On the surface, Red Dead Redemption 2 (RDR 2) looks like Grand Theft Auto on horses, but almost instantly upon entering the world created by Rockstar games, you realize that this game is entirely different. RDR 2 is slow, methodical, and cumbersome at times, however it is one of the most realistic and incredible games I have ever played. Red Dead Redemption 2 is an incredible feat both in terms of storytelling and visuals.
Story: RDR 2 takes places in 1899 (12 years before Red Dead Redemption). You play as Arthur Morgan, an important member of the Dutch van der Linde Gang, as he and all of his gang members struggle to survive in a dying Wild West. This story is fundamentally about the resistance of change and the war you are fighting against civilization coming to take away your freedom. Since this game is a prequel, this game introduces many of the same characters you met it the original Red Dead Redemption (RDR) including: Dutch, Bill Williamson, Javier Escuela, and of course John Marston (the protagonist from the RDR).
This game seemed primed to fall into a lot of the stereotypical tropes and predictable outcomes of a prequel game, but RDR 2 cleverly avoids them at every turn as you really begin to learn about these characters more and more which makes their stories in the original RDR even more meaningful. For example, in this game, while a good portion of the plot involves John Marston, the game does a great job of having you perform missions with other characters in the game so that you begin to care for their survival and not simply John's. Arthur's story is compelling and at many times heartbreaking as he comes to grip with the life he has lived and tries to find meaning in it as he realizes the time of the Wild West is drawing to an end. This story is a tragedy of the characters in it as much as it is a tragedy of the dying West.
Visuals:
This is far and away the most gorgeous game I have ever played in my entire life. I played on a base PS4 and the game still looked incredible. Every landscape looked like an iconic Western painting. The lighting is stunning and the clothing of every person in this game, NPC or player, is as detailed as I have ever seen. There were numerous times when I simply stared at the sunset or watched animals move throughout a forest because this incredibly fleshed out world is gorgeous to observe.
Open World: Speaking of the open world, this game vastly outsizes its predecessor's map size. The map covers the equivalent of about 6 states with vast terrains from the open fields of Arizona and Nevada, to the snowy mountains of Colorado, and the swampy bayous of Louisiana. Each area feels unique and they all seem to fit together perfectly. There are only a few towns and one major city (Saint Denis) so most of the game is spent riding in the openness of the Wild West. Each town has its own characteristics so when you arrive in one for the first time it feels like you are being introduced to a new character.
Within the open world there are dozens of side activities to take part in. You can: hunt, fish, play card games, gamble, get drunk, rob banks and trains, pursue bounties, hunt treasure perform side quests, and randomly encounter various NPCs. Perhaps the most impressive part about the world (I know I keep saying that, but everything truly is amazing) is that you can interact with every single person. Like every single one. I'm not kidding. Walk up to any person in any town and you can talk to them. This world truly feels like it is being lived in by each individual person you meet. Some interactions end quickly and they will dismiss you. Others will start to fight you. Others will need your help which triggers a side quest that you could not have been prepared for. There are also random encounters that happen while you are traveling through the world of Red Dead. Some person may be getting robbed and another may have been bitten by a snake, but what is incredible about these encounters are that however you respond to them, those people you choose to help or not help will remember your actions. I remember I helped a man get his leg out of a bear trap and then several hours later I ran into him again in a different town and he thanked me for saving him. He then offered to buy me anything I wanted to get in the General Store. Your actions have major consequences in this game which helps add weight to every action you take. Ultimately, the world of Red Dead feel like a character itself and has its own stories to tell because of how much inhabits it.
Realism: This game, as I mentioned before, is cumbersome, slow, and methodical; which is all intentional by the creators. That is to say that the game itself is not because it is. It just takes a couple of hours to learn the controls and to understand that you are in their world and you need to play by their rules. This game is not like GTA where you can spawn in rocket launchers and kill thousands of people. You need to plan out your travel routes, craft resources for long journeys or hunts, and constantly monitor your vitals. This is the biggest adjustment to the game from a gameplay point of view that I had to learn to live with. Both you and your horse have both health and stamina meters that will fluctuate based on if you have eaten or if you have taken care of your horse (feeding, grooming, cleaning). Other incredibly realistic factors include weight fluctuations, beard and hair length, and body odor management. If you eat too much then your player will get fat. If you do not shave or cut your hair, then you will look like a member of ZZ Top. If you do not bathe, then people will literally stay away from you because they are repulsed by your smell. These realistic elements are welcoming because they allow you to customize your version of Arthur Morgan which means that, although each player is playing from Arthur's point of view, every player's character will look slightly different.
These feature I mentioned are the positive parts of the realism of the world. The negatives come in the form of resource management, specifically when it comes to storage space. When you go hunting you can only carry when animal pelt at a time, which means that every time you kill an animal you need to run to your camp or a trader and then go back out again if you want to hunt. This severely prolongs the process and proves to be annoying sometimes when you see two perfect animals that are primed for a killing. Secondly, you can hardly carry any resources on you until you upgrade your horse storage and satchel. This would be fine, if not for the fact that you have to kill animals in order to upgrade (unless you buy them from a store). So this creates a problem because getting enough pelts to upgrade a satchel ends up becoming a chore rather than a fun mechanic after awhile. Despite, these small problems, the realistic elements of the game help add to the world's total immersion.
Gameplay: In a game that is impressive and a master-class is almost every facet, the only part that did not feel incredible was the gameplay itself. When I mean gameplay, I mean mainly the movement of Arthur Morgan and the shooting in the game. Riding horses, besides a few control issues every now and then, feels great and you can tell the different between low quality horses and the best of the best. Like in most Rockstar games, Arthur's movement is either too slow when he walks or just a little too fast when he runs. The lack of an in between speed causes problems when you walk through crowded areas. When you run in the game, you can accidentally get locked on to an NPC which will cause you to tackle them and start a fight with them. This could lead to a shoot out and create a bounty for yourself which will then impede any progress you may have made in the story.
The shooting, besides when you are in Dead Eye mode, is not all that accurate, and I did not feel like each gun I used made much of a difference from one to the other in terms of damage. Additionally, the Auto-Lock will sometimes target the wrong enemy which can be a problem. The best solution to all of these problems is to just use the Dead Eye mechanic whenever you can. Another quick recommendation I have to fix some of the shooting problems is to switch to first person. This made the shooting much easier in my opinion, unless you are on a horse. Then good luck with that. Despite some shooting flaws though, getting into shoot outs and escaping the law on horse-back are all great moment to moment events that had my blood pumping and are created some incredible memories for me while playing this game.
Red Dead Redemption 2, despite some minor gameplay flaws, is a class above the rest. It is the best open-world game I have ever played and as soon as this review posts, I want to jump right back in again. With what is perhaps the most hyped video game of the last decade, Rockstar delivers on every level and sets a new standard for open-world games with the masterpiece that is - Red Dead Redemption 2.
My Score: 99/100
+ Incredible visuals
+ 60+ hour masterpiece story-telling
+ Countless things to do
- Shooting and maneuvering can be a problem at times
Trophies/Achievements:
Good luck...this one is crazy and you better be prepared to spend hundreds of hours in this game if you even want to have a chance.