Red Dead Redemption 2 Forces You to Slow Down and It’s For the Better

The release of the original _ Red Dead Redemption _ in 2010, along with the _ Undead Nightmare _ expansion, left players wanting more of everything. More shootouts and saloon fights. More eccentric and wily characters. More riding horseback through the vast, open world of the western frontier. And while it was a long eight years, Rockstar made sure that the wait was well worth it – albeit not without some controversy . _ Red Dead Redemption 2 _ immerses players in the grueling world of the wild west with familiar gameplay dynamics that have been taken to the next level to not only make _ Red Dead Redemption 2 _ an easy favorite for game of the year, but also Rockstar’s crowning achievement to d

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

Now, while I enjoy that Red Dead Redemption 2 has built in so many things that force you to slow down, I think it’s important to note that this probably isn’t something I would want to see from every video game in existence. Trust me, I enjoy how streamlined most other games are now as much as the next guy. But in Red Dead Redemption 2 , I think I’ve started to see early on in my playthrough the larger purpose that Rockstar has with all of these added elements to the game.

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 Pronghorn Ranch Debate 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

Until Rockstar reveals more, though, I will keep being nervous over just what Red Dead Redemption 2 is. A lot of rumors are floating around that it’s a prequel. If it is, they could knock it out of the park, I just don’t want them relying on The Magnificent Seven to do it. Give us an American classic, something steeped in our own mythos, while keeping it fresh. Running and gunning is fun in games, but you can get that anywhere ( GTAV /any shooter ever). Let’s see a western tale more in truth with reality than Hollywood. There are so many other stories out there that get overlooked. If it is a prequel, the fall of John Marston’s gang could be done with style. How cool would it be to build up a bandit posse only to have it all ripped away (or in Marstons case, walking away)? Usually in games where the player must form a crew ( Mafia III /GTAV), it’s to set out on some serious mayhem and succeed. To have a game where the player forms their crew only to have it taken away would be the ultimate middle finger to that style of storytelling in gaming. Especially coming from Rockstar. Not only would it flip the script, but it would show Rockstar can even go against their own grain, while not borrowing from Hollywood.

Honestly, I agree with most of this. I do think that Red Dead Redemption 2 forces you to do far more menial tasks that I feel like most other developers would never think to include. Being forced to pick up your weapons from your horse and equip them to Arthur before heading out in the wild is a far cry compared the hundreds of other games in existence that allow you to carry near-infinite weapons on your person. In addition to having to physically pick up items off of the shelf in a general store, the lack of a fast travel system early on, and the need to do other small chores such eating food in order to keep up your Cores, these tasks do seem almost boring and their inclusion could be questionable.

Maybe community involvement could help solidify the success of the online experience in _ Red Dead Redemption 2, _ right? Hold your horses, partner. While Rockstar has essentially allowed gamers to mod _ GTA V’s _ single-player campaign, the same cannot be said about the game’s online experience. It makes sense that Rockstar would want to maintain an online integrity to allow all players to enjoy the same experience, but at the end of the day, it is the outspoken gaming community that ultimately decides what is acceptable in the games they p