"Red Dead Redemption II": controversy around the new Western game

*** Attention Spoiler: This text about the game "Red Dead Redemption II" contains information about the game "Red Dead Redemption II". If you do not want to know anything about the game, do not read the text. ***

It's been more than eight years since the creators of "Grand Theft Auto" of Rockstar Games have achieved something extraordinary with "Red Dead Redemption": the rebirth of the Western genre, long considered a poison at the box office. And in the form of a video game.

"Red Dead Redemption" was a milestone, a West End western to play, multi award winning, sold at least 15 million copies. To this day, it continues to appear in the lists of "best games of all time".

Only now has Rockstar Games finished with the successor. As it is fashionable today, it is a predecessor. John Marston, the protagonist of the original "Red Dead Redemption," which plays in 1911, is only a minor character, which is part of the story of one. the latest outlaw gangs, led by the charismatic Dutch van der Linde.

The protagonist of this new game is a little the right arm of van der Linde, a dirty revolver hero named Arthur Morgan. In 1899 already, even for the outlaws themselves, one clearly feels the end of the old West but still a little wild. This gang is a sort of proto-socialist collective retreat, that of Van der Linde over the years. Delusions, confused, abandoned, drunkards and useless.

Not all are white, and many are not men, and of course, the game, characteristic of rock star chef Dan Houser, reflects the social and societal debates of today. In addition to searches on trains and trains, cattle thefts and many shootings, these include women's rights, racism, the ruthless exploitation of nature and men, and the question of who really exercise power over whom.

Carsten Görig and Christian Stöcker spent many hours with "Red Dead Redemption II" (RDR II) and came up with very different conclusions. Can the game follow its predecessor? A debate

Christian Stoecker: Hello Carsten, where are you with the RDR II and how do you like it so far?

Carsten Görig: I arrived last night in a big city in the middle of the swamps. Her name is not New Orleans, but she looks a lot like him. I arrived at the fourth chapter and I managed a little less than 40%. Slowly I get used to the speed of the game. At first I was rather bored over long distances.

Christian Stoecker: Bored? Why this?

Carsten Görig: The game is great. Very big Fortunately, you are not on foot. Unfortunately, there was no car at that time, which is why you ride long distances on horseback. It's boring in the long run. Moreover, it is precisely the landscape of the first chapters that is rather dark. Traveling five minutes in a meadow overgrown, photographing bandits and then return five minutes back is only of limited interest.

Christian Stoecker: That's right, you spend a lot of time riding and the distances you have to travel are sometimes long. But I find it almost meditative and also a little subversive: Normally, video games are rather characterized by the fact that they create a feeling of constant trepidation. Even when in fact there is no pressure of time. The RDR II is, so to speak, a deceleration to play – and I find the scenery of the game extremely beautiful! Sometimes the mist drifts in the swamps, dawn shines in the sky and everywhere you meet beautifully animated animals, from rabbits to moose. I spent a lot more time hunting than expected …

Carsten Görig: But it's not a deceleration, but a job! I should hunt the animals so my gang has something to eat. I have to get some skins for the camp to be prettier, I should have trifles. And I have to take care of my health and that of my horse. This is not only a job, but also an extreme confusion in the management of individual elements. In addition, it seems that I am the only one to pay for the camp and to be financed by supplies, ammunition and better tents.

Christian Stoecker: I also have the feeling. In a way, this collective seems to be very unevenly funded. But I have the suspicion that it is the intention and perhaps even later plays a role. I am also suspicious of the great Dutch leader van der Linde. He is accepted by all as a super-father, even if he drags mainly and badigns tasks. I am very curious to know where the story goes.

Carsten Görig: It would be pretty boring if it did all the work. The story is gaining momentum in the third and fourth chapters. Fractions in the group become clearer, it becomes obvious that the gang is not a collective but a group of people who have very personal motivations. I find Van der Linde interesting because it stems from an American dream par excellence, in which everyone is welcome. What you could remember today.

Christian Stoecker: I think the characters are interesting too. Rockstar is used to investing a lot of work – in this case, incidentally, this has caused a debate about the working conditions in the industry. If you have already played the predecessor "Red Dead Redemption", you also know that everything must in one way or another go to a disaster. After all, John Marston starts this game as a broken man, with a huge bad conscience. This expectation of the badly announced has almost of Brecht. Tension refers to the course of action, not to the exit. But back to the point of departure, you said that the game had annoyed you at first. Do you finish it?

Carsten Görig: Of course! At the latest, when the areas to the south of the map are open, whether you're traveling in the Louisiana marsh or the southern state plantations, the game is denser and more atmospheric. Then he does what Rockstar games are: capturing perfectly the spirit of a place. I suspect that the self-imposed pressure to see as much as possible until the game came out helped my boredom. Now, I can not wait to see more, play more relaxed and spend more time. Nevertheless, the RDR II is one of the games that will be right in the rankings this year and probably the next. Unless it fails completely at the end.

Christian Stoecker: This is similar to me. Maybe we'll talk again when we're done, huh?

Carsten Görig: I hope so much!

"Red Dead Redemption II" from Rockstar Games, for Xbox One and Playstation 4, from age 59, – Euro, no youth release