Red Dead Redemption 2 Review: Attention To Detail Makes It An Instant Classic

In a time where open-world games are a dime a dozen, my problem with most titles in the genre is that they rarely force you to engage with the world that has been laid out. Instead, developers just use the confines of an open-world to place the structure of their game inside of, because it’s the normal thing to do more often than not nowadays. Simply existing in an open-world though isn’t enough when you don’t feel any sort of connection to the environment that you’re within. Forcing you to explore and take your time in the world allows you to get to know the area which you find yourself in. This is something that I think The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild did so perfectly last year , and it’s something that I think finds success here in Red Dead Redemption 2 as well.

Earlier, I mentioned how important Native Americans were to Western culture and how excited we are for the possibility of them sharing center stage. Another character that doesn’t get enough play in the Western genre happens to be the female outlaw. In the closing scene of the teaser trailer, it seems as though the left most rider happens to be a lady. Their clothing is brighter than the other and her body structure seems to lend itself to a more feminine figure. A lot of players feel as though there isn’t enough diversity when it comes to protagonists in video games. Having a leading lady that also happens to be a badass would be a great, but not necessarily a new addition to the Red Dead series. There have been plenty of awesome females in the franchise, but it would be great to finally play as

What’s worth noting though is that I don’t think what Rockstar has done with these ideas is really all that revolutionary by any means. No: instead, they’ve just leaned into these things that other developers would certainly stray away from for the reasons that I’ve already heard many complain about this weekend — it ends up being too slow and too boring. However, Rockstar knew before release that Red Dead Redemption 2 would sell millions of copies no matter what they did. This notion allowed them far more experimentation and more willingness to take chances compared to what other studios might attempt. For the most part, I think it’s an experiment that has worked to Red Dead Redemption 2 ‘s benefit so far.

Those familiar with Rockstar’s recipe for game narratives will immediately feel right at home. The extensive amount of side-quests alone will keep players busy well beyond the 60-hours of primary story content. Although some of the optional missions do not necessarily have much to do with the main storyline, they still intertwine enough to shape the surrounding world and time-period. Most importantly, the missions and side-quests are fun. Bounty hunting; escorting characters to nearby towns; large-scale shootouts; _ Red Dead Redemption 2 _ manages to make each mission feel fresh and fun to play. Believe it or not, Rockstar has even managed to make something as mundane as fishing enjoyable, if not for anything other than appreciating the surrounding scenery while waiting for a b

_ Red Dead Redemption 2 _ improves upon the original with its focus on player choices. Whenever Arthur crosses paths with an NPC, players can choose how they want to interact with them: either warmly or antagonistically. Each decision will result in its own outcome, such as a potential shootout if the NPC is antagonized. The outcome will also ultimately have an effect on Arthur’s honor, which directly impacts item discounts and unlockable outfits. A higher rating results in better discounts at stores and unlockable outfits, whereas a low (or even negative) ranking will increase money and item drop rates from dead N

No small detail is overlooked. It is the collection of countless minor details that makes _ Red Dead Redemption 2 _ so captivating. It is unbelievably satisfying watching horses trudge through miles of deep snow en route to a mission, only to find the same player-made snow trail upon returning to the mission’s point of origin. Throw a corpse into the river, and the body will continue on until it gets stuck, or flows into a lake at the mouth of the river. And last, but not least: hats. Hats easily fly off in the heat of a shootout or during a bar fight, but any hat can be picked up and worn by Arthur. Collecting hats across the western frontier might be one of the most satisfying, unofficial mini-games within _ Red Dead Redemption 2 _ . In fact, as of this writing, the topic of hats was actually trending for the game on Twitt

2014 got a pass because not a lot of original content for PS4 and Xbox One was being released until the final quarter of the year. 2015 is different, because now we’re starting to see development for these new platforms ramp up. There’s no need to see teams waste their time to bring games only a few years old to these new consoles. Already we have DmC: Devil May Cry Definitive Edition, Devil Mary Cry 4: Special Edition, Saints Row IV: Re-Elected, Dead or Alive 5: Last Round, monster taming Survival and Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster among others. Now there are some exceptions for games that were only released on one platform (Resident Evil Remake HD), or games you can’t get anymore because they’re so old (Grim Fandago: Remastered). Other than these few exceptions, enough is enough!