Red Dead Redemption 2 Review

Eight years after their previous Wild-West adventure, Rockstar Games return with Red Dead Redemption 2. 

The game opens as the infamous outlaws; the Van Der Linde gang try and flee pursuing Pinkerton agents for heinous crimes committed in the familiar town of Blackwater. This introduces players to lead protagonist Arthur Morgan, who as Dutch Van Der Linde’s most trusted gun, fights to keep the others warm and well fed as they hide out in the snowy mountains.

This opening is the perfect way to re-introduce players to Rockstar’s western world, and also sets the tone for the rest of the game. This is helped by great character development, as Arthur builds up relationships with each of the characters separately, even longer-serving members of the group, such as Hosea Matthews and John Marston. This is demonstrated not just by main missions, but also by side quests, including fishing and stagecoach robbery.

The wacky world of the Wild West

The story progresses and unfolds with the gang becoming more and more desperate, trying to get rich quick anyway that they can. This culminates with the odd ‘Tahiti’ section, where the game stumbles slightly due to a lack of content. This chapter in particular feels out of place despite having some stand-out moments, as it contains only two missions. This is fitting however, given the downward-spiralling path that the characters seemingly can’t escape from.

The music in Red Dead Redemption 2 fits perfectly, complementing certain sections of the game and evoking some emotional moments. Highlights include when Arthur is riding through the wilderness, as the music helps to create a feeling of complete isolation, but also a sense of purpose and nobility. This is due to the amazing talent of Woody Jackson, who, reprising his role as composer for RDR2, is able to capture the essence of the American Frontier.

Red Dead Redemption 2 could easily be a trilogy of films in itself, boasting both quality and a lengthy 30 hour-plus story (with eight chapters and over 100 missions). The game blends great story telling and soundtrack with gameplay that at its core, is simply fun. This attaches the player to the tale of Arthur Morgan and his friends in more ways than one. Not only do you care about the situation Arthur and the gang find themselves in, but you get to live out the gunslinger fantasy, dying as it is.

The way you play the game is also important, as Arthur can make moral choices which affect how the game plays out. For instance, saving people from the barbaric Murfrees, or simply partaking in camp chores will raise your honour level, while killing innocent townsfolk and stealing will lower it.

The only time this control is taken away from the player is when you inevitably bumble into things (easy to do when riding your horse – look out for trees, cliffs, other riders etc.). This is due to the game almost being over-animated/slow at times, usually resulting in city-wide brawls. This can be annoying when you defend yourself only to have the towns’ law chase you out and place a bounty on your head. For gameplay tips and help check out this article.

Shooting makes up the majority of gameplay; whether it’s in a showdown with the law, hunting a bounty on horseback, or duelling in the street. This gunplay is enhanced by the game’s wide selection of historical armaments, such as the Cattleman Revolver, Rolling Block Sniper Rifle, and Lancaster Repeater. My only grievance is that you have to re-select weapons each time you want to take them off of you horse. Dead Eye also returns and still makes the player feel like a badass, as multiple enemies can be targeted in slo-mo.

Red Dead Online

At the time of writing, Red Dead Online is an odd experience. Red Dead Redemption 2’s multiplayer component offers a more “get in and play straight away” alternative to the story, though it feels empty. This could be due to the fact that it is in Beta, so will have progressively more content as the weeks go by, much in the same way as GTA V, but time will tell.

Missions are present here and are fun to complete either solo or in a posse with friends, and free roam offers the chance for Wild-West shenanigans. PvP is also available, for those wanting to test their skills against other gangs directly. The main downside to all of this however, is that it is grindy and unrewarding. Whilst there is potential to have fun here especially with friends, the mixture of low reward rate, which seems to promote the purchase of microtransactions, and the punishingly high skill gap; where gangs can repeatedly destroy new players, make the game mode less fun than it could potentially be.

Final Thoughts

All in all Red Dead Redemption 2 is a fantastic single-player game that gets almost everything it does right. The perfect set up to Red Dead Redemption, the game looks and feels great, and lives up to the hype in every way.

If Red Dead Online continues to receive support, and lives up to its potential then the game will arguably be the best Rockstar title to date; a beautifully written, incredibly well voice-acted, graphically impressive, and fun experience.

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