Red Dead Redemption 2 is a Western-themed action-adventure game that was released in October 2018. It sold over 17 million copies in the first two weeks and so everyone was talking about it and going on and on about how great RDR2 is.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t a part of that hype. Yours truly was in dire financial straits and while I really wanted to play it, it would have been irresponsible (read: impossible) for me to get it when it came out. Of course, I bought it once I could finally afford to, but there never seemed to be a right time to play it.
In my mind, I was saving RDR2 for a special occasion, when I could fully relax and immerse myself in that world, when there wouldn’t be distractions or IRL problems. But to be honest, those times just never came along. And in waiting to make it special, other games came out, and I just never got to it.
After 8 good years of procrastinating, I said enough is enough and just installed it. To be perfectly transparent, it took me a good month after that to start actually playing. So here’s everything I think about Red Dead Redemption 2.
The long story short is: Red Dead Redemption 2 had me yawning in the first hour and completely hooked by the end. The beginning is very slow, but push through it; the world, the story, and the characters are worth every minute. Just don’t expect to finish it quickly; relax and enjoy being an outlaw cowboy!
| Developer | Rockstar Games |
| Publisher | Rockstar Games |
| Release date | October 26, 2018 |
| Platforms | PS4, Xbox One, PC |
| Genre | Action-adventure, RPG |
| Mode | Single-player, multiplayer (RDR Online) |
| My rating | ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ |
Story
RDR2 storyline revolves around Arthur Morgan who is on the run with his gang after a failed ferry heist in 1899 in Blackwater. The gang is led by a delusional man who is obsessed with “one last heist”. They all moved to a new place where trouble doesn’t take long to find them and they’re forced to move again. Things take an even worse turn from there for Arthur and he’s constantly pushed into situations that are almost certain death by the man that calls him “son”.
RDR2 has a rich story that kept me intrigued till the end. I’ve tried doing my best by Arthur and as much I would’ve loved a slightly better ending, it’s completely understandable. Living at that time and being an outlaw, only by some miracle would one reach old age. In the end the story served its purpose in showing us the harsh reality of the old Western times.
I’ve seen my fair share of cowboy movies, not by my choice. Mainly because one of the parents was obsessed with it and watched pretty much every available movie on TV. While my admiration for cowboys isn’t as great as my love for samurais, I’ve always wished to have that experience and this is probably the closest I’ll get anytime soon.
Gameplay
Like I’ve mentioned before, I’ve always wanted to play this game but there was never a right time. In the few days leading up to my playthrough, my excitement was through the roof, so much so that even my wife was feeling it.
So imagine her surprise when she looked at me after the first hour and asked how it was going, and I said: meh. It was a snoozefest, to say the least. I couldn’t believe I was yawning at a game I’d waited years to play. Luckily, I didn’t give up and kept going, and the longer I played, the more immersed I got, and the more I liked it.
Missions
I didn’t 100% RDR2, but I’ve done more than my fair share of missions. There’s no need to go into detail about each one because you and all of your ancestors have already done or seen it all.
They’re pretty standard most of the time, with a few exceptions where you’re given the option to choose between a bad and an even worse outcome. Most of the missions felt like Arthur is just an errand boy for the gang.
In the early hours of my gameplay, I kept wishing I could go my separate way, create my own gang, or become a full-fledged bounty hunter. That’s just what happens when I get really immersed; I start wanting what I think is best for the character.
Mini games
In RDR2, there’s no shortage of things to do, from poker to the knife finger game to dominoes, they’ve done it all. I’ve been known to spend a full hour just playing poker to win a couple of bucks, even though I could have earned 100x more doing literally anything else.
Same goes for dominoes, except my luck there is even worse. Those are just the two I spent the most time on, but there are a few more that lean more toward challenges, like sharpshooting and horse racing.
Exploration and hunting
At the start of the game, I really disliked the open world because my movement was so restricted and getting from point A to point B felt like such a chore. As I progressed deeper into the story, I unlocked more of the map and the world opened up completely.
Whenever I was riding somewhere, there was always a good chance of something wild happening, sometimes someone genuinely needed help, sometimes they were faking it just to ambush me.
Add a bunch of wildlife you can hunt and you won’t have a single dull moment out there. Speaking of hunting, I don’t know if it’s just me, but I absolutely suck at it. No matter how hard I try, I always end up with poor quality pelts. I’m clearly doing something wrong; the question is what.
Graphics
Red Dead Redemption 2’s graphics are nothing short of stunning, and it still looks better than most games that came out after it. The level of detail really shows how much effort went into making it, and it lived up to every bit of praise I’d heard. I could have done without mud constantly caking my horse, though.
The whole world feels incredibly alive; there’s always a bunny, a fox, a horse, some other wildlife, or a person somewhere nearby.
That said, there were a few moments where my horse got stuck or flat-out refused to go in the right direction. I figured those kinds of bugs would be long gone by now, but in the grand scheme of things, it was nothing major.
Conclusion
I had a rocky start with Red Dead Redemption 2, but in the end I can safely say it’s one of my favorite RPGs — I’ve even added it to my official favorites list. With that said, this is one of those games so big that finishing it and doing everything takes an enormous amount of time. If you have a busy schedule, it’ll take you a while to get through it, and once you do, the chances of ever replaying it are almost zero.
