Red Dead Redemption 2, is without a doubt, one of the best games I have ever played, and I strongly encourage everyone play it, not for the gameplay itself, as that's largely standard Rockstar affair, with more cowboy simulation activities tacked on, but for the plot. Arthur Morgan is quite possibly one of the best protagonists I've ever spent time with, not just in gaming, but in media as a whole, Roger Clark absolutely nails bringing him to life, and his story had me in tears by the end. The music is well integrated, and well designed, and to me felt like it was never taking any attention away, instead adding to the scene, without me really even realizing it was there.

Though there are small grievances laid about the game, nothing that on it's own would be worth mentioning, but when it's all brought together, the overall experience is brought down by it. A few examples of these grievances include, but are not limited to, the wanted/bounty system being a little confusing, AI get real aggressive out of nowhere, and even if they attack and you react in self defense, even if you never antagonized them, there is a decent chance of you getting hit by a bounty.

Another one is the honor system, as much as I think it should be in the game, it can take actual effort to drop your honor. You are rewarded for most random encounters with positive honor, as (I assume) most players will want to see as much of the game as possible, they'll probably accept most requests, as there also is little reason outside of saving your own time to decline, the game isn't hard enough to worry about most fights you're getting yourself into, so even if something is obviously a trap, you might as well see what it is, if you're right, you get rewarded with their loot, and don't lose honor for it, and if you're wrong, you get the honor for helping someone, and potentially loot as thanks.

As much as an issue as I think the honor system is as it is implemented, I don't think this really hurts the game at all, I believe the game's story is made worse by having low honor, but I also think it would be made worse by not having those changes to the plot. I won't spoil specifics, but the theme of the game revolves around legacy, what we leave behind, and changing who we were, and I simply think playing as an Arthur that is selfish/bloodthirsty beyond reason, while nice that it reflects in the story (avoiding that all too dreaded ludo-narrative dissonance), misses the point. Though an argument could be made that it is a possible and realistic outcome to Arthur's woes given his history, it's an argument that I just can't agree with.

Sadly I think the game takes a pretty big dive in terms of story quality after the 6th chapter, heading into the epilogue, and feels more like a branch extended to returning fans, rather than a proper extension into red dead 1 and an ending to Arthur's story. But, if you decide to quit right after chapter 6, you are missing next to nothing that I felt was of real importance, even though some of that is tying the loose ends of characters from the game, I felt the characters didn't need that proper "full stop" closure, and for some I almost would've preferred they stayed loose.

All in all, an incredible game, Rockstar hit it out of the damn state with this one, and to be completely honest, I don't think they will ever top it.