not so much focused on the wildlife, though that would be fantastic; but focused more on the rivers, lakes, and forests making up the natural landscape. Alec Chaney has a perfect documentarian cadence in his voice. I could do without the royalty-free music in the background, but it all ties together nicely in the end.
Anyway, despite the edgy name, 8-Bit Bastard is doing unique work in the video game documentary space. I like it. We gave Red Dead Redemption 2 our highest score possible. We liked that, too.
