Have you ever ever thought you wished to expertise the precise hardship your in-game characters need to undergo each day? The blood, the sweat, the tears, and extra sweat? No?
Effectively, apparently somebody has, as a result of ShakeMistake on YouTube modded Crimson Lifeless Redemption 2 to have the ability to use his rowing machine as a controller, and it was each bit as arduous as you’d anticipate it to be. Having watched the video, although, I sort of need to do this for myself, as a result of gaming might be the one strategy to reliably get me to train every day.
Finest picks for you
The YouTuber taped his cellphone case underneath the deal with of the rowing machine to permit for left/proper controls through the Steam Hyperlink app, and used the Steppl app to translate the rowing movement into motion. Though RDR2 does have precise rowing boats, he ended up utilizing a canoe as a result of it labored higher—however the finish consequence is identical, heaps and many rowing (IRL).
Within the precise recreation, you might have the choice to dash (or effectively, row tougher, I suppose) when stamina permits to cross the size of the river a bit quicker, however ShakeMistake did not do this, a minimum of not at first. He braved the river, full with ultra-clunky turns and panic-inducing waterfalls, at a snail’s tempo, every motion including extra pressure to his muscle tissue.
Evaluating the in-game footage to the webcam the YouTuber pointed at his rowing machine clearly confirmed that John, one of many most important characters in RDR2, was having a a lot nicer time, waterfalls and all, than the one who needed to put within the elbow (and leg) grease into making all these actions really occur.
The YouTuber finally tinkered with some RDR2 mods to make “sprinting” potential, matching his actions to the character’s rowing in recreation to make it fairer when the leg ache obtained too unhealthy. Sooner or later within the problem, the present modified and labored in opposition to him, making the train much more exhausting.
ShakeMistake powered by the ache and made it to the top of the river, someway.
Beforehand, the YouTuber walked throughout the complete size of the RDR2 map on a treadmill. Each single step he took translated to 1 in-game step.
On the finish of the problem, he’d taken practically 17,000 steps, which sounds quite a bit much less painful than the rowing problem. It is actually much less painful than this RDR2 mod that offers NPCs a tragic cutscene stuffed with reminiscences whenever you homicide them. Ouch.

Finest gaming rigs 2025
All our favourite gear






