Estimated reading time: 10 minutes

Camp Tales and Coffee

While playing, this is the first time I’ve enjoyed roleplaying characters in years, despite Red Dead Redemption 2 is not being a dedicated RPG game. Several systems at work in the game that you may or may not use and experience. In your gang’s camp, you can chat with any of the members, have coffee or a meal, get a haircut, or change your wardrobe. Occasionally, you can cement a relationship with someone with an optional mission. Still, everything flows and doesn’t feel artificial in RDR2.

Survival’s Dance: Your Horse, Your Life

Let’s go further. If you always want to be in top form, you must sleep, eat, polish your weapons so they don’t jam, and take care of your horse, your faithful companion. You can build a bond with him and unlock some nice tricks under his hoof. You also have to keep an eye on him to make sure nothing happens to him. If he dies and you don’t have a reviving potion handy, you’re out of luck and can happily make friends with a new horse.

The Cowboy’s Soul: When Systems Become Experience

Many different systems and gameplay mechanics work together in the game to take cowboy roleplay to a whole new level. It’s also one of the few games where I didn’t mind such a manic attention to detail and striving for verisimilitude. What’s more, I loved these little details. If you allow the game to consume you, it will reward you with an unforgettable experience. And, in fact, that’s precisely what Rockstar’s latest work so far is. It’s not just a game. It’s an experience.

The Heart of Game: Systems in Harmony

As I noted above, many different systems and gameplay mechanics work together in the game to take cowboy roleplay to a whole new level. It’s also one of the few games where I didn’t mind such a manic attention to detail and striving for verisimilitude. What’s more, I loved these little details. If you allow the game to consume you, it will reward you with an unforgettable experience. And, in fact, that’s precisely what Rockstar’s latest work so far is. It’s not just a game. It’s an experience.

Wilderness Crafts: The Hunter’s Path

And we still need to mention the hunting and crafting. As well as simply buying lots of gear, weapons, and clothing from merchants and hunters, you can also head out into the woods or snowy mountains and hunt unique game. You’ll realistically skin these and bring the furs to your camp. One of the gang members will craft you unique equipment or clothing you won’t find anywhere else in the world. Alternatively, you can go to another hunter and make a nice trade. In addition to exclusive outfits, the world is also full of rare weapons. Some you will find hidden, others you will have to fight for. Credibility extends to the fact that you can only carry two pistols and two larger weapons. The rest is held by your horse, so you have to decide what to take with you when you temporarily move away from it.

Beyond the Main Path: A World of Activities

Do you want more? How about hunting just for fun, stocking up your camp with enough food, decorating it nicely, or fishing with your fellas? Not to mention the chance to play the iconic dominoes or head to the saloon and play a game of poker until dawn. The game is literally bursting with content, and if you don’t feel like playing the story, you can lose yourself in the game world for hours and explore. Just beware, the federal agents and bounty hunters are ruthless, and if you make any mischief anywhere without throwing a bandana over your face, they will come after you. And they’ll usually find you sooner or later.

Long Memory: Consequences in Action

The Wanted system is, among other things, very realistic. No one will know if you commit a crime, and no one will see you commit it. But often there are witnesses around that you don’t even know about, and before anyone runs to the sheriff and reports you, you have a chance to act. You can intimidate, beat, or simply eliminate the poor bastards. Just expect it to reflect on your reputation. You can also simply pay the bounty on your head yourself at the post office. The most interesting thing is that it will keep people’s opinion of you. Yes, the inhabitants do not forget, and the player has to think whether it’s really worth it to make a mess somewhere so that he doesn’t get a slap on the jaw in the saloon. Just for fun.

Dead Eye’s Dance: The Art of Combat

But once you get into the system, you’ll be helped by the popular time slowdown, Dead Eye. Like everything in the game, it gradually undergoes change, and the more you use it, the more options it unlocks. From a simple time slow down, you can go from tagging enemies to even being able to shoot individual organs. And believe me, shootouts where splinters fly through the air and chunks of stone fly off walls look spectacular in slow motion. Not to mention, the game is brutal. Really brutal. Blown limbs and headpieces are commonplace, but they suit the game perfectly. Especially when you do it in slow motion, it’s a treat.

Technical Marvel: A World Without Bounds

Even after a few weeks of nonstop play, I never ceased to be amazed by the technical level of the game. Rockstar has worked on its graphics engine, and of course, the physics engine Euphoria, which we know from the fourth part of GTA, is not missing for believable animations and interaction of characters with the surrounding world. It makes a truly charming whole and probably one of the best-looking games of its time.

RDR2 on Consoles: No Limitations

Despite the limitations of consoles, it is a beautiful game. What’s surprising is the believable color and texture rendering that makes the game world look lifelike. It is gorgeous and colorful, full of dense forests, swamps, snow-capped mountaintops, towns, villages, and hidden dwellings. You can move around freely everywhere, and once you get to the main map, you can really go anywhere immediately. In addition to the horse, the game has a fast travel system that you must unlock at camp. Unfortunately, this is very limited, and you’ll always have to arrive at some places on foot. I wasn’t entirely happy about this for a while, but I got used to it. After all, even when traveling, you can admire the game’s beautiful scenery. But Rockstar has tried to fix this by cleverly putting together cutscenes (if that’s part of the story) and animations to keep unnecessary travel to a minimum.

Character: First-rate Cinematic

The character animation and dubbing are first-rate cinematic, as is the perfectly fitting period soundtrack, which plays surprisingly often and perfectly illustrates specific situations. It would take forever to list here all sorts of little details, such as mud-stained clothes, realistic bruises after fights, or incredible water effects. This is the most visually and technically impressive game of its time. Whatever console you play it on. And a special thanks to Rockstar for the precise optimization. Throughout the entire game, I hardly encountered any graphical bugs, texture bouncing, or other errors. A few amusing bugs, but for how big, detailed, and dynamic the world is, these are ›minor little things that are not worth mentioning. If only all AAA games of today were this polished. Even the much smaller ones, please.

Conclusion: The Smell of Gun and Perfection

Red Dead Redemption 2 smells. It smells perfect. It’s a graphic demonstration of what happens when a top-notch development studio is given an almost unlimited budget, time, patience, and the trust of a publisher. Rockstar is one of only a few studios that can afford to do this, and the result is games that redefine a genre or set the direction for the next generation of competitors and gamers. And this game is no exception. It’s a beautifully crafted western full of small details, fateful stories, and a vivid world that is second to none. As for the game’s omitted online mode, we will talk about it in the near future in another article, stay with us.

About RDR2

Title: Red Dead Redemption 2
Type of Game: Open-World Action Adventure
Developer: Rockstar Games
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Released: October 26, 2018
Platforms Available: PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S
Platform Reviewed: PlayStation 4 and 5
Level of Maturity: Mature 17+

Where to Buy Red Dead Redemption 2

Steam (PC): Available for $59.99.
Epic Games Store (PC): Available for $59.99.
PlayStation Store (PS4, PS5): Available for discount $19.99.
Xbox Store (Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S): Available for $19.99 discount.

Official Page: Visit the official Rockstar Games page for more information.
Subreddit: Join discussions on the Red Dead Redemption Subreddit.