Red Dead Redemption 2 Review

ROCKSTAR IS MAKING EXPERIENCES NOT GAMES (A Review of Red Dead Redemption 2)

By, Palmer Gamble

Where the fuck do I even begin? Okay, let’s start a couple months back to when the first trailers were dropping for RDR2, the hype was built quickly and with that, for me, comes an amount of concern. I never want to get too hyped for a game to come out, have all these expectations of what it’s going to be like to progress through the story and see what unfolds or hop into a multiplayer only game and go fucking insane. However I made the decision to not put too much hype around Red Dead just based on the fact that I’ve learned my lesson from previous titles like No Man’s Sky (that game is amazing now btw), and I was going to take in as much information as I could before doing a straight up review of the game. And oh boy was I WRONG! THIS GAME IS AMAZING, FUCK ALL THAT SHIT ABOVE GET ON THIS HYPE TRAIN RIGHT NOW! Okay… review time…

WORLD BUILDING DONE RIGHT

Red Dead released October 26th nationwide. And as an avid gamer I’m proud (in a weird way) to say that it doesn’t take me very long to finish any single player game. For example, Spider-Man for PS4 boom, done. Took me 2 days. I have a day job mind you. The day I’m writing this is November 2nd, and I’m still not done with the main story. The world Rockstar built has kept me busy with side quests, random world encounters, and simply enjoying the landscapes as I play as Arthur Morgan, certified badass cowboy. The main story can, at sometimes, feel urgent, needing to be done for the sake of your gangs safety, and passive enough at points to not make you feel bad about going out to hunt for food. That food which you catch, can be donated to your camp so your friends can eat. So as Arthur, you have a sense of responsibility to keep your friends safe from not only nature but the law as well, making sure you’re not followed to camp after a mission, and taking Pinkertons head on if need be. Riding around in this game and just taking in the world could have you spending hours doing so, enjoying random encounters like helping a blind man or saving a kidnapping victim just in time before they’re killed. One in particular I remember, I was riding down a path and I saw a stagecoach stopped at the side of the road with 3 people standing over one poor soul. I almost rode past until I heard one of the robbers talk about opening the strongbox. I turned my horse around so fast I’m surprised his legs didn’t snap in half. Proceeded to kill only the robbers. Now I thought to myself, “there’s no way this guy is gonna let me take the money from the box I’m gonna have to kill him too.” But he really let me keep it, saying he was “too tired for this shit” and he was going to mark it as stolen anyways. I was really about to merc this guy for $20 but that line at the end as he was walking away made me think otherwise. That’s just one small example of where the world you’re placed in really feels alive. I could have easily put a bullet in that guy, but I made a choice, a choice not every game lets you make.  Making me feel like my actions have both benefits and consequences is the perfect way to make a player think.

A GRIPPING STORY

Red Dead 2 takes place before the events of the first game, in which you play as John Marston. In RDR2 you play as Arthur Morgan, a middle aged man looking for his place in the world amongst a band of thieves. There are many characters in your gang, one fans will surely remember, that being a younger John Marston, your leader Dutch, a crazed gunman Micah, a wise older man Hosea and many, many more. The game allows you to interact with these characters and learn more about them, what kind of people they’re like, personal likes and dislikes, and how they feel about whatever situation you find yourselves in. The main story isn’t a complex one, it’s a compelling one. You find yourself invested in what happens next, and what might happen to your friends you’ve survived with up until then. As a player I haven’t cared about another characters safety in quite a while, but Rockstar manages to pull the emotions through the chaos and hail of gunfire. As a person, seeing the gang struggle with getting food and keeping everyone safe pulls at your heartstrings, while also making you question if what Arthur and his friends are doing has any real meaning. Or rather they’re just creating unwanted chaos. The interactions in this game can feel extremely organic flowing from gameplay to cutscene with ease, but at times a bit clunky with Arthur finding just the right angle to stand and face your friend in order to start your conversation. That’s one thing I’ve been running into lately, while not game breaking, the lack of fluid mobility at times can stress out someone like myself, who cares about these things for some reason. Now that’s not to take away from any gameplay. Because the gameplay is amazing, the lighting in this game in absolutely insane, and most importantly you really give a shit about what’s going on. Looking back on what Rockstar has done in terms of previous games like GTA5 and the previous Red Dead, the company has outdid itself in visuals, the games charisma, and keeping you emotionally invested in a world that feels alive and real.

THE BAD???

Okay I’m really trying not to be biased here, but there isn’t much wrong with the game. Besides my stupid horse tripping over a rock and throwing both of us down a hillside and the somewhat frustrating movement forcing Arthur to take his sweet ass time, my complaints are few and far inbetween. What does concern me is Rockstar as a company and its practices in what the gaming industry calls “crunch.” Crunch refers to the short period of time before the launch of the game where the development team goes fucking crazy, fixing every bug, every lighting mistake, and everything in between. The reason I bring this up is an article came out a few days before the release of Red Dead 2 which stated Rockstar had been working it’s employees more than 100 hours a week during crunch. Now, many people in the gaming industry came out and said that this wasn’t an abnormality and many companies did this in order to push out the best final product they could. However just because other companies have done it in the past, doesn’t make it okay. But if a company has workers who are willing and capable of working those long hours I see no problem with people working on what is essentially a passion project for a crazy amount of time. Doesn’t really bother me, but some transparency from these companies producing AAA titles in the future would be appreciated by many.  

WHAT’S NEXT IN RDR2

For a game that made $750 million in the first week of being released, you could say Rockstar is going to be fine, and they’ve created yet another masterpiece in their line of award winning games. With Red Dead’s multiplayer coming later this year, in yet a few months, you’re definitely going to want to stick around to see what the game has in store for you cowpoke. Red Dead Redemption 2 delivers a gripping experience in a time when outlaws aren’t wanted and are being hunted like animals. You feel immersed while playing this game, like you are really experiencing what those few had to go through back in those days. This game is amazing and worth the buy, so give it a try.

OVERALL SCORE: 10/10

Congrats Rockstar you got another perfect score from little ol’ me.

Ps. thank you for reading, if you made it this far. I appreciate all the support on everything. Have a nice day! Be nice to someone for a change.

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