Review: Red Dead Redemption 2 is a Wild West Survival Story

Table of Contents

1. scum of society
2. the cost of freedom
3. Dealing with your status
4. The city and the mountains
5. the great highlight
6. The Colors and Sounds of the Wild West
7. Expanding the Red Dead Redemption 2 Experience

Eight years ago, the original Red Dead Redemption impacted many players of the past generation with the saga of John Marston, the outlaw who looked to crime and immorality to justify his personal revenge. With the biggest budget in entertainment history, Red Dead Redemption 2 has the arduous task of surpassing its predecessor.

Since its announcement and subsequent one-year delay, expectations for Rockstar Games' only project for the current generation of consoles have been sky-high — even more so after the critical and commercial success of Grand Theft Auto V. Tens of hours after riding for the first time in this gigantic and dense world, I can say that most of the promises were fulfilled.

scum of society

The gang's journey begins with a botched robbery in the Blackwater district, resulting in the death of one of the gang members and forcing Dutch van der Linde to rethink his strategies. Willing to continue in the criminal world, the leader and his cronies from the most varied backgrounds and personalities decide that they must hide for a while - at least until the dust settles.

Needs and crises, however, are knocking at the door — even if the homes of the “savages” tamed by Dutch are, for the most part, camps. Members, families and even aggregates need to survive, but they also have to deal with flight. It's in the process between burying the end of the Wild West and accepting the advent of civilization that you, as Arthur Morgan, come into play.

There are all kinds of individuals in the band, that is, the representativeness for the context of the time is commendable. Men and women, blacks and Indians, loyal and dishonest, all living together in the midst of social adversities. The only caveat is the empathy I created for a few members of the pack, as most seemed to be too generic or too shallow for me to care.

the cost of freedom

Arthur and his cronies are constantly in danger and must protect themselves from both lawmen and rival gangs, such as the Lemoyne Raiders and the O'Driscolls. To this end, staying alert even as you ride through the world is essential. The danger can come in the form of bounty hunters—who want the pack members' heads at any cost—but it also emerges when Arthur decides to help the weak and downtrodden in random events that crop up near him.

You must manage the weapons you take with you during battles, as only two small and two large weapons can be carried by the cowboy at a time — which makes sense in a more realistic premise. Your horse and the improvements applied to your saddle will determine how many weapons you can carry. Also, it's important to take care of your weapons, as keeping them clean is crucial for them to function better.

The movement is very realistic, even if there is a delay between our command and its execution in the game. The use of the scenario as protection against projectiles is welcome, as there are always many alternatives to use as a “shield”. Some weapons require manual loading, making every shot count. Arthur's reaction to shots, as well as the damage dealt to enemies, is visually impressive because of the details.

The hand-to-hand fights, on the other hand, don't even come close to the precision and rhythm of the firefights. The displacement of the upper limbs is truncated and there are few options for blows. Extremely limited and very disappointing, the best option is to quickly draw your weapon and shoot the enemy at close range.

Dealing with your status

The systems that govern the world and everything that lives and works within it mimic, roughly speaking, the premises of a simulator, but they also know how to use the poetic freedom of fiction to give a more relaxed tone. Arthur Morgan can sleep, eat, drink coffee and consume tonics to revitalize his state of health, breath or dead eye (a feature that allows you to slow down time during duels and conflicts).

Your mount needs care too: horses collect dust and can also get smeared with blood when carrying dead animals in their saddle, motivating the player to brush their faithful equine companion or ride through a place with clean water. Constantly taking care of the animal's health and breath stats, as well as calming it during critical moments, is part of the experience and promotes a better relationship between the protagonist and their mount.

The city and the mountains

The contrast between camp responsibilities and urban opportunism becomes more visible as we progress through the plot chapters: chopping wood, looting bank vaults, fetching water from the lake, collecting loan shark debts, planning improvements to the camp's infrastructure. , hunting wild animals — all without mentioning any main story events.

Exploring the world is rewarding, whether finding visually striking locations or engaging in never-before-seen interactions with NPCs to unlock new tasks. Several locations on the map are presented during missions - which usually have very varied objectives, but which are far from excellent for the most part. Some of the best quests on offer are optional and deliver more thoughtful messages through a narrower scope.

The promise of a band reactive to Arthur Morgan's actions was partially fulfilled. You can interact with members through small talk, but they're not always willing to talk — which indicates that much of the communication between you and the other gang members is inherent in the events of the main quests.

My biggest criticism is about the lack of integration of different systems in favor of more personal narratives. At one point, for example, I donated a sum of money to the gang, but soon after I was approached by one of the members — who warned me about the importance and responsibility of my contributions. This bothered me, as I had already donated, but the game didn't seem to have noticed because of the distance between its own systems.

the great highlight

Red Dead Redemption 2 features one of the three most outstanding open worlds of the last five years, sharing the podium with giants such as The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt e The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. While the former uses the world in favor of role playing and memorable quests and the latter revolutionizes the concept of exploration and emergent gameplay, Red Dead Redemption 2 focuses on the immersion provided by the amount of detail, photorealism and life around you.

The fauna and flora of the world, as well as the diversity of biomes and environments, impress both in quantity and quality. Walking through the snow in search of an old companion, horseback riding across vast arid plains, camouflaging in dense green woods, exploring historic ruins and exploring a dangerous deep swamp give the player the feeling of always being in a visually and structurally distinct place.

The interaction between elements of the open world and characters takes physics to the ultimate consequences, causing accidents, for example, due to the carelessness of the player who failed to pay attention to a narrow path potentially dangerous for passengers hanging from the outside of the carriage. Furthermore, the “stage” of the missions — particularly the indoor environments such as buildings and properties — is well constructed to amplify the mutual sense of insecurity and heroism of the gunfights.

The Colors and Sounds of the Wild West

The developers' effort to create such detailed locations and faithful to the reality of the time is worthy of applause. Red Dead Redemption 2 grips you as much by the construction of large urban districts as by the nature that extols how organic the open world really is. Lighting values ​​the vegetation even more, especially in environments with a large amount of natural elements.

The presentation of Arthur Morgan's journey takes on a cinematic tone thanks to the horizontal bars added during the last months of the game's production - not that this very pleasant feature justifies the controversy involving the excess of overtime performed on several occasions by a large part of the team of development.

With just one button, Red Dead Redemption 2 lets you switch from third-person fugues to first-person perspective, pleasing a wider audience with the use of this feature. Both perspectives work very well, giving the impression that the game was really designed to work well with both options. In addition, a variety of cinematic cameras can optionally be activated throughout the adventure to make scenes even more spontaneous and natural.

The design and sound direction, whether in the voice acting or the phenomena occurring around the world, are really impressive, with details ranging from the voice distinction between each NPC encountered to the noise of a body slowly rolling over snow. The soundtrack is very impactful and intensifies narrative events, helping to make the emotions and implicit messages more evident.

Expanding the Red Dead Redemption 2 Experience

Like Grand Theft Auto V, the new Rockstar Games game has received online gaming features. Titled Red Dead Redemption 2 Online, this feature is currently in beta mode - meaning there are still a lot of tests being carried out so that everything goes as planned after the official launch. Players must update their consoles and the game itself to access this type of content, which is distributed for free.

The multiplayer experience, which features co-op missions and PvP modes, is very reminiscent of Grand Theft Auto Online at its core. However, the instability of servers still hinders in some matches. When it officially arrives in its full mode, RDR 2 Online promises to diversify and innovate in its game modes, also bringing an unprecedented Battle Royale mode.