*** This article may contain spoilers.. I’ll try not to but fair warning., IF YOU HAVEN’T BEATEN THIS GAME DO NOT READ THIS UNTIL YOU DO. You deserve to play and discover all of the goodness for yourself. ***
First of all wow… just wow…
Everyone knows this game is the epitome of open world simulations. Everyone expected it to be top notch graphics, stellar voice acting, and tight mechanics. Rockstar Games did not disappoint in the slightest. This game is easily one of my all time top favorites now, up in my top 5 at least. The pacing and setting really did it for me. While I haven’t played the 1st game starring John Marston (I know… I know…), now it has become an acute need of mine to experience that game as well. However this game is a great standalone. You needn’t experience the first game, since this 2nd one is the Prequel.
The game starts you off in dire straits against the elements. With your outlaw group in tow, Survival is a crucial element to the first small part of the game which serves as a tutorial that teaches basic mechanics, how to play, and keep your character healthy. The game has more of an emphasis on simulation and survival than previous Rockstar entries.
This game is slow paced.. I can see people not really liking the pacing during the first chapter or two. Movement in general is a bit slower than in past iterations of the open world format. However, this style choice for me, really set the tone of the rest of the game. Red Dead Redemption 2 is a Loooooooong game. I found that if you desire to play just the story with no other side missions or exploration you will still spend upwards of 40 to 50 hours. I spent at least 80 hours in this game and got 100% in the story mode before I started writing this review.
After the opening scenes, the game let’s you free in the absolutely gorgeous and massive world. To start, I did like I do in any other Grand Theft Auto game and just started going ham with my six guns and murdering random passerby on the trail. This quickly got the law in tow and the people who I was bothering even pulled out weapons and started chasing and shooting at me. Needless to say, not knowing how to heal or cover myself, I didn’t survive long. When I tried again the same thing happened.. Haha.. I realized this game has a definite pace and style they want you to play. Don’t get me wrong you can still do anything you want, GTA style, but this time your actions carry a little bit more weight even if you manage to run away from the Sheriffs or Bounty hunters.
As you progress you meet the other characters in your band and get to know them bit by bit. These NPCs (non playable characters) serve as both story and lore enhancers as well as teaching you skills for survival, fighting, or robbing things. They are all very well written and eventually you begin to care about their various stresses. If you mash through only the story missions, the game seems to flow relatively smoothly with everything making sense to the overall plot of the game and ongoing conflict. No event is really out of place except for some events in chapter 5, but only in my opinion. But I won’t spoil that.
I have a good imagination and one of the ways I guage a game is if “I give a shit” about the characters. Halfway through a game if I don’t give a shit about the characters, I usually end up not finishing that game. It’s like with any good book or movie.. some just aren’t for you and it’s completely OK not to finish them.. This is definitely NOT one of those experiences. I definitely gave a shit about Arthur Morgan and his conflicts.
I personally played my character with an honorable personality.. I only killed and robbed when i felt it necessary and over all the game rewards you with nicer interactions with NPCs and discounts at some stores. If you help the various other strangers in the world many of them reward you with money, helpful hints, or even will buy you stuff from stores if they meet you again in a near by town. I felt I got a much better experience playing as an honorable bad guy. haha. I definitely want to mash through the game again and see if it effects the contents in any way if you start and keep a very low honor level throughout the story. This game feels like it would be a different experience if you murdered and stole needlessly, it’s pretty deep.
After the main story ended I started just going ham and killing everyone and after a while people definitely started treating you differently and were more cautious around me.
I really liked how this game kinda goes into the psychology of the main character.. He is a good guy caught in a bad guys world. He struggles immensely with this throughout the game and even talks openly about it with the other band mates. This is why I think the way you act throughout the story would effect the ending of the game… I won’t spoil that because it deserves to be experienced by the individual player.
You’re a good man Arthur Morgan.. carried a lot of weight.. is all I’ll say.
My absolute favorite thing about this masterfully developed video game is the music. In no game I have ever played did the music capture such feeling and emotions. Usually while riding your horse to or from a big event or important mission. The music amplified the feeling and the sense of tension, loneliness, and sadness that this game already portrays so well visually. Sad and somber vocal arrangements when returning to a routed camp.. sometimes up beat and quizzical when you are looking for a person or item.. the music is absolutely gorgeous.. Everything from southern soul and slave hymns, to tight banjo and fiddle riffs play as you explore and travel to the various sections of the map. Sometimes cued by the game and sometimes as if out of nowhere. The vocal pieces are haunting and always had such perfect timing. The music in this game is awe inspiring and got me in the feelers a couple times.
Video game music has always been a love and passion of mine. I started playing music myself because I had a dream of one day making music for video games.. The soundtrack in RDR2 is next level and if you like great music that beckons of an older era, I would highly recommend this games Soundtrack when it comes out. I do not recommend media soundtracks lightly.
There were things that bugged me about the game. However not a single thing was enough to steal from the majesty that was the experience overall. Small things like repetitive dialogue or NPCs. (only after I played for 60+ hours) This happens in every sandbox style game. Because this game is so massive I encountered some small glitches and weird happenings, but again in a game world of this size that is to be expected and was monumentally better than some other massive open worlds, on release no less. Not being able to skip certain animations, for example skinning animals kinda bugged me, especially after my hundredth deer skinned. I personally felt like the gun play and some shootouts could have been a little tougher. Once you master Dead Eye not many encounters were really challenging after that. I only died in gun fights when I got caught off guard or physically stuck in the open. But that is negligible because I still died A LOT!
Overall the Pros of this game massively negate the Cons. There is a little something for everyone in this game from hunting to fishing, gambling and shooting, to nature filled with wonderful exploration and mysteries.
I very highly recommend this Video Game to anyone who owns a PlayStation 4. I think if you have a good mind for stories and a good imagination. You will love this piece of media and take from it, like any good story or movie.
Well done Rockstar… Well done.