Red Dead Redemption 2 - The Review (2018)

The survival mechanics to me can be compared to the friend and girlfriend system in gta iv and ti an extent V yes roman will call unto go bowling and it will "piss him off if you don't" but you can go through gta iv without ever hanging out with friends and the story will play out the same woth the exception of rather u kill Pegorino or Dimitri at the end u can ignore roman all game and he will still treat u the same within story missions but we still do because it invests us into the life of Nikko Bellic just as eating 3 meals a day, cleaning your gun and feeding and cleaning your horse dont change the story but we still do them because it immerses us in the day to day life of arthur Morgan

I'm here nearly 5 years after this game released because I'm debating another playthrough. God damn your editing, use of the game's music and scripting has always been great. Brilliant review, Ralph!

A agree with all the criticisms of the game. a lot of controls were improved greatly with kb+m but still even i cant go back and just pick it up randomly again.

despite all that for me this feels like one of the best gaming experiences i've had . the last 2 minutes of this review describe the feeling perfectly.

If only Rockstar still cared about this game. 😢

‘’Borderline unplayable”

4 years later and this is still the stupidest fucking thing a reviewer has ever said.

The Wire was known as one within the trifecta of US tv shows around at the same time along with The Sopranos and The West Wing. Wherever you got your stats from, The Wire was never considered the greatest tv show of all time - that honour belongs to The Sopranos, and still does. There's a reason why The Wire never won any Emmys during it's run, simply as great as it was, The Sopranos with 21 Emmys and The West Wing with 24 Emmys were even better. FACT.

This review reads like Skillup was on an immersive sim kick and criticized any game that vaguely resembled that for not being exactly that. On rails missions in a game like this are fine.

a technical achievement while the game play is absolute trash.

I know I'm late to the party but I must admit when I 1st played RD2 I really didn't like it (controls /traversal/ pacing) but after watching this video it made me realize how much I missed out on the story so now I'm gonna go back and play it... thank you.

this gives me goosebumps

I loved the first one , bought the second one at release, still haven’t finished it to this day… I got bored playing mid game

The time crisis comparison was unexpected yet so welcome and accurate lol

i dont know man i played it in 2022 on PC controls are amazing and the cover system saved my ass both in story and online more a milion times and even the dive cover roll thing which i discovered by mistake turned out to be handy and because the animations are amazing it never feels like repeating the same move, the controls bit is mainly a controller problem , on PC we pretty much make clips of how good all of it is people recreate john wick clips with it

The Rich man's goons are analogues to the real life Pinkertons.

U.S. PSN sale -70%
Ultimate Edition $30 usd
until July 20th 2023

I can’t believe he took jack fishing in the dark

I found out about you through Asmongold. I have to say, I have not seen ANY review of this game that showed the truth like yours. I LOVE the story, I love the characters but I was BORED out of my mind after getting to the fourth city or so (the one with red mud that lies to the border to New Orleans). I could never finish it. I have arrived thrice at that point! I bought the game THRICE also. On different platforms. I CANNOT finish it. The combat is so ridiculously boring and repetative, there are NO consequences to your actions at all, everything feels like a part system of a big system, the movement and looting is literally RETARDED. I cannot and never will finish this. And I love The Wire and I love this. But I cannot play it.

TLDR rock star dropped a banger

This video perfectly encapsulates my feelings about Red Dead 2. It felt like the game was fighting me at every step, trying to keep me from getting what I wanted out of it. I was in it for the story, but the gameplay wore me down, and at a certain point, I felt it was no longer worth it.

I understand all the critisism and think the game would be better without these flaws, however this is still my favorite game of all time. I just absolutely love it

Huh I have 100 hours in this game and don't mind the controls at all

I think this game is incredible but as detailed as everything is ive never cared one bit what happens to who and who does what. These characters don't feel grounded like Joel and ellie heck not even like Abby. Where I actually cared a bit towards the end. I think its due to the lack of control I have over the player. Their games always have this feel that just never feels right. Either the aiming sucks or the movement sucks. But this game, everything in terms of gameplay sucks. Hopefully, gta 6 will prove me wrong.

man in some things ur waay too critical seeing how much time have passed since the release of this game and there's no game like this, nevertheless i agree with the important points like aiming in this game is shit and no freedom in so many missions and i don't need freedom in the important missions but saying the epilogues are fan service is such a hot take didn't expect that 💀💀💀 , story wise though the 6th chapter was a mix bag for me it has so intense mission but there was so many native american missions and they are not interesting at all and the best part about them is what happens in the end of the mission , also i didn't like that sadie didn't get involved in the 4th chapter and i don't need her to be in the last mission of that chapter because it was dangerous and because if we get a 3rd red dead she definitely wouldn't be there if it was prequel or a sequel since she went to south america

All the best art has underlying politics involved sorry not sorry, even if you agree or disagree with it

RDR2 is one of the greatest 30 hour stories I've ever experienced stretched over 150 hours

This is by far and away still your best review to date and it’s a shame it has so little views compared to your latest work. I just started a new play through on PC after not touching it since it launched 2018. On my 4090 playing on a 65” 4K OLED the game looks absolutely sublime still, and still leagues better than modern games 5 years later.

I do think you were somewhat harsh in some areas of this review but that’s fine. The controls aren’t intuitive right off the rip but once you get familiar you can make them work for you not against you.

Look forward to the GTA VI review in 2 years lol.

I’ve always looked at the gameplay as prioritizing a power fantasy over challenge which may not be everyone’s cup of tea.

This was 5 years ago 👀 I feel old now😢

thanks

The amount of detail in this game is absolutely insane. When this game first released I played it day one but honestly felt a little over whelmed/bored while playing it so I just stopped and never looked back. Very recently I started playing it again and it just clicked and I have been loving it so so much,crazy what time can do. For me it’s all about the details and secrets that can be found and it’s hard to believe this game released 5 years ago, no other open world game feels this immersive to me and I’ve played most of them except of Baulders gate 3 but I do plan on playing that soon.

magnum opus of video games only rivaled by BG3

Im about half way through the game right now (just arrived at saint denis). I always knew from the jump that dutch was a con man spinning a web of false hope and false honor. Just trussst meee i have a plan.....whats the plan dutch??? What EXACTLY is the plan? What is honorable about robbing, stealing, and killing others for a large score? How is that better than society??? The entire story feels like a cautionary tale of the dangers of rigid idealism. You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain.

SPOILER WARNING:

Incredible review 5 years on, but I do disagree with the argument that many of the missions in chapter 6 felt like filler. So many of those missions are important for Arthurs redemption at the end of the chapter. Him helping the Indian tribe, absolving the debts, helping Edith Downes and her son... all of these missions are Arthur, and the player (if you play the game with high honor), trying to do the good thing. As Sister Calderon put it, Arthur took a gamble that love exists, and did a loving act. If these missions didn't exist I don't think Arthur's last ride, or his death would be nearly as impactful.

I understand the hate on the random world events, however I found myself mostly skipping over these and instead engaging in the "side mission" elements which include multipart chapters where unique and honestly hilarious characters pull you along random and often ridiculous storylines that are soooooooooo rewarding and satisfying.

I disagree that the epilogue doesn’t say anything new. I think the more time you spent as good Arthur the more time you will spend finding the trail of good deeds he had done as John. John will remark about his old friend and write in his journal about lessons he is learning and lessons that he had learned while reading Arthur’s journal entries. It’s like having a conversation with a ghost or a past life, reflecting on decisions that were made by a previous version of yourself. It’s a game that keeps on giving the further you lose yourself to it

On a second playthrough it becomes very obvious that the story is not about Dutch, it's about Arthurs journey of disillusionment. Dutch is the same person from the start to the finish of the game, what changes is how Arthur percieves him. The major shift in tone doesn't happen due to something Dutch does (or other stuff related to Dutch people have been speculating about), it happens when Arthur learns that he's dying. In the very first mission Arthur (along with Hosea) is voicing his doubts, and continues to do so for the first half of the game. However once the big reveal happens he starts defying Dutch as the illusion has been broken.

Arthur already knew something was wrong at the start of the game, but the player doesn't because they have no context. So the player is left in a position where they have to take Dutch at his word (even though it's all bullshit). But as the game goes along the player slowly sees through the illusion just as Arthur does. The fact that many people think the game is about Dutch shows that the story worked exactly as it was intended, but not in the way these people think it did. Just like Sixth Sense or Usual Suspects, once the player knows from the beginning they will notice a lot of things they missed the first time around.

One thing I noticed about rdr 2 is that for me the controls are best when played on pc and all the annoying parts you talked about the controls make it feel more real cause every bullet has impact. But also i have noticed all the people who played this game on console got frustrated by those same controls.

The whining about the controls are just a skill issue. I love the controls. In fact they are one of the best I have played.

I don't understand why some people dislike the gunplay. I learned to shoot in real life using guns like the ones in this game. The fact that every weapon makes you work the action (cocking a revolver, pump shotgun, lever rifle, bolt rifle) is so satisfying I can barely describe it. It makes you choose your weapons based on how they handle/sound/look, rather than damage output, because every weapon is equally deadly.

The bloom mechanic makes perfect sense to me as well. If you take your time while aiming, you're going to shoot more accurately. This is true in game and in reality.

I loved the Schofield revolver so much that I actually bought one. I just love its history and how many different mechanical functions it has. Not a practical gun by todays standards but it's still my favorite.

I REALLY have to disagree with the assertion that Arthur isn't smart. He's arguably more introspective than any of the gang, even John and Dutch. He's perceptive and observant enough to see things coming from farther away than most. He has this incredibly muted depth to him. Academic, no. Smart, absolutely. But you can't view his intelligence at face value. Otherwise, you'd assume he's just an average outlaw. There was a fitting quote by Arthur along the lines of, "Someone you would have thought in the past to be a fool is actually wise, thoughtful, and sensible.", when reflecting on the Indian chief. That's Arthur Morgan himself in a nutshell.

People think the controls are unresponsive?

People seem to forget a videogame should have excellent gameplay...yeah the story is great but controlling the game is awful.

i love love 20 more chapters......

Soooo I finally played it and it’s boooooring. Is it only me?

RD2 not winning game of the year when it’s the game of the decade might be the single greatest fumble the game awards have ever made

Thank you for this well thought out review. It tocuhes on all of the positives as well as the negatives, after watching it I have a clear picture about the game and if its something that I will enjoy.

One day when I buy a good pc rdr2 will be the first game I'm gonna play

This guy nitpicks everything.

Skill up, spoiler free review - also shows John at the end lol!