Throughout this review, I may have seemed a little hard on Red Dead Redemption 2, but the overall package is nothing short of spectacular. It has its share of issues involving controls, but the vast majority of the experience is unforgettable. Rockstar has created the single most immersive Wild West game yet, with an intelligently-written story, a compelling core cast of characters, highly-engaging scenarios and a diverse open world to explore. The visuals are also truly stunning, with a substantial amount of detail put into each environment and character model, not to mention the extraordinary lighting techniques. The world is just ripe for exploration; it may not be the densest place out there, and I do wish there was a larger emphasis on hunting, but there’s still a ton to see and do. With around fifty hours to complete the main campaign, and even more if you do all of the other side activities, a game such as Red Dead Redemption 2 doesn’t come around this often. All I can say is wow.
Due to all of this, it is of no surprise that Red Dead Redemption 2 is gearing up to be one of 2017’s most hotly anticipated games of the year. Despite Rockstar’s pristine record of releasing great quality games, they’ve set quite a high bar for themselves in attempting to outdo the lightening in a bottle they caught with RDR . However, if they stay true to the atmosphere and tone of the first game, and follow this advice, they’ll be releasing an even more legendary game than its predeces
In the story sections that we played of Red Dead Redemption 2 , it’s already clear that Arthur’s relationships with the members of the Van der Linde gang will play a crucial role across the whole game, on larger and more personal levels. Right at the beginning of the demo, those relationships came into play as Arthur and the gang were preparing to rob a train under the ownership of the oil tycoon Leviticus Cornwall, which started with Arthur assisting Bill Williamson to blow up the train tracks and derail the car. Naturally, after that plan went awry, Arthur and several other members of the gang instead raced to the top of the nearby mountain path to hop on top of the train. In the midst of the action, we saw that Arthur can issue commands to the fellow gang members as they pushed towards the conductor car, making the action feel that much more involved when executing the heist alongside his other fellow gang members.
With so many different facets to the gameplay and interacting with the environment, the number of systems and mechanics at play in Red Dead Redemption 2 is staggering, and in some instances can even sound a little overwhelming. However, after having hands-on time with the game and first-hand experience with these mechanics, these touches truly feel like meaningful ways to make Red Dead Redemption 2 feel alive and dynamic, for the players that really want to go deeper into it. As Rockstar emphasized to us during the demo, these more survival-driven mechanics aren’t meant to feel like “chores” that the player has to do — they’re optional — but instead to develop that idea that Arthur is truly a part of this world and more than just a vehicle for players to explore what it has to offer.
In a preview with Rockstar Games in New York City, we were able to see about two hours of Red Dead Redemption 2 . With the demo split between seeing some of the game’s early story-driven moments, and then getting to interact and play the game for ourselves, this not only gave us a sense of the overall scope of Red Dead Redemption 2 , but also provided a hands-on feel for its deeper mechanics, gameplay systems, combat, and the environment. In short: it’s a game of a scope that I don’t know that I’ve ever seen before from an Open world Games DLC-world game, even coming from the studio that (arguably) set the genre’s foundations with Grand Theft Auto III way back in 2001.
Don’t be deceived by the number at the end of the title, Red Dead Redemption 2 is a direct prequel to its predecessor. The story takes place years before our last adventure as we follow Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang. If you recognize the latter name, it was the group of outlaws that John Marston rode with back in the day. As you can expect, you’ll see our loveable Marston often, who is perfectly implemented into the story. It’s not too much fan service or focus, but just enough so he’s a solid supporting role, especially in the later half of the campaign. He has his own arc, but it’s all about Arthur and his issues. The first couple of chapters in the story, Arthur is an unlikable individual. It takes him a little while to find his footing as he’s an overly serious character who never breaks a smile and plays the rough cowboy to a T. His relationship with the group, including the gang’s leader, Dutch van der Linde, is what stands out among everything else. It’s the little things around the camp; the songs, the gestures and the interactions that expand our protagonist’s likability, and you begin to better understand him. Even the most insignificant faces seem to bring out the more positive aspects out of Arthur more than the main story ever does, and it’s sad that it’s something players can completely overlook, especially considering entering the camp setting forces the player to move at a snail’s pace.