Rockstar Games’ Red Dead Redemption 2, a unique role playing game set in the waning age of the Wild West, launched a week ago for Xbox One and Playstation 4. I have been playing for about 8 hours every single day (on Twitch), or more, and I can honestly say that I have never played a game quite like it. In this review we “aim” to dissect Rockstar’s new IP, and try not to “rob” players of insight that may assist them in their decision about this game. Buckle up partner, because here we go!

Red Dead Redemption 2 Review

Before we ride into the heart of the review, I wish to make it known that I have not played the previous title, and because of that have no way of comparing the two games. I’ve played about 90 hours of total gameplay and have finished the main story, and all of the side quests. This gives me not only a great understanding of the game’s mechanics, but also its story and structure, which leads us to the first section.

Story & Setting

Red Dead Redemption 2 takes place before the events of the previous title, making it a prequel. You take on the role of Arthur Morgan, an outlaw in the same gang as John Marston (who was the protagonist of the first game). Through all the robberies, heists and life and death situations you are inexplicably dragged through, Arthur and John become quite close and begin to question what they are doing in such a gang. Red Dead Redemption 2 features different endings that are defined by the choices you make over the course of the game, and the ending I achieved was tragic…to say the least.

Having heard that the game was very much “GTA, just in the Wild West”, I was not anticipating Red Dead Redemption 2 to have such a strong narrative, or one that really drives gameplay forward in such a unique manner. The story, the characters, the way that is told; all of these things wrapped together into one supremely polished package is hands down the missing link that sets Red Dead Redemption 2 apart from any other game I have played in recent memory. Rockstar has simply outdone themselves in this regard, and making a comparison to any other title is extremely difficult to do because of it.

The setting of the Red Dead Redemption 2 is a fictional version of what would be considered the “heartland” of the US of A in 1899. It’s fictional because none of the places are real, and the people are not real. However, the geography and technology of the time period is very much what you would expect to find. And in addition, you will see characters and events that are based loosely on historic events, such as the interactions between the US Army and Native Americans. This provides an original “playground” to explore and participate in, with a high amount of freedom, that isn’t completely restricted by actual history.

Rockstar, has once again outdone themselves in this regard, because it very much feels like what you’d expect the US to be like in that time period. Steam powered trains travel around the map, taking passengers between destinations that are far apart. You can heard cattle for a few extra bucks, or hunt some game if you are low on food. On top of that, the locales are spot on and you can really see the different geographical regions of the USA come to life.

These two things combined (Story and Setting) are what I liked most about Red Dead Redemption 2, and are the things that really sold me on the game.

Gameplay

Missions

The gameplay of Red Dead Redemption 2 is something a bit different than I was used to. Having never played a GTA game, or the previous iteration of the franchise, I really had no idea what to expect. As I had played Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey to great extent just before, I guess I had assumed it would be similar to that, just without all the stealthy murdering! However, I was way off base, and as I mentioned earlier the gameplay is pulled along by the story.

To give you some idea what I mean, the player must accept Missions in order to advance the game’s plot, but while on said Missions they cannot do anything that would cause it to fail or they must reload. This means that “free roaming” and any activities you wish to partake in that aren’t quest related must be done between Missions. This is a serious departure from other modern day RPGs where you usually just pick up as many Quests as you can, and do the ones nearest to you, while resolving any encounters that appear as this occurs. Needless to say, it took me a bit to get used to, and while ultimately it worked out, I found it mildly annoying as it did restrict my freedom just a bit.

Once on a Mission however, things move fairly quickly (after a fair bit of riding), and you never really know exactly what will happen. Missions have you do anything from robbing banks to assassinating rival gang bosses. But the thing they all have in common is that you are always surrounded by a portion of Red Dead’s stellar characters, with extremely good dialogue that overlays nearly every facet of the Mission you are on. This leads to a bonding with said characters, and one that was really unexpected, particularly because most are murderers and thieves.

Free Roam & Survival

Red Dead Redemption 2 very much allows the player to interact with the people and locations outside of Missions. From random encounters, to Side Quests and other activities like Fishing or Hunting, there is never a shortage of things to do. Part of the reason for this is that the game features some survival elements that affect the gameplay. Not only must players take care of themselves, but also their horse and their camp!

Players will need to eat and sleep in order to maintain their Stamina, Health and Dead Eye Cores. This will allow them to be more effective when running, swimming, shooting, etc. This also applies to your horse, who must be fed and groomed occasionally in order to Bond with it; Bonding with your horse allows it to be more effective. Additionally, your camp will need ammo, money and food to survive, and they will rely heavily upon you to supply these things. This means you will need to bring or purchase ammo, make money and donate it, and also bring game back so that they can eat.

You can hunt and fish for many many different species, and frankly it never really gets old. Sometimes when playing I’d find myself hunting just because there was a new animal I’d never seen before and I wanted to see what I’d get for doing so. You can fish with a traditional pole, or you can go the Crocodile Dundee route and use Dynamite, which is hilariously fun!

Combat

Combat is heavily based upon the guns of the time period, with a few melee weapons mixed in. Unlike other games where you shoot at enemies, in this one you must pull R2 to fire, then R2 to chamber the next bullet, and then R2 again to fire once more. This prevents any sort of automatic firing, and makes firing in rapid succession nearly impossible. However, it is extremely satisfying when you take out an enemy, particularly if you get a headshot.

Red Dead Redemption features a system called Dead Eye, where time slows and you are able to queue up a series of shots on multiple targets before resuming and watching Arthur obliterate enemies in real time. This allows you to kill many enemies rapidly, and really helps out when on horseback, as it is extremely difficult to aim at moving targets while also riding. Dead Eye is not infinite and must be replenished from time to time with consumables and rest.

Perhaps my biggest complaint with the game is in the aiming controls (and really the overall controls in general), and you start off with some really strange combination of auto-lock-on an snap-to-target. It’s almost as if Rockstar knew their aiming system was extremely poor and compensated for it by making it so you really didn’t have to aim at all by default. Since I didn’t find it particularly fun for the game to essentially just aim for me, I spent hours adjusting the settings to get to handle somewhat like a normal FPS. And while I finally dialled it in to a “passable” standard, I was over halfway through the game before this actually occurred.

Audio & Visual

On the audio frontier, Red Dead Redemption 2 has some of the best voice acting I have ever heard in a game. The characters sound natural, emotional, and there accents are frankly spot on. I actually found myself becoming very fond of Arthur, and while I generally like character creation in games, Rockstar did a fantastic job of making me emotionally invested.

The music was spot on, gave me goosebumps on more than one occasion, and really helped to elicit the western feeling of the game. It was truly amazing how a few chords on a guitar at just the right time really brought home some of the scenes and overwhelmed me with immersion. I don’t think I’ve ever recommended a sound track in a single review I have ever done, but you should definitely check this one out.

Visually it’s one of the best looking games on current gen, and the only other games that even come close in my opinion are God of War and Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey. Although the game only runs at 30 FPS, the details are simply so stunning it doesn’t matter. Foggy swamps, sunrise, sunset, rain and thunder, all of these things make the universe of Red Dead Redemption feel very much alive, and lighting, textures, and more will leave you awe struck on more than one occasion.

If the Story and Characters are the best thing about Red Dead Redemption, Audio and Visual are a very close second.

Final Thoughts

Red Dead Redemption 2 was not the game I wanted or expected, but instead was the game I needed. Not only did it break from the mold of games I have played for the past several years, but it provided a giant living and breathing world in which to get lost. Set aside the story and characters, set aside the engaging and interesting quests, and you’re still left with something special. I could spend hours just riding around, coming up with new and interesting ways to commit some hilariously heinous crimes, and online hasn’t even launched yet!

If you want some more Red Dead Redemption 2 content be sure to read about it in Red Dead Redemption 2 App May Reveal Hints Of PC Version. If you’re taking on the wild west be sure to our latest RDR2 guides in Red Dead Redemption 2: Animal Parts Selling Guide and Red Dead Redemption 2: Horse Guide. You also check out our latest game review in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey Review: A Voyage In Time.