As for the main story, it’s entertaining but far from revolutionary. It has its highs and lows, the lows being the lack of development outside anyone who’s within the Van der Linde gang. You get to meet a plethora of characters through Arthur’s journey and yet most of them only appear in one or two missions, outside of a couple of exceptions. Red Dead Redemptions 2 moves at an incredible pace to the point that most people in the world are disposable and sometimes unnecessary, making me wish there was more of a focus on specific story beats as it’s spread too thin in spots. With that said, outside of the phenomenal core cast, what Rockstar does right is create exciting scenarios. This is something the company is known for, crafting well-designed and often comical heists that are sure to go awry. Whether it’s robbing a train or a stagecoach, or simply walking through town, each chapter has a handful of standout missions that will keep you on the edge of your seat. Granted, the other missions are mostly broken up into your standard affairs, but at least they’re kept lively thanks to Arthur generally being assisted by another member of the gang.
In the buildup to Red Dead Redemption 2 's release later this month, those looking for some inspiration to satisfy their craving for Western-themed experiences won’t need to look further than our picks for the Western films you should watch before playing Rockstar’s own Western epic, given the numerous cinematic references that the studio has drawn from in their previous titles.
So let’s get this out of the way first before delving into the deeper parts of this review: Red Dead Redemption 2 is an exceptional game that pushes the bar for open-world titles, and RDR2 fishing Guide will more than likely be considered one of the best games of this generation. Much like its predecessor, Red Dead Redemption 2 's blend of storytelling, gameplay, and artistry are all working together to form a game that works on every level. In the way that Grand Theft Auto III set the foundations for the open-world genre nearly two decades ago, Red Dead Redemption 2 feels like the culmination of everything Rockstar Games has done to develop a world that feels not only grand in scope, but even deeper when it comes to the levels of interactivity and immersion that it offers players throughout its journey.
All of this dynamic immersion works beautifully in Red Dead Redemption 2 , mostly through the ways that Rockstar has integrated so many layers of interaction and detail into its environments, characters, and how Arthur can create such an impact within the world as a whole. As much as Red Dead Redemption 2 still feels like a „Rockstar game,” in a lot of ways it also feels like it is a roleplaying game in the truest sense of the term. That’s not to say you should expect it to be Final Fantasy or The Elder Scrolls by any means, but Rockstar has gone to painstaking lengths to make its vision of the West feel as believable and real as possible, and they nail every detail that is part of it.
Outside of that, Rockstar has created an engaging system that allows you to rob shops, stagecoaches and even trains full of people at any time. All you need to do is put on mask (if you don’t want to get caught) and start demanding the goods. If you do most of the story, you won’t need to do this all that often as you’ll be rolling in dough, but it’s a fun way to de-stress. The Wanted system is also back, as the more heinous of crimes you commit and people witness, the higher the bounty is put on your head. You can change your disguise or grow your hair and facial hair out to avoid being recognized, but you’ll probably want to pay it off the fee to avoid bounty hunters coming at you in the wild. Alternatively, if you catch up to a witness, you can threaten them, or if a police officer sees it taking place, you can defuse the situation if it’s not too damaging of a crime. Occasionally it can be a confusing why you’re immediately pinpointed as the perpetrator, though, as we’ve had a number of instances where we killed someone, a pedestrian comes across the body while we’re nowhere to be found, and yet a bounty is set on our character. Overall, though, the system works fine and can even be entertaining to chase witnesses down as they plead for their lives.
Before diving fully into my gripes with something that only has just shy over a minute of game footage that’s been shown, let me explain what made the other two games so special. Both, Red Dead Revolver/Redemption were games that touched on a part of American mythos in the best of ways. Even other cultural mythos play into what makes these games so great, with many different backgrounds showcased. Each game is a unique tail of one man’s quest deeply personal to them. Not only exploring the characters presented fully, but also putting forth some of the best storytelling for video games of such a genre at each respective time. Each felt like a true American western tale.