Red Dead Redemption 2 is immersive, cinematic and a bit awkward

Good

• Beautiful and immersive open world
• Complex and interesting characters
• Massive amount of interesting side quests

Verdict

Red Dead Redemption 2 features complex themes and characters, a world of fierce beauty that resembles a western.

I am tired. It is 4 o'clock in the morning and I can barely keep my eyes open. I am looking for a potential meal for people returning to the camp following the delicate hoof marks that my career has left in the bush. Spotting my prey, I approach slowly, trying to stay out of line as I align my shot.

I hold my breath when the tiny white reticle turns red, signaling that I have the shot. I pull the rope from the bow and let my arrow fly. However, the white-tailed deer moves its head just in time, sending my waves into the rock next to its head. Scared enough, my career was saved. Eyes tired, I sigh and resume hunting, marveling at my pleasure.

That's Red Dead Redemption 2, the long-awaited sequel to the beloved 2010 Western World Open to Rockstar. A game that took eight years to do, with thousands of script pages and controversial, 100-hour work weeks well-publicized to carry out. It's been four hours since I started playing and I can tell you with absolute certainty that I have not even scratched the surface yet. I can also tell you that before this game is over, I'm going to spend at least 150 hours of his life on him – and that suits me.

New game, new protagonist

Red Dead Redemption 2 is a sequel, but if you expected John Marston to take the reins of Red Dead 2, you'll be disappointed. Instead, you will play with Arthur Morgan. Similar to Marston, Morgan is an orphan who was raised mostly by Dutch gang leaders Van der Linde and Hosea since the age of 13, learning to shoot, ride and of course commit crimes.

As an adult, Morgan is gruff but fair and is highly respected by many gang members. Never being afraid to get his hands dirty, Morgan has no problem robbing banks, collecting debts and committing any other crime necessary for gang survival. However, after a robbery at Blackwater, he begins to question Dutch's judgment, but does his best to stay online. It's a decision that will cost him dearly.

Although he has mostly a brusque behavior, Morgan is not without depth. You will find the essential by reading his journal. Along with his excellent drawings, the man records his deep thoughts about the events of the day – good, bad or ugly. One of my favorite articles is about how he hates usurers even though it's a technically legal job, reflecting on the hardships of existence. It's in those moments that you see Arthur the man.

Outside of her diary, Morgan strives to find her place in a rapidly changing world, where organized civilization and growing capitalist interests compromise her hopes of living without government restraint. These are certainly heady topics with which to debate, but at the micro level, Arthur faces changing priorities and loyalties within his gang. A resentment and disillusion grow between Dutch and Morgan, who with their relationship of substitution father / son are both clichés and real.

The boys are back in town

Fans of the original Red Dead Redemption will be delighted to learn that the previous film, shot in 1899, is dedicated to Dutch van der Linde and his gang at a somewhat happier time. Everyone is on the run after the Blackwater incident. With the money now hidden near the crime scene, the game is hard to get and is hidden in an abandoned mining camp on Horseshoe Overlook, outside the small town of Valentine's cattle.

It's from this rather desperate situation that we see Van der Linde's gangs during happier times – you know, before John Marston searches his former comrades for clemency from past crimes. The Dutchman, who presents himself as a Western Wild West, is synonymous with charisma and great ideas centered on the search for a piece of land in a civilized West in full development where his people can live wild and free from the government of the United States. United.

We discover that before Bill Williamson and Dutch abandoned John Marston, inadvertently triggering the events of Red Dead 1, Bill was immensely faithful to Dutch and his way of life. Of course, he is an aggressive and violent killer, but an aggressive and principled killer. Javier Escuella also appears as one of the Dutch acolytes. Faithful and loyal almost to fault, he integrated the Dutch philosophies and considers his comrades members of the gang as brothers.

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And speaking of John Marston, this guy seems to be constantly on the end of the stick. Our first meeting with John is a rescue mission. Seriously wounded by the shooting, he is attacked by the wolves, leaving these permanent scars that we know and love.

He's sarcastic and a little sarcastic, but over time, he turns out to be a very honorable guy – I mean, as honorable as can be an outlaw. Abigail and Marston's son, Jack, are also part of the gang and it's clear that Abigail and John disagree for his poor parenting skills. A gang member, she is not afraid to defend herself or her son.

Interacting with all these characters from the first game is bittersweet. Of course, it's fun to see them before everything goes wrong, especially Dutch and John. But I could not help but shake the feeling of watching a wreck in slow motion. By playing the first game, you will know that sooner or later, things will fall apart for the Van der Linde gang. As soon as you start playing, you are in an unconscious jolt, waiting for the other shoe to fall.

It's like being in a movie

Sometimes I have the impression of living in a movie or maybe a Westworld season. From the moment the title sequence started and I started moving the protagonist Arthur Morgan during a snowstorm, I felt like I was sitting through a variation of d & # 39; An opening scene of The Hateful Eight. The snow fell in wet and sticky tufts, making it difficult to see anything that was not directly in front of you.

As I accompanied Dutch and Micah on a refueling mission, I marveled at how much the freshly fallen snow was moving realistically relative to the horses' hooves. Even more impressive was the way individual particles in the top layer of frozen precipitation shone as we moved.

Thanks to a new system of dialogue, I had the opportunity to ask my two companions questions about the current state of affairs, which allowed them to give shape to their personality. And when it was necessary to save Dutch by shooting down some of our hated rival gang members, the slow motion effect when I made my first shot made me feel like in a movie. action.

From the moment the title sequence started and I started moving the protagonist Arthur Morgan during a snowstorm, I felt like I was sitting through a variation of d & # 39; An opening scene of The Hateful Eight.

But if you really want to summon this feeling of film, you will have to activate Kinematic mode. Usually composed of aerial or side shots, Cinematic mode adds traditional thick mailboxes around the photo to create a true Western impression. As cool as it sounds, I found that I could not often use this effect because it was difficult to control my horse reliably. It has happened too often that my poor steed hurt himself in a tree or on a rock, wounding both of us. But maybe you'll have better control than me.

Another way the game looks like film – stimulation. Red Dead 2 is a slow combustion, complemented by long horseback rides and a measured dialogue. Not a scene is lost and even the side missions perform a lightweight build job in many cases. This means that you will certainly steal banks and trains, but the road will be long and winding to get to this point.

So freakin 'pretty

The detail found in this snowy view is the rule rather than the exception, as evidenced by the many articles devoted to the care that Rockstar has taken to reproduce horse testicles. In fact, I was "healed" at a seat in the front row of my horse that was taking a large dump while I dismounted. But acts of visceral urination aside, the game is breathtaking and diverse.

In the world of Red Dead Redemption 2, there is no ugly, and you have to face it.

Riding in a mountainous desert was an abundance of beige and brown, dotted with sparse vegetation and a rustic wildlife. The plains were a vast expanse of pale green grass of varying heights, where it was not uncommon to flush out a pheasant or a rabbit. But my favorite territory is by far the marsh, which I discovered by fleeing the law.

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One minute, I dodged and dodged on a meadow grass, the next second, I sank into the mud and mire of the swamp. As I crept into the brackish ground, I saw a water moccasin spinning, leaving light ripples in its wake, halving the reflection of the moon. It was beautiful, but I could not stop drinking it because bounty hunters were determined to get their $ 30 bounty. So I was in a hurry and I almost got devoured by a particularly big alligator that I thought was confused with a log.

What I mean is not ugly in the world of Red Dead Redemption 2 and you have to face it.

These are the Sims, Cowboy style

Have you fed your cowboy today? There's a lot of character management in Red Dead 2. In addition to being able to change Morgan's aesthetic appearance, you can also influence his overall well-being with his food intake. Eat a little too much and Arthur becomes overweight, which improves his health but diminishes his stamina. If he is malnourished, you will gain more stamina at the expense of your health. You will also need to closely monitor the endurance and health of your horse, as well as work to create a bond with him.

And if that's not enough, you can also cultivate your camp. By giving money, food and animal skins when you come back to camp, you can raise a moral that can help with resource management. You can also customize the structure of the camp, which provides access to drugs, tonic, food and ammunition camp.

This game is more concerned with character building and telling a legitimate story than letting you accumulate a considerable number of bodies.

Although I do not advise you to deceive the more aesthetic changes in the camp, it is absolutely essential to maximize the Dutch tent as soon as possible. Maxer's tent brings in more money for the camp and allows you to upgrade your own tent, which will unlock the fast travel ability. This is an important feature given that horses are your main means of transportation, which means that getting from point A to point B can be time consuming.

These are not the fastest weapons in the West

Although shooting and death are quite numerous in Red Dead 2, it is not as free as in the game Grand Theft Auto Rockstar. This game is more concerned with character building and telling a legitimate story than letting you accumulate a considerable number of bodies. You can, of course, start shooting, but life will become terribly difficult once the rewards on your head are bigger. And besides, you'll be photographing a lot of people along the way, it's just more thoughtful this time around – or maybe I'm getting old and sentimental (I'm going with the old option, FYI ).

When you decide to trade iron, you have a vast arsenal of weapons as the game progresses, including different models of pistols, revolvers, shotguns and rifles. . And do not forget the bow and arrows, the tomahawk, the throwing knives and the incendiary devices. Something new for me was not having my complete arsenal available to me at one point.

This meant that before dismantling enemy gang camps, I had to go to my horse and create a specific load. It's an interesting mechanism that matches the methodical and semi-realistic nature of the game. But I'm not going to lie, there have been several times where I've forgotten this mechanic and I got into the fight with a knife, a revolver and a lasso. It did not end well.

But my one and only complaint about Red Dead 2 is about controls. Controls have a significant lag, especially when starting to break down enemies. The tiny aiming reticle was bad, but setting it up was complicated, it took about 2-3 seconds for enemies to fall on my eyes. And by the time I had a pearl on someone, they had moved and I was aiming for a less vital body part. This can be a major problem for people obsessed with nailing to the head, so you can try manipulating the sighting controls.

For such an incredibly refined game, it is disappointing that the controls are so slow and of poor quality.

Another control problem occurs when you enter a city. I can not tell you how many times I went to greet a nonplayable character amicably and steal it inadvertently. When you arrive in a city, I think the default option should be disarmed, but apparently, Rockstar thinks otherwise. For such an incredibly refined game, it is disappointing that the controls are so slow and of poor quality.

Bottom line

Honestly, I could write for days about Red Dead Redemption 2. With its breathtaking panoramas, fascinating characters and attention to detail, the game is without a doubt the best of Rockstar (you can send me a comment on this subject).

Some might oppose the stimulation, but when the immersion factor comes in (and it will), you will quickly adapt to the world created by Rockstar. And believe me, it's a world and not a sandbox. Each part of the game demonstrates Rockstar's dedication to being complete even with something as banal as a horse taking a hot and tormented shit turning into interactive art.

But despite all these hours of critical time and thousands of pages of scripts, any good western, be it a movie or a game, is nothing without its satisfactory shots. Rockstar manages to deliver, but the ultimate gratification can be delayed thanks to slow controls. But no matter how you cut it, Red Dead Redemption 2 is an experience every player should experience.

Credit: Rockstar Games