Red Dead Redemption has lived in infamy since its launch over eight years ago, and rightfully so, building its world, characters and beautiful gameplay to a point that even now, it's still revered. A spiritual successor to Red Dead Revolver, it holds a tremendous place in the hearts and minds of many gamers, further considered the best cowboy simulator to date.That was, until a few weeks ago, when its sequel was released.
Players find themselves taken back to 1899, when the original Dutch Gang was just beginning to climb to infamous levels. The protagonist, Arthur Morgan, is one of the original members of the Gang and its first recruit by its founders, Dutch and Hosea. On the run from the law from a botched job in Blackwater, Arthur and the gang are in dire straights, their hopes of finding a place to call home dwindling and it is up to him and each outlaw to raise enough money robbing, stealing and killing every man they come across in order to achieve that final place Arthur can call home. But naturally, saying it and doing it are two very different things.
Before I get into the highlights, I want to praise this game for something I tend not to highlight; bugs. Generally speaking, I leave them for the end so that people get to see the good, bad, then good again to compare, but I want to mention the incredible lack of bugs. Of course, other people have found some serious glitches, but I've seen or heard nothing about any KTDs or serious crashes. I myself can only compare to what I've experienced. Frame rates do tend to bend a little when smoke is present on the screen. So for example, if I start a large scale fire and the smoke takes up my screen, the game does noticeably slow down. Also, reloading failed checkpoints over and over, especially in duels, does result in the enemy AI glitching out into T pose every time after the first until you succeed. I assume these are just the game loading something too fast before we can see them, but it doesn't overly detract from the experience.
Secondly, I want to special mention the game's realism; to put it bluntly, RDR2 is beyond levels of hyper realism to the point of horse genitalia in an open world sandbox. The fact that someone, somewhere had to spend months of their life modeling and animating that shows just how detail they poured into this game; animations, weather patterns, affects on the world and character models, sound effects from varying animals, objects and things, I can go on. Weapons need to be pulled from your horse before being able to be used, weapons lost in a brawl need to be retrieved in order to be used again, either from your camp or the ground. It's utterly mind-boggling to see this level of detail in any open world game, especially one this large.
That doesn't even begin to mention the events that happen in the game; you shoot a guy who recognises you, his friends may just track you down, or hire a hostile gang to exact revenge. Find a lady lost in the woods? Watch out, she's a distraction from a feral group trying to kill everyone who trespasses on them. A man bitten by a snake? Give him some medicine, rob him and leave him for dead, shoot him and walk away, maybe a bit of all of them, the choice is yours and yours to make.
To shorten down an extremely long explanation at this point, almost everything you can expect out of a game tailored to cowboy and old west fans is in this game, whether you choose to be the hero or villain.
Gameplay is phenomenally simplistic with some things, and takes practice with others. Any person who has played a Rockstar shooter will be able to pick this game up, but horse controls, mini games, and other activities do require a bit of skill. Personally speaking, using the handcar is by far the most infuriating. But again, this doesn't detract from what is there; shooting has weight depending on what weapons you use, horse speeds and levels of affection are clearly seen depending on which you use; my original horse was slow but terrified of predators, my next horse was faster, but would always get spooked if you pushed it to its breaking point. Traversing the world requires you to take your beloved horse out almost 90% of the time, but if you have the cash for the train, or a trolley, or a carriage, or even just hitchhike and hope you get lucky, you can do that too. Of course, if you're just tired, you can switch to Cinematic mode and just hold down A while your horse follows the path you chose. There is so much to see and to do and to experience. That beautiful lake down there has plenty of fish to catch, by fishing pole or by spooking fish to shore. Extra cash can be earned by playing poker, completing Stranger quests, robbing good and bad people, holding up a bank or store, and the world around you is affected by that. Greet everyone in town and keep morale up, and soon everyone will call you by name and like you. Shoot up a town and be a plague, and you'll notice people fleeing a room as soon as you enter.
Musical score is wonderful. It beautifully captures both the original Redemption as well as creates a name for itself with Arthur and his struggles between loyalty, his morale and what he wants. The sound effects are also just as captivating and enticing, truly bringing you into this world. I highly expect someone to patch in a VR mode sometime into the future, so that people can experience this game to its full capability.
Voice acting is just as perfect, as a new cast alongside the old make this world truly captivating. The original voice actors for Dutch, Abigail, Bill, Javier and more return, and of course, the internet collectively squealed with delight as Rob Wiethoff returned as John Marston. But let's not forget the new protagonist Arthur Morgan, voice and face supplied by the wonderfully talented Roger Clark. His first step into a video game role, I cannot praise him high enough not only for his acting, but his character building and wonderful attention to detail in his character. It's refreshing to see an actor new to this sort of genre go all out for the role.
At the time of writing this review, the multiplayer has not been released, and while Rockstar multiplayer launches have left me cautious (I still remember the GTA V launch...), it will not be applied here. Keep in mind of Rockstar's past and what they're doing to GTA now, but be hopeful in the future.
I was able to complete the game at almost 60 hours, and that was doing all the side missions, plenty of the Strangers, a lot of mini quests and wasting a loooooot of time making sure Arthur was bathed, washed, clean shaven, nicely dressed and raking in all the money at Poker and Blackjack (eight years later and I still suck at the knife minigame), but it's left me wanting more. Sure, some players may not be interested in hyper realism, or will be annoyed at being killed desperately trying to get a weapon from a scared horse while in the middle of a fight, but I am utterly delighted by the game. Not only has Rockstar improved on their former Red Dead formula, but they have completely enhanced it, going above and beyond not only in detail, but gameplay and things to do. The biggest fault RDR1 had was the massive open world with nothing to do in it other than killing animals or picking flowers. Red Dead Redemption 2 improves on all aspects and then some. I laughed as I got drunk with Lenny, I was devastated how badly Arthur was hurt in gunfights, and I enjoyed every second I've spent in this game so far. Even after completing it, I still want more, and the game provides. Knowing what I know, I still want to restart it over, and that, is the mark of a perfect game.
TDLR: Red Dead Redemption 2 is a masterpiece and must own title.
Red Dead Redemption: 10/10
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