The year is 1899. Dutch van der Linde's gang roams the Wild West in search of a safe place to set up camp. Headhunters and law enforcement officers are hot on their heels.
The gang leader's right-hand man is the game's main character, Arthur Morgan. He is a brave man, full of bloodlust and greed. It is this last factor that motivates all the gangsters to act. Their main goal is to gather enough resources to finally start living a peaceful life and put an end to robberies, murders and thefts once and for all.
Despite their common goal, each gang member has a different personality, and these differences will often be evident during the game. Each has a different, interesting story to tell, which makes the player want to absorb the plot and learn all the storylines. However, we will not only be able to talk to the members of our gang, but to every person we encounter. And this is where one of the game's greatest strengths lies – the incredible interaction between the player and the NPCs.
When we go to a town or village, we will meet lots of people and we can exchange a few words with each of them. It is up to the player to choose whether to politely say hello, or perhaps, in a fit of anger, throw a few unpleasant remarks or do something much worse. Of course, this is not a good solution, because in a moment we will have the sheriff's men on our tail and we will be wanted until we pay the fine. Even if we encounter a victim on a forest road whom we can rob, a witness will see it from a distance and, without hesitation, kindly report our misdeed to the sheriff. Unless, of course, we also catch the witness with a lasso and... Well, there are many possibilities. We can throw the bound individual into the river, lay them on the tracks and wait for a train, place them in a burning fire, or quickly and humanely put a bullet in their head. It's very brutal, but it shows the great freedom to solve many problems in a multitude of ways.
This interaction also applies to the environment. Our hero can enter any building, explore every corner of the vast game world and admire the incredible views. He is very small in the face of the immensity and power he encounters. Rockstar has greatly developed the elements of animated nature. In a special compendium, we will collect discoveries of animals and plants. Of course, completing the game 100% and earning all achievements and trophies involves hunting every type of animal, catching every species of fish, and discovering every plant. A paradise for collectors.
The Wild West has been rendered with the utmost reverence. I have never seen such a wonderfully presented world in the entire history of video games. When riding on horseback between the camp and the town, we encounter a downpour, and as the rain subsides and the sky clears, we see a beautiful rainbow. The landscape changes dynamically, and it's safe to say that Red Dead Redemption 2 can easily be mistaken for a high-quality video. All this makes us feel so immersed in the atmosphere of the Wild West during a long session with a controller in our hands that we feel like we are part of it.
Leaving the house on a winter afternoon, I was disappointed by the greyness of everyday life and wanted to return as soon as possible to do a few more missions for my camp. This is also thanks to the character of Arthur Morgan himself - his conversations, gestures and personality allow the player to experience many wonderful moments. This character really evokes emotions, and his decisions affect various aspects of the story. To this wonderful composition, we must add the excellent soundtrack. The very fact that each character can talk to us raises the question of how many people were hired to write the dialogue and how much work went into this aspect of the game. The music builds tension perfectly. During peaceful exploration of the world, it is friendly and calm, and during shootouts, it is slightly darker. This builds the atmosphere of the game fantastically.
When it comes to the plot, I can say without spoilers that it is absolutely brilliant. It's not just about the action, but also about the deep, sometimes intimate relationships between the characters. It's full of extreme emotions, joy, tears, laughter, regret and feelings of helplessness. We have literally everything, including the sense of humour that Rockstar has accustomed us to in its previous games. The missions consist of dozens of storylines, plot twists and surprises that will often leave you speechless. In addition to the main tasks, there are a whole bunch of side quests. Although the game starts slowly, after a while it becomes impossible to forget about it. It's like a good book in which we live through the soul of the protagonist. While travelling through this phenomenal world, we encounter many random NPC characters. Sometimes a lady is robbed right before our eyes, sometimes bandits kidnap someone, sometimes someone falls into a trap set for animals. There are countless possibilities for such random encounters. We can ignore them or get involved in these events.
Our protagonist usually travels on horseback. Here, we slowly enter into the RPG elements that have been incorporated into RDR 2. Some players have criticised this system. The truth is that sometimes we have to forget about the action for a moment to feed our horse, revive it, clean our weapons to shoot more accurately, or change clothes to escape the law. Of course, it is very important to accumulate funds to buy food, clothes, weapons, or medicine for our animal in case it suffers serious injuries after hitting a tree. I have often taken shortcuts through the forest, and my friend has suffered mercilessly, stumbling over trees and falling over with Arthur. There are no concessions here, and everything works just like in the real world. When a horse stumbles over a rock and throws our character to the ground, it's relatively okay compared to a situation where there is a precipice or a lake with a dangerous alligator nearby. Here again, the interaction with the environment works incredibly well.
Returning to the financial aspect, we will earn money from robberies, murders and assaults. It's not fair, but well... that's the life of a gangster. Shooting is fun and impressive. We can upgrade our weapons with additional elements that improve accuracy and speed. Stagecoach and train robberies are very spectacular, as are chasing enemies and catching them with a lasso. Other ways to spend your free time in the game include the aforementioned hunting, fishing, or simply travelling around this charming but bloody world full of surprises. We can even go to a very interesting theatre performance and forget about everything else for a few minutes. There is always something to do here, regardless of the progress of the storyline. The game can then provide many hours of entertainment. In fact, we don't have to complete the main missions to enjoy the game.
We are dealing with absolute mastery and, in my humble opinion, the game of a generation. No other title has ever shown me such a beautiful world, such incredible characters and such a wide variety of natural elements. I didn't think it was technically possible to create a game so powerful and surprising at every turn. It's hard to go back to merely very good games after such wonderful adventures, because Red Dead Redemption 2 is a masterpiece in every respect.