Red Dead Redemption 2 is a game I never thought I'd like, let a lone adore to an extend. Cowboys and the Wild West have never interested me but knowing Rockstar, they can make anything happen, including me loving a Cowboy, his gang and their stories.
RDR 2 is often called "mid" or "overrated" when it is brought up in any sort of dialogue that involves The Last of Us as there is a weird and unrelated feud between the two. Though I do agree that RDR 2 is "overrated" to a certain length, it can't be ignored that this game pushed limits and created one of the best protagonists in gaming so far.
RDR 2 does one thing very well and that is creating an open world that is so alive, you are immersed in it immediately. Rockstar found a way to make The Wild West interesting and make every town and NPC alive with lots of different opportunities to keep the player engaged with the game. Whether that be hunting bounties, hunting for animals, setting up camp to eat to maintain weight, helping a random NPC calling for help, doing one of many Strangers missions, starting a random fight at the bar, etc. RDR 2 is filled with rich content that isn't half baked or has no value whatsoever. Sure not every one of them are as good as the last or next one but each one has something unique to it.
Gameplay feels so satisfying at times when you go out hunting or have some good old hand to hand combat with dear old Tommy. Though sometimes it feels a bit stiff when it comes to gunplay, it is by no means bad but there's something about it that puts me off a little bit but I can't put my finger on what exactly. But overall the gameplay loop of this game is amazing and also quite addicting to the point I barely notice I've spent at least 5 hours playing in one go without even thinking about the time or how much I've done already, I'm simply hunting for that damn Lepard.
The story of this game is pretty solid and I think Rockstar found themselves the perfect pacing with lots of good content in between important story beats that all string together. There's still some bad sections like Chapter 1 or the Guarma part, though they're not super long, they're still annoying every time I replay the game, I dread these parts.
But other than those two chapters in the ENTIRE game, the story is peak and the characters only make it better.
Missions are pretty much standard missions: Talk to x to start mission, go to point A to do mission, go to point B and mission is over. There are also legendary missions that combine great gameplay elements with great story beats, character growth, stunning performances and the entire buffet. But one thing that usually buggs me most about RDR 2's missions, is probably the ride. Riding to your destination while on a mission can sometimes be a huge drag and barely worth it. One that immediately comes to mind is the mission where you go with Bill & Karen to Valentine to rob the bank. The ride between the camp (Clemens Point) and Valentine is so long, it almost put me to sleep if not for Bill being Bill.
Arthur & John being the two protagonists of this game (Arthur for the entire game, John only in Epilogue) is a blessing. John returns from RDR 1 obviously since he died in RDR 1 & 2 is a prequel to it and adds a nice background to the character many fell in love with back in 2010. But Arthur Morgan is a different breed of character that I don't have the time nor fancy vocabulary nor the big brain for to really explain how good a character he is and how much depth this man has. A bad man who's an outlaw, having caused serious damage in families, threatened people over money, killed people, riding with a gang of other outlaws finding himself at Death's doorstep and completely pivoting his views and morals. Seeing how wrong he was and is for all the actions he commited in the past and present, wanting to change the future. Early on the player can notice that Arthur isn't really "bad", sure he does bad things but he does have a code and extreme loyalty to his friends and "family". Once he's dying, he starts to change and the game tries to move you onto that path of "Redemption". Realizing that his loyalty to Dutch will be his death and that his loyalties should be elsewhere, to his brother in arms, John and his family. There are lots of examples in the game that showcase the true depth of Arthur and many video have explained this already that I advise and recommend you to watch on YouTube.
RDR 2 is an amazing experience and I finally see why people hype this game up so much, it took me until 2021 to try it and I haven't regretted it since, once again Rockstar proved to me that they can make some really enjoyable games and with the right direction and time, a pretty good story.
RDR 2 is often called "mid" or "overrated" when it is brought up in any sort of dialogue that involves The Last of Us as there is a weird and unrelated feud between the two. Though I do agree that RDR 2 is "overrated" to a certain length, it can't be ignored that this game pushed limits and created one of the best protagonists in gaming so far.
RDR 2 does one thing very well and that is creating an open world that is so alive, you are immersed in it immediately. Rockstar found a way to make The Wild West interesting and make every town and NPC alive with lots of different opportunities to keep the player engaged with the game. Whether that be hunting bounties, hunting for animals, setting up camp to eat to maintain weight, helping a random NPC calling for help, doing one of many Strangers missions, starting a random fight at the bar, etc. RDR 2 is filled with rich content that isn't half baked or has no value whatsoever. Sure not every one of them are as good as the last or next one but each one has something unique to it.
Gameplay feels so satisfying at times when you go out hunting or have some good old hand to hand combat with dear old Tommy. Though sometimes it feels a bit stiff when it comes to gunplay, it is by no means bad but there's something about it that puts me off a little bit but I can't put my finger on what exactly. But overall the gameplay loop of this game is amazing and also quite addicting to the point I barely notice I've spent at least 5 hours playing in one go without even thinking about the time or how much I've done already, I'm simply hunting for that damn Lepard.
The story of this game is pretty solid and I think Rockstar found themselves the perfect pacing with lots of good content in between important story beats that all string together. There's still some bad sections like Chapter 1 or the Guarma part, though they're not super long, they're still annoying every time I replay the game, I dread these parts.
But other than those two chapters in the ENTIRE game, the story is peak and the characters only make it better.
Missions are pretty much standard missions: Talk to x to start mission, go to point A to do mission, go to point B and mission is over. There are also legendary missions that combine great gameplay elements with great story beats, character growth, stunning performances and the entire buffet. But one thing that usually buggs me most about RDR 2's missions, is probably the ride. Riding to your destination while on a mission can sometimes be a huge drag and barely worth it. One that immediately comes to mind is the mission where you go with Bill & Karen to Valentine to rob the bank. The ride between the camp (Clemens Point) and Valentine is so long, it almost put me to sleep if not for Bill being Bill.
Arthur & John being the two protagonists of this game (Arthur for the entire game, John only in Epilogue) is a blessing. John returns from RDR 1 obviously since he died in RDR 1 & 2 is a prequel to it and adds a nice background to the character many fell in love with back in 2010. But Arthur Morgan is a different breed of character that I don't have the time nor fancy vocabulary nor the big brain for to really explain how good a character he is and how much depth this man has. A bad man who's an outlaw, having caused serious damage in families, threatened people over money, killed people, riding with a gang of other outlaws finding himself at Death's doorstep and completely pivoting his views and morals. Seeing how wrong he was and is for all the actions he commited in the past and present, wanting to change the future. Early on the player can notice that Arthur isn't really "bad", sure he does bad things but he does have a code and extreme loyalty to his friends and "family". Once he's dying, he starts to change and the game tries to move you onto that path of "Redemption". Realizing that his loyalty to Dutch will be his death and that his loyalties should be elsewhere, to his brother in arms, John and his family. There are lots of examples in the game that showcase the true depth of Arthur and many video have explained this already that I advise and recommend you to watch on YouTube.
RDR 2 is an amazing experience and I finally see why people hype this game up so much, it took me until 2021 to try it and I haven't regretted it since, once again Rockstar proved to me that they can make some really enjoyable games and with the right direction and time, a pretty good story.