I can't stop looking at plants in Red Dead Redemption 2

On the astonishing attention to vegetation in the biggest video game of the year

Red Dead Redemption 2.
(Image credit: Illustrated | Screenshot/Rockstar Games, Ruskpp.iStock)

A tree stumped me yesterday. Scrolling through my photo roll, I had paused to hover over an image of a hillside, taken somewhere in the Sierras, possibly. The picture was captured from a distance; I couldn't tell if the needles on the trees were short or long, the tell-tale difference between a fir and a pine. The trunks looked reddish, though — Douglas firs? No, the branches didn't seem droopy enough. Jeffrey pines? Possibly. Frustrated, I resorted to texting my arborally inclined dad: "Any idea what these are?" His reply: "Probably Ponderosa pine. Not redwoods or sequoias."

The part I hadn't bothered including: It wasn't really a photograph at all. It was a screenshot from Red Dead Redemption 2.

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Jeva Lange

Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.