RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2: A GLORIOUS MASTERPIECE

I twitched, my throat was dry and my gun hand, itchy. I gently reached for my revolver as I watched the man in front of me brandish his pistol to his own head, there was no time to think and only time to act, in a flash, in a fusion between man and metal, I had unleashed a pin point accurate shot to his gun hand, shooting the weapon out of it without the young man getting as much as a scratch. He was going to die…someday, but not today, not on my watch. This isn’t a snippet from one of Zane Grey’s Western novels, no sir-ree, that gunslinger was me, well me, in the shoes of Arthur Morgan, the protagonist of Rockstar’s latest masterpiece – Red Dead Redemption 2, the prequel to its critically acclaimed predecessor Red Dead Redemption.

As far back as 2017, Red Dead Redemption 2 had been tipped as the potential game of the year, If it was any other game, from any other video game publisher, it would probably have sounded like rubbish or just cheap marketing, but nobody refuted those claims, because knowing Rockstar, and the precedence they’ve laid down in the video game industry, they were probably correct. I mean this was a game that made other publishers push back or pull forward the release dates of their respective titles to avoid being decimated. The modern day open world formula is quite ubiquitous among many different titles, but Rockstar have remained the master, constantly reinventing and updating the sandbox genre. So, I guess it’s only makes it more impressive when Red Dead Redemption 2 didn’t just meet those expectations but clearly surpassed them as the glowing accolades the game has received so far would suggest.

This was the game I had been waiting all year for, the one that would make me shun Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey until I could afford both. I grabbed my copy on release day but could only begin my foray into New Hanover as early as 7am on Sunday morning. After spending a measly 10 plus hours and completing some main and side missions that had taken me through the muddy town of Valentine and logging town of Strawberry. I’ve been rolling my key-chain like a pistol all morning, practicing how to shoot from the hip, that’s how immersed I became, I’ve experienced this in some of Rockstar’s previous titles, but it gets even better in Red Dead Redemption 2. You don’t just pass through the world doing quests in a bid to get your reward at the quest’s end, but instead get rewarded for just playing; a sprawling sandbox that boasts an ecosystem close to ours. Everything you do seemingly has an effect on the world around you; leave a deer hanging on your horse for too long and it will decompose which in turn will get your horse dirty and affect its health, ride your horse clumsily into another horse and both horses and riders will crash to the ground, dress inappropriately for the weather and your health core gets affected by the scorching heat or biting cold, go days without a bath and you will start to smell like horseshit, and that’s barely scratching the surface. This realism does not come without it’s annoyance though, like the moment I chased a bounty into the wilderness and got my horse drowned, I couldn't just whistle for another one and had to trek back to the closest town. Yes, death to your horse is final in this game.

While some of these features might not be new to Rockstar games or other games, they have never felt this necessary - You must sleep, eat and drink to maintain your health and stamina cores, meaning that you’re more than obligated to do these for your survival rather than just because you can. But it’s not even just your playable character it’s also the world around you; The interaction with NPCs (Non-Player Characters) and other side missions along the way make it that more exciting and not since the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt have I cared about what happens to an NPC. There’s just so much I’ve experienced already, and I haven’t even achieved up to 10% of the main story campaign so you can only imagine what’s to come.

The only criticism I have at the moment is how the mission brief at the end of main missions seemingly encourage you to complete them in a certain way, a contradiction to a game which inspires you to do anything you damn well please, anyhow you damn well please; I shouldn’t be concerned about how many headshots I could achieve or how long it takes me to complete a mission, although these have their perks and ultimately aren’t compulsory. But as an OCD completionist, I had to remind myself to just enjoy the flow rather than replaying every main mission immediately after, just for a gold rating. I eventually got over this. 

I will certainly be playing this for the months to come; Running from the law with Arthur and the gang, helping or robbing strangers on the path, killing and skinning game for their meat and pelt, getting in brawls and shootouts, strutting around town like the big bad outlaw I am, and riding into the sunset, basking in the glory and the greed that was the West.

RejectRating: 9.9/10