If you have a gun out, the left trigger aims it. You can press the button while standing over someone else’s discarded weapon to pick it up. Tapping L1/LB draws or holsters your most recent weapon, while holding it down pulls up your weapon wheel. Tapping will cycle through the third-person distances (near, middle and far) and the first-person mode. Touchpad/Xbox One View button changes your camera.And the same button can do different things, depending on whether you tap or hold it. Some buttons change based on your equipment, whether or not you’re on your horse, if you have your gun drawn, if you’re aiming, if you’re currently using dead eye, or some combination thereof. The controls in Red Dead Redemption 2 are all about context. (If this is your first time holding a controller, welcome!) We’re not going to break things down as if it were your first time holding a controller (like using the thumbsticks), but there’s a lot to learn about Red Dead Redemption 2’s controls, and the game isn’t exactly forthcoming about it. Finally, we’ll talk about some of the controls you probably haven’t noticed, learned or picked up on yet (we’re still discovering new controls dozens of hours in). We’ll also talk about the differences between playing with the Standard controller layout versus the FPS layout. This guide will walk through the basics of Red Dead Redemption 2’s controls and the contexts that change them. While viewing the controls, your screen will flash through a lot of button maps during various contexts. You can view the button mapping by going to Settings > Controls, scrolling down to either Third or First Person Controls, then pressing X/A. Since you have the option of playing the game in first-person, third-person or a mixture of both perspectives, having controls to match makes sense.

Red Dead Redemption 2’s controls have quirks, and there’s a ton piled on top of what you’re used to from other games.

Do not press the big red button game