Red Dead Redemption 2

 Warning: Spoilers

I have been quiet for a while because I finally obtained Red Dead Redemption 2 and just finished all story missions. For me, the real game has just begun. When the game first came out, I claimed that I would likely turn it into my little pony and that’s exactly what’s been going on. My plan however has changed as I progressed through the game.

Overall, the game is technically excellent and Rockstar has really raised the standard for open world environments. I think this is what Kingdom Come Deliverance was aspiring to and developers did admirably considering the time and resources they had. If KCD had been set in a world as lively, detailed and photo realistic as RDR2’s I would have declared it the best game ever made, end of subject.

Despite being quite well designed, I have never liked the mission structure in Rockstar games and this is the furthest I have gotten in one. You never know if an interaction is about to suck you into something you’re not ready for. Thank goodness you can manually save.

The prologue was definitely the most painful tutorial that I have experienced. We’re going on a nice long horsey ride. Oh look. Some action. We’re going to flash some control button tips on the screen. Wait, what? OK somehow we have survived. Let’s take another long horsey ride. Fortunately, the in game help is fairly extensive. Even so, there’s button combinations I still can’t keep in my head. A complex control scheme is the price we must pay for deep and excellent game play systems. It gets easier with practice but it’s also distressingly easy to do unintended things like shoot shopkeepers, punch, kick or push random bystanders or your horse or just fumble around and fail completely. Whether the consequences are humorous or tragic depends on how religiously you save.

I was ecstatic to arrive at Chapter Two with photo mode and a horse. I took a screen shot to celebrate but my happiness was short lived. Before I knew it, Arthur was in Valentine knifing strangers in hotel rooms and brawling outside the saloon. I really didn’t know what I was doing. I wanted very badly to go to the stable and get the Ultimate Edition thoroughbred I was promised but the stable was closed. I had to do a mission. I did a deep dive online about horses, stables, and missable content and yes just about completely spoiled the game for myself. I rushed through Chapter 2 to get to the horse fence in Chapter 3

I could have lived quite happily in Chapter 3, ignoring the gang to hunt for food, tame horses and take screenshots. The camp is beautiful. I spent about 4 hours just exploring around Clemens Point. Staying there left too many things unlocked and it occurred to me that I could acquire horses just through missions. So began the march to the epilogue.

I dreaded every mission. Sometimes they took surprising and humorous turns especially some side missions but it was frequently a cycle of argument, acquiescence and destruction. Rockstar may have written the best gang simulator of all time. I appreciated Arthur’s fine sense of irony but I mostly just wanted out of the gang. 

The dialogue and voice acting are outstanding. This is mature, unflinching story telling even if  I have some quibbles about the plot. That doesn't really matter though. This is the greatest free roam environment ever created and post epilogue you are free to continue your outlaw ways or take a different path. 

I recently installed some add on content for Kingdom Come Deliverance and for the first few minutes of play I felt a little disappointed free roaming. It just doesn't come close to RDR2. But it wasn't long before I was just as engaged as ever so I guess technical excellence really isn't the most important thing for me.