Hey now everyone, hope you're all doing well, and welcome to my review and discussion of Red Dead Redemption 2! Wow, where do I even begin with this one? There's so much to talk about I feel like I'm bound to forget something, but let's start with Red Dead 1. When I played that game last gen I remember having a great time with it, even though I'm not that big into the whole western theme. After I finished RDR 1 I never felt the desire to go back and play it again, so I guess you could say I wasn't really that hyped for the sequel. From all the screenshots and videos that were released it was easy to see that this was going to be a very well made game, but honestly I didn't know what to expect in terms of actual gameplay. Now that I've had plenty of time to soak it all in, I can say that it surpassed all expectations, and immersed me into the game world in such a way that I didn't want it to end. So take off your cowboy boots, settle in, and let me tell you all about it.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is a western themed action adventure game developed by one of the biggest, and most influential companies in the history of videogames, Rockstar. They have made quite the name for themselves over the years by cranking out one mega hit after another, and they currently own the most profitable game of all time with Grand Theft Auto 5. Red Dead 2 is actually a prequel to the original, giving us the backstory to the events in that game. Set in 1899, right at the turn of the century when cowboys and outlaws were becoming a thing of the past, we play as Arthur Morgan, a member of the Van der Linde Gang. As it begins, the gang, and it's many members, on the run from the law due to a botched robbery that completely backfired on us. We are high up in the snowy mountains in the middle of a freezing snowstorm looking for shelter.
After laying low for a while things have finally cooled off a bit, and now we can leave the mountain to set up camp in a nice wooded area outside the town of Valentine. This is where the game really begins, and you are free to roam around the map anywhere you want. When we fled into the mountains the gang had to leave everything they had behind, and now we need to start over again from scratch. This means building up our supplies, making a better camp for everyone, and collecting as much money as we can. How you choose to do this is up to you, and there are many ways to go about it. The first few missions are basically story driven tutorials, that are extremely well done, showing you some of the basic mechanics you'll need to know in order to be successful. Things like hunting, fishing, fencing stolen goods, and even robbing a train are a few of the early tasks you'll be taking part in.
The main story missions in Red Dead 2 are incredible, but I don't want to spoil anything for you so I won't go any further. I'll just say that they feature some of the best voice acting I've ever heard, and that you'll be taking part in some amazing adventures. The main quest line is by far the best part of this game , and if you want, you can focus entirely on that, ignoring all the side missions, and activities. The characters, and their struggles, really gripped me right from the start, and I became completely immersed in their world. What Rockstar created here is a work of art that you get to be a part of, and it's unlike anything I've ever played before. The amount of effort that is must have taken to craft such a believable, living, breathing world is astounding. The attention to detail is just on another level, setting the bar higher than it's ever been. The environment is teeming with life, from NPCs, to animals, and it feels like you're in the most lifelike game world I've ever seen.
There are so many places to go, and so many things to do it can feel pretty overwhelming at first. My advice is to just take it slow, go at your own pace, learn about the various activities, and enjoy this amazing environment. As soon as I was able to roam around freely I didn't take part in any story missions for hours. Instead I went around hunting, fishing, and searching for treasures. But it's entirely up to you, and how much time you want to put into the side stuff. This is a game that requires a long attention span, with a deep hunting and crafting system that can be tough to figure out at first. Pretty much everything in the game has a steep learning curve, but once you get the hang of things it's incredibly fun, and rewarding. Don't expect instant gratification, or to be able to master the mechanics right away. There's a lot to take in, and a beautiful, massive world to discover.
I spent a lot of time just wandering around, getting acquainted with not only the huge map, but also my fellow gang members back at camp. Each one has their own distinct personality, and depending on what's happening currently, they will always have something different to say. As you make money you will need to give a portion of it to the gang fund, and this is used to upgrade the camp in all kinds of useful ways. This is how you eventually unlock the ability to fast travel. There are a bunch of towns to discover in every corner of the environment, and as long as you've been there once it will open up a fast travel marker for you to return whenever you want. Each town has different guns, clothes, and other useful things that you will want to check out. To me it was fun just riding around on my horse through all the various parts of the map. There's lots of wooded areas, a swampy bayou area, snowy mountains, and a dry desert, that each have unique wildlife to hunt.
Hunting can be useful for making money, but it also allows you to craft various upgrades for your gun holsters, and satchels. It's tricky at first to get the perfect pelts that you'll need for crafting, but once you figure it out it's a lot of fun. There are also legendary animals to find all over the map, and these will let you craft special outfits, and trinkets, as an added bonus. I wont go into detail about how that all works, but it takes some practice to get right. Everything in the game is so in depth, and detailed, that at first I was overwhelmed by it all. But if the hunting is too much for you than you don't need to bother with it. There's plenty of other activities to take part in like playing cards, dominoes, taking on bounties, stealing carriages, and more. I can't believe how much there is to do in the game besides the main quest line, and honestly that alone is worth the price of admission.
I've never played a game with this level of detail, or realism before, and I love how it helps to make you feel like you're in a believable world. You have to brush your horse when it gets dirty, feed it when it's hungry, and even pet it to grow your bond. The better you take care of it, the better it will serve you. All your guns are stored on the horse, so when you get off you need to remember to take the ones you want with you, or you'll only have your pistols. You need to make Arthur shave his beard, and take a bath if he gets dirty. If you get in a fist fight your hat will go flying off your head, and you need to remember to pick it up. So many little details like this make me love the game even more, and immerse me in the world in a way I've never experienced. That's why I say you need a long attention span to really enjoy this, or you might get aggravated that these things aren't automatically done for you, so keep that in mind.
Of course the dead eye system is back again, allowing you to slow down time to mark multiple targets so you can unleash a barrage of bullets at them. This is extremely helpful in combat situations, as well as hunting animals. But don't go around just shooting anyone, or else you'll get a bounty on your head, and be wanted by the local police. Every action you take, and decision you make has an effect on your reputation. If you kill a lot of innocent people, or antagonize everyone in conversation, you'll get a bad reputation, and that will greatly affect how people treat you. If you don't kill innocent people, and are nice to everyone you'll earn a good reputation, and this will even grant you access to discounts at the local shops. This is just another example of how in depth everything is in this game. I'm sure there's a lot I left out, but I think it's time to wrap it up.
It's a rare thing that we get a game of this quality, with so much attention to detail. This is definitely Rockstar's best story yet, with incredible voice acting, and exciting missions that make you feel like a part of the world. The environment is absolutely beautiful, with moonlight shining through the trees as it turns from day to night, or the sun glaring on you as you ride through tall grass. All the animations of the actions Arthur takes is really impressive, and so is the AI of all the NPCs, and animals. The music, and sound effects are spot on, adding punctuation, and subtle realism to every action you take. Even after experiencing the amazing main story missions you'll still have loads of things to keep you coming back for more. There's an astounding amount of depth for such a large scale game, and you can clearly see why Rockstar is so successful. They have once again raised the bar for future games, giving us something really special here. I can't recommend this one enough. Just remember to take your time, be patient, and save often. I'm going to give Red Dead Redemption 2 a grade of.................................
A +
Thank you for reading my review of Red Dead Redemption 2, I hope you enjoyed it!