Red Dead Redemption 2 Review: This Game’s Got A Brilliant Plan, It Just Needs Your Money!

I never played the first Red Dead Redemption so when I jumped into Red Dead Redemption 2, I didn’t know what to expect story-wise. I only got interested in the game for the online mode that was that’s due later this year. Little did I know that I was going to be experiencing one of the best story-telling in recent memories.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is a Western-themed action-adventure game set in an open world environment. It is played from either a third or first-person perspective and the player controls Arthur Morgan, an outlaw and a member of the Van der Linde gang.

America, 1899. The end of the Wild West era has begun. After a robbery goes badly wrong in the western town of Blackwater, Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang are forced to flee. With federal agents and the best bounty hunters in the nation massing on their heels, the gang must rob, steal and fight their way across the rugged heartland of America in order to survive. As deepening internal divisions threaten to tear the gang apart, Arthur must make a choice between his own ideals and loyalty to the gang who raised him.

I’ve given my thoughts on this game in my Red Dead Redemption 2 First Impression: A Great Game With Some Horrible Controls!, so I don’t want to repeat myself with what I’ve already said since nothing has changed after finishing the main story and the epilogue.

Right off the bat, I have to give props to the graphics of this game. I’m a PC user but even I can admit that this game looks phenomenal on the PS4. The use of lighting in this game really brought the world of old west America really to life. Aside from that, the world is alive and breathing. Everything from the NPC doing their daily routine, to the wildlife felt authentic and immersive. I lost hours just wandering the landscape and discovering what this game had to offer. There were so many things to do, from hijacking a train to simply playing Poker in your downtime.

Everything was fun. Of course, the story is where things really shined. Arthur, after a couple of chapters, became likable and I wanted to see how his journey with the Van der Linde gang would end. Seeing him change and develop as a character as the world itself is on the hunt to purge his kind was gratifying. And Dutch, let’s not forget the driving force behind this gang of mischiefs. Dutch was perhaps one of the most compelling Hero turned Villain that I ever witnessed. Seeing him fall from grace was outstanding. He really made this journey spectacular.

Of course, the game despite all its pros, had some cons that I feel like I have to mention. First off, the controls. I just couldn’t get over how annoying some of the bindings on the controller and movement was in the game. Controlling Arthur felt like a challenge. He was slow at doing literally everything. And I mean everything. I understand that Rockstar was going for realistic movement, but sometimes it does get in the way. Overall, this game is fantastic and is worth the pickup.