Red Dead Redemption II – Review

Red Dead Redemption 2 is very different from other action games in the open world. And it’s not about the prohibitively high quality of graphics and video, beautiful landscapes, traditionally great script and memorable characters. The point is in the gameplay, the pace of the narrative, in how the game is revealed every hour and how it offers to study every corner of your world. No other studios could afford to take such a risk and create something like that.

Not like everyone

Red Dead Redemption 2 does not overwhelm with entertainment and does not fill the world map with millions of badges, even at the end of the passage. And all because it is not just another action movie in the open sandbox, but a kind of cowboy simulator in the Wild West. A cowboy who needs to bathe from time to time, otherwise passers-by can ruin their mood with their caustic comments, and animals learn amber for a kilometer. A cowboy who wants to monitor his health and stamina, although the food in his inventory is by and largely useless because all the characteristics are restored after sleep. A cowboy who needs to not only get on a new horse if the one is tired of it but to move the saddle and after that build confidence with a horse.

In almost everything, Red Dead Redemption 2 tries to be realistic, so that the player feels like a real inhabitant of the Wild West – Arthur Morgan, a member of a gang of damn charismatic Dutch van der Linde. The game is so realistic that you can even play blackjack in the Wild West and feel the soul of it. Casinos played an important role in the Wild West and developers decided to introduce this part in the game. Mini-game of blackjack has become so popular that online blackjack platforms decided to base unique games on Red Dead Redemption 2. And considering the popularity of the game, it had massive success in the industry.

Stunts

Are you used to doing crazy stunts in GTA V? Here, such tricks can lead the horse to the grave, and only a special potion will help it to its feet. Do you want to climb into any house or cling to stone, like in some Assassin’s Creed? We’ll have to look for workarounds: Arthur is far from being as dexterous as guys with hidden blades. There is not even the usual quick movement here – you can only go from the gang camp to the cities and move on trains and stagecoaches between stations. If a mission or a long walk takes you to hell, get ready for a long return. 

But sometimes this realistic leisureliness comes sideways. The protagonist allegedly carries heavyweights in his pockets, because of which he hardly passes obstacles and takes a long time to turn around. Yes, for some reason he picks up cartridges automatically, but he takes out a trifle from the pockets of the dead with his hands, spending from three to seven seconds on it. If in other games the process of collecting trash is simplified, then Rockstar goes the other way and offers to collect objects one at a time, opening numerous cabinets and drawers. Such a system is more appropriate in linear adventures like The Last of Us, but by the middle of the storyline campaign you don’t want to waste time on it – it’s easier to buy canned goods in the store than to try to put the clumsy Arthur in front of the table so that the corresponding corner appears button.

But still, there is a feeling that without these inconveniences, Red Dead Redemption 2 would have been completely different and would have lost a considerable part of its charm. Arthur is leisurely and imposing, like a bear, this is part of his character. At the same time, inconvenient control often creates unpleasant situations, especially in tandem with an archaic shelter system. The hero does not know how to move normally from one wall to another, and even a tree sometimes bypasses with difficulty. You’ll already get used to all this to the finals, but at first, you have to fight not only with opponents but also with control.

Conclusion

Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of those games that cannot be evaluated and limited only by it. Someone may fall asleep in the first chapter and have difficulty getting to the next, after which they will turn off the game due to the slow pace and never return to it. The dissimilarity of RDR 2 will strike someone to other representatives of the genre. Someone will spend several days in the open world, postponing story missions for later and just doing hunting, fishing and virtual tourism. But the game is amazing if you allow yourself to get involved and stop picking on trifles.

Advantages:

  • luxurious and amazingly beautiful open world;
  • the incomparable atmosphere of the Wild West with the corresponding soundtrack;
  • A fascinating story with charismatic heroes and excellent dialogues;
  • interesting side quests and catchy characters;
  • one and a half hundred species of animals that you can hunt.

Disadvantages:

  • archaic gameplay mechanics, outdated mission design and inconvenient controls;
  • slow, drawn onset.

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