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!
I actually saw that game on a banner ad I'd seen on chess.com while I was playing chess few days ago. Now you make a review on it.
Awesome James, great review!
By the way why the title is Red Dead Redemption 2, why red dead?
That's an excellent question. It's a reference to the original game Red Dead Revolver, and I think they just kept the beginning part for marketing purposes. Also I think it's a reference to "Red means Dead", like when you take the safety off a gun you can see the red mark, meaning it's ready to fire. Thank you!
You're very much welcome!
That's a concrete explanation, good answer James!
That game also involves some money on buying stuffs or upgrades?
Most games have that right?
Oh yes, there's a lot of that!
Do you have reference on which sites give information on new games being released online, especially those huge ones?
Most of those games, I just know on ads I'd seen. Mostly also those games are built in on new PCs or laptops when we buy them.
awesome game
With that great game, comes with deleting several existing games to be deleted just to accommodate that insane file size. It's going to be on my playing list to catch up to once I free up some more time. I'm interested in the crafting aspect of the game, is it as complex as the Witcher III? or does it have it's own unique mechanics?
I know, this is the largest game I've ever had to install, and I definitely had to make some room for it. The crafting isn't really like the Witcher 3. The way you go about getting the materials for crafting is the complex part. Thank you for the good question!
I think that holds true for several gamers :D
Welcome, it was a fun read.
WOW! I must admit but that I haven't played a game for ages, but I would never expect that the illustration can develop so far. It almost looks like a movie. And the story is very interesting. I think this would be something for me.
I enjoyed your review. I can feel your enthusiasm :) You have revealed a lot but not too much to spoil the game for the newbies. I understand that this was your intention so well done :) I can imagine it is difficult to take it slowly if you are a passionate games player and this is so exciting :)
Thank you for sharing and congratulations on your curie vote!
Thank you, I appreciate the support!
This is an awesome review. I'm familiar with Grand Theft Auto but I didn't know the company behind it until now.
I could feel the energy and excitement in your narration. I'm not a game person but your review gives me ideas for creative writing.
I'm glad Red Dead Redemption 2 didn't disappoint you.
Do enjoy
Blessings
Thank you very much!
hi jameslashomb, I recently started gaming after about an 8 year long hiatus. This game reinforces my belief that I was born in the wrong era. Cowsies is the best!!!
Thank you! It's a fascinating time period, but I don't think I'd last five minutes! lol.
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Thank you guys, I don't know what I'd do without you!
Basically your post was the one that finally illuminated the way to know why there is so much hype with RDR 2.
reading has made me want to see a complete gameplay, no matter how many hours it lasts. I want to enter that world. I do not have ps4 but watching videos or reading I think I can enjoy it a little bit.
good review