- Red Dead Redemption 2 Review Destructoid
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- Red Dead Redemption 2 Reviews Ps4
The Good Red Dead Redemption 2 is among the most ambitious open-world games ever produced, packing an extraordinary amount of content into an equally enormous world. Almost nothing feels cut and pasted. Its compelling story is filled with memorable characters and scenes.The Bad Cowboy life is slow and sometimes Red Dead 2 can drag, especially early on. Infrequent graphical bugs and glitches can pop up.The Bottom Line Red Dead Redemption 2 is a marvelous achievement in nearly every sense and a shoo-in for one of the best games of this generation. Over the last eight days I've spent roughly 45 hours inside the world of Red Dead Redemption 2, playing as Arthur Morgan, a member of the Dutch Van der Linde gang. It's a time in America when lawlessness is becoming a thing of the past and being in an outlaw gang seems like a poor career decision.
Red Dead 2 tells the story of Arthur's relationship with the gang and its fatherlike figurehead, Dutch.I've been pouring hours upon hours into what I can confidently describe as one the most fully realized and explorable fictional worlds I've ever come across. As a whole, it's an astonishing work of art and arguably the most realistic Western simulation ever conceived. Put it this way: Red Dead 2 makes look like. The game is available Oct. 26 for PS4 and Xbox One.Read.
And those 45 hours have not been time wasted either. I've spent them managing my gang's camp, hunting, robbing trains, collecting bounties, deciding what to wear, chasing down debts owed, shaving, playing poker, moving camp, surviving ambushes and taking care of my horse.And after all that - after all of the bullets fired, lawmen outrun and rival gang members felled, the game tells me I'm only about 34 percent of the way through. Don't attempt to marathon your way through Red Dead 2, because this game will break you.Rockstar GamesNot because it's difficult, but because the sheer magnitude of what's being introduced is nearly vertigo-inducing. It's tough to overstate just how massive it is.It all unfolds innocently enough, in a deliberately slow fashion, forcing you to appreciate the faucet-drip pace of life in 1899. In many ways it's a true-to-life, moment-to-moment cowboy simulator, leaving out few nuances of human life.Initially set during a paralyzing blizzard, everything feels intentionally lethargic, with a molasses-like flow to it. As things begin to crystallize, Red Dead 2 feels incomprehensibly insurmountable, like a mountain with no summit.
It's much less a traditional sequel (or in this case, prequel) to 2010's and more a meaty evolutionary successor, bringing it to a level that attempts to break the mold of formulaic open-world games that live and die through missions and side objectives. Where Red Dead 1 felt like Grand Theft Auto with horses, Red Dead 2 seems like a generational milestone.Red Dead 2 makes Westworld look like City Slickers. Red Dead 2 essentially treats every 'missionable' element in the game with the same amount of meaningful importance. By doing so it's able to communicate a much more seamless and cohesive overarching narrative.
Eliminating the 'map barf' that other open world games have grown to rely on, Red Dead 2 leans into its steady pacing and encourages players to explore and discover. And for the most part, it pays off. Red Dead 2 introduces a world that feels complex, deep and varied. It does a remarkable job at injecting a tangible weight throughout, giving purpose and consequence to nearly every action you commit.Rockstar GamesThe notion of having to complete a checklist of objectives doesn't come through in Red Dead 2. Almost nothing in the game feels repetitive or cut and pasted. Remarkably, everything feels unique.Typically, a lot of the focus on a Rockstar game is primarily on the attention to detail and production value.
But these things are so much more important in Red Dead 2 because a lot of those details have micromechanics attached to them. Forget to wear a mask while committing a crime? You're easier to identify. Haven't eaten in a long time? Your health will drain quicker. Didn't pack a warmer outfit for the night time? You're more vulnerable to the elements.
Beyluxe messenger freeze in login email. Haven't cleaned your gun in a while? It won't perform to the best of its ability.That level of detail can feel daunting. In the first dozen hours you're presented with a smattering of responsibilities that presumably require your constant attention, but it eventually becomes clear that some of these tasks don't need to be monitored that closely.Rockstar Games.
For example, your gang campground - which acts as a home base of sorts - needs support through donations, food supplies and ammunition refills. But if you casually check in on these metrics every time the game has you revisit the campground, odds are it won't ever be an issue. Even the hunting system, which the game spends a good deal of time teaching you early on, doesn't seem like much of a required chore.And I suppose that's the point. Red Dead 2 isn't really meant to be played in any specific way.
You can essentially do whatever you'd like, even abandon the gang for days at a time. It's not like they can text you. For a while, I became fixated on figuring out the whereabouts of a serial killer who left a gruesome scene outside my camp. A few days later I was trying to locate a supposed hidden treasure that was never recovered, using only a shady map I bought off some guy for $5.However you decide to play, your actions will have an impact on the way people perceive you. If you're wanted in a town and its citizens recognize you, their guard goes up.
The way you choose to carry yourself sends messages whether you want it to or not. A clean-shaven character seems more trustworthy than someone who hasn't bathed in a month.
.ReleaseOctober 26, 2018Mode(s),Red Dead Redemption 2 is a -themed developed and published. It was released on October 26, 2018, for the and consoles. The third entry in the series, it is a to the 2010 game.
Set in 1899 in a fictionalized version of the, and, the story centers on Arthur Morgan, a member of the Van der Linde gang dealing with the decline of the whilst attempting to survive against government forces, rival gangs, and other enemies. The story also follows fellow gang member, protagonist from the first Red Dead Redemption.The game is presented through both and perspectives, and the player may freely roam in its interactive.
Gameplay elements include shootouts, heists, horseback riding, interacting with any (NPC), and maintaining the character's honor rating through moral choices and deeds. A bounty system similar to the 'wanted' system from the franchise governs the response of law enforcement and bounty hunters to crimes committed by the player., the mode of the game, was released as a version in November 2018.Broadly anticipated and marketed before release, Red Dead Redemption 2 broke several records and had the second-biggest launch in the history of entertainment, generating $725 million in sales from its opening weekend and shipping over 24 million copies in retail. It was universally acclaimed by critics, who praised the story, characters, open world, and considerable level of detail. It received a number of perfect scores and awards, including the 'Critics' Choice Award' at the 2018, and honors such as 'Best Narrative' and 'Best Score/Music' at. The player may choose to respond positively or negatively to non-playable characters throughout the game world, which affects their reputation within the game.Red Dead Redemption 2 is a Western-themed action-adventure game. Played from a first or third-person perspective, the game is set in an open-world environment featuring a fictionalized version of the Western U.S.
The game features both single-player and online multiplayer components released under. The player controls outlaw Arthur Morgan, member of the Van Der Linde gang, as he completes numerous missions—linear scenarios with set objectives—in order to progress through the story. Outside of missions, the player may its interactive world. The player may engage into combat with enemies using melee attacks, firearms, or explosives. Combat has been refined from the game's predecessor, and notable new mechanics consist of and the ability to use a bow. Unlike in the previous game, the player is granted the ability to swim.Red Dead Redemption 2 's unexploited land makes up the largest portion of the game world, and features diverse landscapes with occasional travelers, bandits, and wildlife.
There are urban settlements in the game, ranging from farmhouses, to towns and cities. Horses are the main forms of transportation, of which there are various breeds, each with different attributes. The player must either train or tame a wild horse in order to use it, with the exception of stolen horses; however they must saddle a horse in order to acquire ownership over it. Increased use of a horse will begin a bonding process, which can be increased by cleaning and feeding it, and the player will acquire advantages as they ride their horse. Stagecoaches and trains can also be used to travel. The player can also hijack an incoming train or stagecoach by threatening the driver or passengers, and then rob its contents or the passengers.The player may also witness or take part in random events encountered from exploring the game world.
These include ambushes, crimes committed by other people, pleas for assistance, ride-by shootings, public executions, and animal attacks. For example, as Arthur explores the Wild West, he can find specific people in distress. If he decides to help them, they will be thankful and may reward Arthur if he crosses them again.
The player may also take part in side-activities. These activities include small tasks with companions and strangers, dueling, bounty hunting, searching for treasure or other collectibles around the map such as rock carvings, and mini-games like,. Hunting animals also plays a major role in the game, providing food, income, and materials for crafting items.
When hunting, players need to take into account several factors, including the choice of weapon and shot placement, which affect the quality of the meat and pelt and subsequently the price traders are willing to pay. Players can either skin the animal immediately or carry the carcass, which will rot over time and decrease its value and attract predators.The game focuses heavily on player choice for the story and missions. Certain moments in the story will give players the option to accept or decline additional missions and lightly shape the plot around their choices. The player can communicate with any NPC in dynamic ways new to the series.
Arthur can choose different dialogue trees with NPCs, such as having a friendly chat, or insulting them. If the player chooses to kill an NPC, they can loot their corpse. Red Dead Redemption 2 brings back the Honor system from its predecessor by measuring how Arthur's actions are perceived in terms of morality. Morally positive choices and deeds like helping strangers, abiding the law, and sparing opponents in a duel will add up to the player's Honor. However, negative deeds such as theft and harming innocents, will subtract from the player's Honor. The story is influenced by Honor, as the dialogue and outcomes for Arthur often differ based on his Honor level. Hitting milestones for Arthur's Honor level will grant unique benefits, such as rewarding the player with special outfits and large discounts in stores.
A low Honor level is also beneficial, as Arthur will receive a greater number of items from looted corpses.Maintaining Arthur is important, as he can undergo conditions that may affect some of his cores, such as his health and stamina. For example, wearing warmer clothes will mean he avoids freezing in a cold environment, but wearing them in a hot environment will result in him perspiring. Arthur can also gain or lose weight depending on how much he eats, a feature absent from previous Rockstar games since. An underweight Arthur will have less health but at an increase of stamina, while an overweight Arthur will be able to better absorb damage but will have less stamina. The player can bathe to remain clean, and can visit a barber to change hairstyles; Arthur's hair also grows realistically over time. The game features item degradation, with equipment such as weapons requiring cleaning. When Arthur uses a certain type of gun for a long period of time, he becomes more experienced with it, which improves weapon handling, reduces recoil, and increases the rate of reloading.
Arthur can also sleep in order to replenish his cores. Combat Gunfights are an essential mechanic in the game. The player can take cover, free aim, and target a person or animal. Individual body parts can also be targeted in order to take targets down without killing them. When the player shoots an enemy, the game's reactions and movements depend on where they were hit. Weapons consist of pistols, revolvers, repeaters, rifles, shotguns, bows, explosives, lassos, mounted and melee weapons such as knives.
Red Dead Redemption 2 brings back the trademark mechanic in the franchise: the Dead Eye, a targeting system that allows the player to slow down time and paint targets. Once the targeting sequence ends, Arthur fires to every marked location in a very short space of time. The Dead Eye system upgrades as the player progresses in the game, and will grant the player more abilities, such as being able to spot the fatal points of their enemies.The bounty system also returns from Red Dead Redemption, a crime-governing mechanic inspired from Grand Theft Auto 's wanted system. When a player commits a crime, witnesses will run to the nearest police station to get the law to intervene, and the player will need to stop the witness in order to avoid repercussions. Once the law is alerted, law enforcers appear and will start investigating.
When the player is caught, the Wanted meter appears with a bounty sent on their head. The bounty grows higher as the player commits more crimes, and more lawmen will be sent to hunt them. If the player has committed serious crimes and then manages to escape the law, bounty hunters will be hired to track them down in the wilderness. After committing enough crime, the will be sent to the player's location. In order to escape law enforcement, the player must evade a red circular zone in the map and the wanted meter will slowly deplete.
They can alternatively hide from the pursuers or kill them. Whether the player escapes or gets captured, the bounty will remain on their head, lawmen and civilians will be more vigilant, and regions where the crimes have been committed will be on lockdown.
When caught by lawmen, the player has the opportunity to surrender if they are unarmed and on foot, however, bounty hunters will not accept surrender. The player can only get rid of their bounty by paying it off at a post office. Synopsis Setting and characters The world of Red Dead Redemption 2 spans five fictitious states of the United States.
The states of New Hanover, Ambarino and Lemoyne are new to the series, and are located to the immediate north and east of Red Dead Redemption 's world, whilst the states of New Austin and West Elizabeth return from Red Dead Redemption. West Elizabeth has been expanded to include new regions. The states are centered on the San Luis and Lannahechee Rivers and the shores of Flat Iron Lake. Ambarino is a mountain wilderness, with the largest settlement being a Native American reservation; New Hanover is a wide valley that has become a hub of industry; and Lemoyne is composed of and plantations resembling Louisiana, and is home to the former French colony of Saint Denis, analogous to. West Elizabeth consists of wide plains, dense forests, and the modern town of Blackwater. This region has been expanded from the original Red Dead Redemption to include a vast northern portion containing the small town of Strawberry.
Red Dead Redemption 2 Review Destructoid
New Austin is an arid desert region centered on the frontier towns of Armadillo and Tumbleweed, also featured in the original Red Dead Redemption.The player takes on the role of Arthur Morgan (Roger Clark), a lieutenant and veteran member of the Van der Linde gang. The gang is led by Dutch van der Linde , a charismatic man who extols personal freedom and decries the encroaching march of modern civilization.
![Red Red](/uploads/1/2/3/7/123740336/208854392.jpg)
A billboard advertising the release of the game inRed Dead Redemption 2 was developed by, a collaborative effort between all of Rockstar Games' studios functioning as a single team, using the proprietary (RAGE)., who co-composed the score of Red Dead Redemption, reprises his role. The game was announced in October 2016. In the two days prior, the company had used various platforms as well as their own website to release two teaser images in the color and theme of Red Dead Redemption. The teaser images led to considerable attention and raised the of its parent company by nearly six percent. On the day of its announcement for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, some fans started petitioning Rockstar Games for the game to be made available on as well. Per an exclusivity agreement with, certain online game content will be timed exclusives for the PlayStation 4. Originally due for release in the second half of 2017, the game was delayed twice: first to Q1/Q2 2018, and later to October 26, 2018.The online multiplayer portion of the game called Red Dead Online was released as a closed beta on November 27, 2018, and unlocked for all players on November 30.
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Red Dead Redemption 2 is a sprawling Western tale of loyalty, conviction, and the price of infamy, chronicling the inevitable collapse of a motley crew of Wild West holdouts kicking against the slow march of civilisation and industrialisation. Set in Rockstar’s most authentic and lived-in open world ever, there are so many things to do, so many people to meet, and so many places to explore it’s giddily overwhelming. Red Dead Redemption 2 isn’t just Rockstar’s greatest achievement to date; it’s a game so lacking in compromise it’s tough to know where best to start discussing it.So let’s start at the beginning: It’s 1899 and American outlaws are an endangered species. Dutch van der Linde and his gang are on the run after a botched heist in the growing town of Blackwater and they’ve retreated high into the mountains where an atrocious blizzard is covering their escape. We slip into the spurs of Arthur Morgan, an exceedingly cool and capable outlaw who was found by Dutch as a boy and raised on the wrong side of the law, and settle in for a roughly 60-hour story.It’s a self-contained and linear introduction but it’s a clever one. The slick cinematics make a hell of first impression, embedding you in the gang and bringing you right up close to the characters who are doing their best to bellow over the howling wind. It also placed me in a distraction-free bubble while I learned some of Red Dead Redemption 2’s early controls and systems, which heightened the impact of having the full map open up to me a few hours later.
The conditions on the mountain are almost claustrophobic, with visibility at a premium and thick snow trapping Arthur’s feet. Being set loose in the true open world after toughing it out in this intentionally oppressive environment really underscores the incredible feeling of freedom the full map offers. The Big CountryAnd what a world it is; broader, more beautiful, and more varied than the one we explored in 2010’s Red Dead Redemption by a massive margin (though parts of that game’s map are also included). There are snowy peaks and dank, alligator-infested swamps. Thick forests and open plateaus. Quaint homesteads and grand plantations. Narrow streams and great lakes.
Dusty gulches and dim caves. There’s the muddy livestock town of Valentine, with its wooden buildings and rustic charm, and then there’s the imposing city of Saint Denis, a grimy and growing metropolis full of modern extravagances like electric trams, paved roads, and Chinese restaurants. The vast assortment of ecosystems and environments seamlessly stitched together here is nothing short of remarkable.Red Dead Redemption 2 does an exceptional job at slowly rationing out reasons to visit every corner of its huge world, too.
I was still led to areas of the map I hadn’t yet visited even in the closing stages of its 60-hour main storyline. Because so many cards are kept up its sleeve, the joy of discovering new parts of the world is maintained throughout.The ability of this game to keep itself fresh after so many hours is extraordinaryThe ability of this game to keep itself fresh after so many hours is extraordinary, and not entirely due to just the size and diversity of the world; it’s how alive all of those places feel. While the largely rural world of Red Dead Redemption 2 is far less dense than the likes of Grand Theft Auto V, it’s absolutely brimming with wildlife to discover, people to interact with (and potentially help), and places to scrutinise. The best kind of open worlds are those that seem almost indifferent to your presence in them; like life goes on whether you stick your nose into proceedings or not. I’ve sat and watched lumberjacks felling trees at a bustling logging camp and curiously tailed a perturbed Englishman wandering around town looking for his mate “Gav.” None of this is crucial to the progression of Arthur’s story; it just helps build a world around him that made me feel like a visitor rather than the centre of the universe. Red Dead Redemption 2 nails this in a way that few – if any – games have before.In a Valley of ViolenceThe slower pace of Red Dead Redemption 2 compared to something like the slightly more breakneck GTA V is also a big part of how it encouraged me to drink in all the world has to offer. Bodies have to be manually looted, and Arthur needs to physically manhandle a body to do so.
Single-action pistols need to be cocked before firing. Guns Arthur isn’t currently carrying need to retrieved from his saddle. Coffee needs to be brewed before drinking it.I suspect some folk may regard this sort of stuff as chore-like, but I really dig it. There’s something methodical about it that really helps ground Arthur in the world, rather than have him feel like he’s gliding through it. For instance, I love the deliberate and mechanical process of cycling a new cartridge with a lever-action rifle via a second pull of the fire button – you can even pause for dramatic effect halfway through. Rockstar’s designers didn’t need to factor that in but I think they understand that tiny, almost trivial instances of subtle control like this subconsciously seat me into the world as Arthur even more.The unhurried pace of checking vanquished enemies for goodies is an interesting design decision but I quite like the risk versus reward loot loop, to be honest.
Do I dart around and pickpocket a dozen dead guys or do I just get the hell out of Dodge? They’re consequences you have to be prepared to accept either because your attention is needed elsewhere or because lingering around the scene of a crime naturally puts you at further risk of being discovered. Bounties don’t always come cheap.
Did one of those fellas have a gold nugget in his trousers? Perhaps you’ll never know.About my only major logistical gripe is that the weapons I was previously carrying are regularly swapped out for others.
Oftentimes it’s clearly mission-related to ensure you go into a task with a scoped rifle or bow when required, which is fine. More irksome are the times I end up with mismatching pistols for dual wielding, with the game trading out my preference. The admittedly brief bit of time it takes to swap back did elicit the occasional grumble from me.I spent a good deal of time off-mission simply moseying around, bingeing on the world like a virtual museumAt any rate, it’s seriously worth settling into the pace Rockstar is trying to set here because there’s just so much to see and hear. You’ll hear unique, one-time conversations that occur in camp after certain missions, as well as other bespoke bits of dialogue that reference recent events.
Strolling through camp, I’ve been privy to everything from a heated bust-up between John Marston and his partner, Abigail, to the good-natured con man Hosea Matthews regaling the young Jack Marston with stories of his latest fishing adventure. This is all happening around Arthur whether you pause to eavesdrop or not. It makes the camp feel like a concentrated version of the world at large, a place with people going about their business and interacting with one another completely independently of you. I can’t understate the genuine feeling of life this injects into the overall experience for me.Elsewhere in the world there’s still plenty for those who care to stop and smell the roses. Newspapers sold on street corners touch on the aftermath of Arthur’s exploits, as well as other things going on around the world. Much like in GTA V, you can visit theatres and take in some old timey entertainment. Dogs can be patted.
I spent a good deal of time off-mission simply moseying around, bingeing on the world like a virtual museum. There’s simply too much to list. How the West Was WonThe main story missions themselves are a cocktail of high-stakes heists, deadly shootouts, desperate rescues, and thrilling chases, mixed with a lengthy list of other activities. Many of those function as organic ways to teach us about new side hustles and activities that can be undertaken, from selling stolen horses to playing poker or fishing.It all feels great to play, similar in a lot of ways to its immediate predecessor but injected with a pile of new animations and multiple layers of interactivity. It asks a lot of the finite amount of buttons on a controller, but once I became accustomed to which commands require a tap and which require a press-and-hold I had few hassles. Shootouts are supremely cinematic thanks to plenty of gun smoke and the same style of on-the-fly, ever-changing death animations that have characterised Rockstar games since GTA IV.
You can even shoot off people’s hats and pick them up later for yourself.I think there’s a common presumption that Red Dead Redemption is just GTA on a horse, but that’s a bit reductive. Certainly the GTA DNA is here, but with far more primitive firearms at your fingertips gun battles are more intimate and anarchic.
I love the close range clashes, hunkered down behind bits of cover exchanging lead with enemies often just yards away, or slugging it out in bareknuckle scraps. It’s exciting and fun. Combat from horseback is equally well-handled and it’s always a grisly highlight to watch unfortunate saps go limp and tumble from the saddle in a seemingly endless number of ways. I think Arthur feels a fraction heavier than any of the GTA V trio, but I would not say that I found his movement cumbersome. I really like how connected Arthur feels to the world. I’m not a particular fan of that old-school, skating third-person feel – like the player character has no inertia – and that’s certainly not present here.Dead Eye returns, naturally, as it’s been part of the series since Red Dead Revolver. It’s had some upgrades this time, the most useful of which highlights critical hit areas on a target (very useful for clean kills while hunting).
It’s still a very effective way to make you feel like an unstoppable gunslinger and the gruesome ballet of slow-motion death-dealing remains disturbingly satisfying.I didn’t engage much with the available camp upgrade options – not the aesthetic ones, at least. There are some practical upgrades I acquired that had gameplay benefits attached, like a boat to go fishing in or a map at Arthur’s quarters that unlocks fast travel. I don’t feel like I missed much by opting out of purchasing animal skulls and rugs and such.
This stuff feels a little more like a primer for Red Dead Online, the multiplayer component coming at an unspecified later date.I chose not to do a huge amount of crafting, either, and I was never really punished for it. You can craft tonics and satchels, and recipes can be discovered throughout the course of the story.
However, I mostly made it through on purchased items, restocking in camp, and religiously ransacking dead bodies for liquor, health tonics, and cigarettes. (I created a lot of dead bodies.)Two new elements I did take quite seriously were horse bonding and the honour system.
The former is an inspired method of making you treat your horse with realistic respect instead of riding the poor thing off cliffs or parking it on train tracks for giggles. All horses are unique, and only the ones that trust Arthur can be relied upon to stay calm and not kick him off in the face of a predator or in a gun battle, and that trust is built by riding, brushing, and feeding it. I liked having to click in the thumbstick to reassure my horse when he was scared – it makes him feel real and establishes a physical-to-digital bond between you two. Your horse can die, too, and there’s no bringing him or her back if that happens. I kept the same horse from early in the game all the way to the finale and was truly attached to that big guy. Some of the other folk here have been less lucky and have had to endure the gut punch of euthanising their equine comrade (always pack some horse revivers, people).Meanwhile, Arthur’s personal honour is something that’s in the background at all times, rising and falling based on his actions in the world. In practical terms, being an outlaw who refrains from killing in cold blood and who helps regular folk around the world gets you discounts in shops and generally means you won’t have to look over your shoulder quite as often for bounty hunters and lawmen.
Playing through as a vicious monster is also possible, although it’s not entirely clear to me whether there’d be some dissonance between that approach and Arthur’s actual story. I still need to investigate further, but I’m really happy with how my playthrough turned out and the outlaw-with-a-soft-side Arthur I chose to inhabit. Once Upon a Time In the WestRed Dead Redemption 2 is an undeniably pretty game across the board. The lighting is fantastic, particularly in dark, misty situations where shafts of moonlight stab through the trees, and I love the way it handles Arthur leaving weakly-lit interiors into the temporarily blinding sun outside. The sunsets are especially spectacular and seem to vary depending on the weather system. Some are harsh and beaming while others are warm and soft.
The facial animation is a noticeable step up from GTA V, and the level of granular detail is almost absurd, from the way blood smears on Arthur’s shoulder after carrying a kill to the way individual strands of his majestic mutton chops quiver in the breeze. The way wagon wheels become caked in mud. The way rust builds up on a poorly-maintained firearm. It’s another long, long list that speaks to a high level of attention to detail.No matter where you look, everything feels meticulously handcrafted.
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Every consumable is labelled and can be picked up and inspected. Every catalogue in stores is full of custom text and illustrations pointing to products available for sale or old timey advertisements. Hallways are decorated with framed pictures I’ve never noticed repeated throughout the world. Remember: this is the game where horse testicles shrink when the weather is cold. More than once I found myself temporarily hypnotised by the musculature and skin creases on my horse’s butt.
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That’s a weird sentence, but you’re going to be spending a lot of time looking at a horse’s butt. It might as well impress you.No matter where you look, everything feels meticulously handcraftedHorses are astonishingly well-animated and feel like genuine living creatures as they swing their necks, stomp their feet, and shudder their bodies on their own accord.
That said, it’d be nice if the same self-preservation skills horses display when galloping towards a ravine kicked in when careening towards an obstacle in front – I definitely clattered into a few posts and fellow riders before figuring out my steed generally wasn’t going to avoid those on his own.Johnny GuitarEqually impressive is the audio, from the sound effects to the voice work to the huge library of music. Whether you’re expecting the satisfying metallic crunch of a reload, the iconic twang of a Hollywood Western ricochet, or the subtle squeak of a hotel floorboard, it’s all there. Bullets fired on mountaintops ring with cracking echoes, completely different to the sound of bullets fired indoors. There are a wide range of unique sounds that have been recorded to appear just once or twice across the whole of Red Dead Redemption 2, like the squeak of detonator wire being unspooled or the clink of bottles in the back of a moonshine wagon. They’re all constant reminders that little seems to have been missed.I also love how the world seems to be prepared for pretty much any action you can think ofI also love how the world seems to be prepared for pretty much any action you can think of.
Turn around and walk straight back into a store you’ve just left and the shopkeeper will likely make a comment about how you’re back so soon. Leave a theatre before a film is finished and the ticket clerk will quip, “Seems you didn’t like that.” Shoot a polite howdy towards two people standing together and Arthur will use a plural term rather than a singular pronoun. It all contributes to a feeling of rare polish that’s even rarer in a game of this girth.And the music? It’s outstanding. Woody Jackson’s original score is top notch – an evocative mix of jangling Ennio Morricone-esque guitar and more soulful pieces better suited to patiently trotting through the world absorbing its mixture of beauty and ugliness. There are also a few occasions where non-instrumental tracks are used to excellent effect; one artist, in particular, was a big surprise to me and sings an impactful track during a key moment late in the story. The Wild BunchThe plot thread holding Red Dead Redemption 2’s astonishing array of systems and gameplay opportunities together is Rockstar’s most serious and earnest story to date, and certainly the best written.
It’s not essential to have played Red Dead Redemption to appreciate and understand what’s going on here, especially since this is a prequel story that takes place 12 years earlier, although I found it very rewarding being familiar with the larger plot as it connects to the eventual fate of the enigmatic Dutch van der Linde. Arthur’s relationship with Red Dead Redemption protagonist John Marston here is also particularly fascinating to me as a fan of the 2010 game, and it’s very well-handled. Marston is a crucial part of the story but Rockstar has been restrained enough to not spotlight him at Arthur’s expense.We get to watch an incredibly nuanced performance as Dutch's confidence ebbs and his restraint fadesEven better, however, is watching Dutch’s gradual descent from being the charismatic, successful, and clever leader of a gang of deadly outlaws to someone on track to become the cold-blooded and beaten man being hunted down by Marston 12 years later. We get to watch an incredibly nuanced performance as Dutch’s confidence ebbs and his restraint fades. Excellent, too, is main man Arthur: Not only is there an infectious authenticity to his low and smooth tone of voice, which seems perfect beneath the swept-back hair and enormous mutton chops I let him sprout by only ever shaving his chin, but when Arthur himself is a far wearier man by the story’s climax his delivery is doubly potent.The whole cast is great, really. Antagonists like the Pinkertons on the gang’s trail are a little thinly painted and something about young Jack Marston’s sing-song voice didn’t sit right with me, but Arthur’s partners in crime all get swags of screen time; certainly enough to feel like convincing, three-dimensional characters that Arthur has a real relationship with. Red Dead Redemption 2 stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Grand Theft Auto V as one of the greatest games of the modern age.
It’s a gorgeous depiction of an ugly period that’s patient, polished, and a huge amount of fun to play, and it’s combined with Rockstar’s best storytelling to date. Even after finishing the lengthy story I can’t wait to go back and play more. This is a game of rare quality; a meticulously polished open world ode to the outlaw era. Looking for one of this generation’s very best single-player action experiences? Here’s your huckleberry.