Red Dead Redemption 2

Clearly it has taken me a while to actually get through enough of Red Dead Redemption 2 to feel comfortable reviewing it. To say it's a massive game would be an understatement and it's probably obvious already that I absolutely love this game.

Rockstar's games, particularly their open-world ones, always seem to fall under the category of "Most Anticipated" for that year, if not a span of a couple years. Red Dead Redemption 2 was different however. It was definitely still hotly anticipated, but the eagerness of fans seemed to be at a fever pitch. Many gamers, including yours truly, hold the original game as one of the best games they've ever played and stories they've ever taken part in. Red Dead Redemption 2 had lofty goals and expectations riding on its shoulders and it was clear upon its release that it was immediately a pop culture phenomenon. For several weeks, it was all anyone could really talk about. Girlfriends lost their boyfriends to it, people took work off to play it, and the collective gaming community spent their time discovering its intricate open world and playing through the captivating story. 

Stunning, realistic vistas pepper the game's huge map

Much like fellow studio, Naughty Dog, doubting Rockstar isn't something that many gamers do. They have a proven track record and their games are usually the industry top tier bar that others strive to achieve for future generations. With Red Dead Redemption 2, they achieve yet another "best" for themselves and create a world so vibrant, alive, and authentic that it's hard to imagine it as a game even. I sincerely think it's their best game yet.

No worries in the life of a cowboy...

And yet...I won't be giving it a perfect score. For all of Rockstar's incredible ways that they push gaming forward, there are handfuls of small gameplay elements/choices that continue to be stuck very much in the past. Usually these are driven by an attempt to capture 100% authenticity and a sense of realism, but, much like they annoyed many years ago in Grand Theft Auto V, they're even more glaring (and frustrating) in 2018 and deserve, wholeheartedly, to be called out. 

I'll start with those so this review can be mostly positive, but it reads almost like a laundry list. Pressing "X" to run or gallop will forever be completely unnecessary, there's a lack of any sort of modern-day fast travel system, and the bounty system is overly-strict and frustrating until you get a lot of money. Others will vary depending on user - I loved the hunting aspects, though I'm sure others hate it - but I chose these 3 elements because they're ones that everyone must interact with, no matter their playstyle. Over the course of this very long game, consistently tapping "x" to gather speed becomes second nature but is just flat out annoying when there are such better sprint systems out there. You're forced to interact with this element a lot too because fast traveling is few and far between and only allowed with bigger cities via stagecoaches. With a map this massive, what I'm sure they viewed as a positive (leading more people to explore) begins to get tiresome when you go off exploring, find yourself halfway across the map, and have a 10 minute horse ride back to get to the next mission or sell your goods. Try using a stagecoach with a bounty however and you'll be banned from even using that element, just one negative out of several in the bounty system. Don't have enough money to pay off your bounty? Too bad, you're likely to die from the bounty hunters that endlessly hunt you (and can be frickin difficult too). Accidentally bump into someone in town with your horse and a cop sees? Yeah, I've gotten into intense/useless chases and died from that too. Scavenge a dead stranger and someone way off sees and reports you? Congrats, you now have a bounty in that area. In the early stages of the game this is beyond frustrating and was a serious detriment at certain points. Eventually you get enough money to where it doesn't matter all that much, but it's still a largely broken and overly complicated system that penalizes you far too much for a videogame. 

Knowing Rockstar, even the constellations are probably accurate

Dream or drug sequence?
You'll have to find out!

Aside from those elements however, Red Dead Redemption 2 is truly one of the most fully realized games in history. It's both eerie and impressive how easily it transports you back to the time of cowboys, the "Wild West", and largely before any modern technology. Its fully realized world is the asset it boasts most impressively and it's one that, under any other developers, would have crippled under the difficulty. It's even more impressive than Grand Theft Auto in the sense that game was benefited by guns, cars, cell phones, etc. -- all things that make the game faster. Red Dead Redemption 2 is certainly a slower game, but it lives in that effort to allow you to adopt its speed rather than feel constrained by it. As I played through the game more and more it became harder for me to stay on task with finishing story missions. And that's not because of a lack of quality story, but the world is so effortless to explore and, in true Rockstar fashion, filled with random events and surprises to find. It's these elements, more than anything, that bring these games to life and make them feel like real, breathing worlds and whether the random event was funny, sad, or led you on a wild goose chase, the fact they're in there with the same quality of any story mission is a testament to just how far Rockstar likes to raise the bar. I personally became borderline addicted to a "dangerous" combination of completing the many, varied challenges the game gives you, hunting for perfect pelts and legendary animals, treasure hunting, and exploring structures far off the map. Likely that's why this review took so long to craft and it's also why (as of the time of writing this paragraph) I'm 50+ hours in and still not done with the story. 

Yes that's a large moose. And yes, I killed it. Suck it, PETA!

"Don't go chasin' waterfalls..." *dies*

A large part of what makes exploration so addicting is the expansive and varied map. I found the original Red Dead's map to be heavily desert-based so coming into Red Dead Redemption 2 with desert, fields and prairies, swamp land, cities, forests, and snowy mountains is impressive and does a lot to make you feel like you're in different sections of the map. Each one hosts unique challenges, animal and plant life, and usually different factions of enemies and they collectively represent a span of "Colorado" to "Louisiana" in terms of their real-life counterparts. Having lived in Colorado all my life and experiencing many of these locales (except swamps), the game was jaw-dropping with just how accurately it captured the feel and essence of each area. Riding your horse through a dense forest is quiet and almost disturbing as the wind whistles through trees. Similarly, riding around snowy cliffs of mountains feels dangerous and reaching the top feels like an achievement. Plains feel expansive and watching a thunderstorm roll across them is downright terrifying (seriously they get intense and sound all too real). It's bound to be one of my favorite maps ever simply because its so simple and real. I do wish there were the ability in the in-game map to mark it with special markers, but I guess that's what they ship you a physical one for with the game. 

RDR2's story had a lot to live up to as well given that its predecessor is commonly in the running for "best videogame story" ever. This game's tale is, as most Rockstar games are, decidedly mature, but not woven as tightly as others. Largely it's about a family of outlaws who follow their leader, Dutch Van der Linde, in an effort to all get rich and retire somewhere peaceful. The core story is fantastic and the performances by all involved are some of the best in the business. My issue comes with the story's repetitiveness however. You play as protagonist, Arthur Morgan, Dutch's right hand man. As Dutch slowly loses his grip on leading the group (and his sanity) he's consistently trying to come up with plans to do "one last job". Almost in the vein of the same joke the Fast and Furious films now have, it got to a point where I'd done 5-6 "one last jobs" in the game and it was disappointing that the narrative wasn't truly making an acknowledgment of that and almost seemed to be dragging it out to get more game time. What was far more interesting and captivating (and truly unexpected) was watching the evolution of Arthur Morgan. He's a protagonist that seems fairly generic upon your first couple hours - almost to the point where I assumed he would die early on and you'd switch vantage points (that doesn't happen). Instead, the best parts of the story come from watching him slowly emerge as the "good guy" and how he - someone who's always believed himself to be a bad outlaw - begins to cope with that realization. That's not an angle that's taken often in videogames and under the talented writers and storytellers at Rockstar, it's one that's as compelling as any Hollywood drama. 

Incredible levels of detail...

In between the story elements you'll have a LOT of playtime and luckily, other than the aforementioned issues, the gameplay is often crisp, varied, and easy to navigate. I wouldn't say it's as intuitive or flowing as other 3rd person games (e.g. Horizon) and Red Dead does give the option to play in first person; a perspective I rarely played in. Running, gunning, horseback, and sneaking generally feel great and there were only a handful of issues I ran into where Arthur didn't do exactly what I wanted, more often than not related to the cover system. It wouldn't be a Rockstar game without "minigames" or specific game elements and I found these to always be a blast and a good way to shake up gameplay. I've already mentioned hunting as one of my favorites but there are also plenty of tabletop games to play, ways to interact with people, and the Dead Eye ability. Some of obviously better and more useful than others, but by and large the gameplay of Red Dead is like the rest of the game: well polished. 

Party like it's 1899!

Perhaps most impressive about all of the above, particularly when you consider the amount of detail and scope of the world, is that Red Dead Redemption 2 is frequently a gorgeous game and probably the best looking open world game of this size that I've ever seen. Other than some noticeable dips in character models during cut scenes, RDR2 is often up for "the prettiest game you've ever played" when at it's largest. Trees, grass, and land are packed with detail, the landscape reacts to you and your horse, shadows and lighting are incredible, animations are fully thought out and unique, and the game does all of this without hardly a hiccup. During my extensive playthrough, I'm not sure I ever even had one instance of slow down or freezing, which for a game this pretty and this big; that's remarkable. Similarly, the sound design is some of the best you'll ever find in a game. Sounds of the Old West make their way here with startling accuracy and noises like bullets clanging, horses galloping, thunderstorms rolling across the plains, and animal's calls are so real that it's obvious Rockstar took a lot of care here. Also audibly pleasing? The outstanding original score. Suffice it to say that its orchestral swings and spaghetti western themes are always in play and whether you're wandering around the forest or in the middle of an intense firefight, the music fits perfectly with what you're doing. Furthermore, it dials up the tension and engagement. 

Midnight rider...

Red Dead Redemption 2 is truly one of the most impressive games ever made. I could write on and on about how much I lost myself in the Old West and how the amount of detail really sucks you in. It's unfortunate that a couple really poor (and stubborn) design decisions that have commonplace solutions in 2018 were left out because otherwise, this is a perfect game with a lot to do, a lot to say, and will be a gold standard of time-period open world games for years to come. 

CONS

• Constantly pressing "X" to run, gallop, etc. is archaic and something that Rockstar needs to move on from, ASAP. In 2018, it's nothing but a stubborn design decision
• Hard-to-use fast travel system. You'll be riding your horse. A lot
• Overly-strict bounty system with little room for error. Can create some really frustrating instances
• Certain story elements get a bit repetitive with "one last job" becoming a recurring theme
• Lack of ability to mark the in-game map

PROS

• A level of detail that is unparalleled in videogames. This is a living, breathing world, truly designed from the ground up in the Old West
• Features an exciting and expansive map that has a lot of variation and places of interest that make it effortless to get lost and wander around
• So. Much. Content.
• I didn't even mention Red Dead Online in my review because I haven't spent more than a few hours in it, but thus far, it's equally impressive and comes packed with it's own story
• Arthur Morgan is deceptively deep and evolves into a protagonist that you care for, root for, and his evolution is the best part of the entire story
• The game's story features incredible performances, a tight script, and a well-thought out larger arc of a gang of outlaws struggling to evolve in a time that doesn't want them anymore
• All gameplay elements are well designed and thought out. Gunplay is intense and responsive and all mini-games are fun and help vary the many hours you'll sink into the game. Hunting for legendary animals and perfect pelts was my favorite way to pass the time
• Both the core story and side missions have a wonderful amount of variation, keeping the game constantly feeling fresh during long play sessions and even after months of play
• Random events around the world are the single thing Rockstar does best that elevates this game so far above it's other competition. Once you start to see how often these occur, some even with their own plot lines (!), you'll be blown away
• One of the best looking games you're ever likely to play, especially given its size. The attention to detail in every nook and cranny is staggering and there are many moments of jaw-dropping beauty
• Some of the best sound design there is. Sound effects are spot-on for the time period and the original score is one of the best in recent memory
• A full, immersive experience that becomes more than a game. It grabs you in and, as long as you can stick around with a "slower" playstyle, will reward you every step of the way

Rath's Review Score | 9.5/10