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[Boss Mog]

Honestly this franchise is the most overrated in gaming for me. All of its strength is in its presentation which is absolutely top notch, but sadly this is supposed to be a game, and as far as gameplay goes it's extremely weak. The world may look great but its basically completely empty and 95% of the missions and side quests are just "go to this spot on the map and shoot the bad guys in the exact same way with a very limited selection of guns".

GTA follows the same formula but the open world is more populated with more interesting side activities and a vast variety of vehicles and weapons, and you have the radio stations that play entertaining content while you travel. Gameplay doesn't get old as quickly. I can play through the whole game without feeling bored out of my mind like I do in RDR games.

This is basically the same issue I currently have with FFXVI: very nice presentation but lackluster gameplay. If presentation is all that matters to you then just go watch a movie. For me, if I'm playing a game, gameplay is the most important thing.

 

[Midnight Bliss]

Isn't it just hold R and push button to auto aim at some dude?

How much time does the game make you do stuff and run around for nothing important? Not even the good type of nothing important.

If I want a proper western simulator I should be able to drop pianos on dudes, ride alligators down the Mississippi while drunk and firing pistols. There needs to be singing cats and peyote. I want my shamanic initiation El topo and the holy mountain, Lisa the painful/joyful wild west experience.

The ground should move like piano keys on an ocean. Doesn't matter Im the dude with the cool moustache and the sheriff badge also I'm insane. I'm legitimately Paul Bunyan riding blucifer from the Denver airport pissing gold nuggets in the wild west.

Give me arcanum wild west any day. I'll throw a jar of pickles at the bad guy who wears a hooded robe and hides in the shadows. Even godhand stage one was better. This is wartime in the cowlord kingdom. Let's get outta here.

 

[Pidull]

I'm really glad I'm the type of player that can get fully engrossed in a game like RDR2. Detractors remind me of Shenmue detractors, they'll never be able to enjoy it.

You don't play RDR2 to be entertained, you play it to escape into a different world.

 

[lh032]

my major issue with this game is that R went too far with realistic animations.
It makes your movement very slow

 

[Games of Today]

RDR2 has its issues, but if you play it like an Immersive Sim, you will enjoy it a lot more. Walking around, taking in the sights, sounds, experiencing all the small nuances in the hunting, how the time and life system works - it is amazing. Mission design is still the biggest weak-point for Rockstar games in general with mostly linear paths that punish you from going off the beaten path during said missions, but otherwise it is easily in my top 10 games.

THIS is what is play the game for. It's pretty much the best nature simulation out there in terms of gaming. I mostly roam around and find new camping spots to mark with a blue sharpie on the physical map (not the better collectors edition map) that came with the game.

I love buying some baked beans and coffee at the general store as well as some carrots for the horse and setting off into the wilderness. I also play the v1.00 of this game which I believe has better volumetric fog and weather effects that happen more frequently than the updated version.

Edit The story is the weakest part. It's very predictable because its a prequel and Arthur, while being a pretty cool looking and sounding cowboy, isn't as morally ambiguous as I'd like him to be. He's portrayed as a good person throughout the game even though you can play with the lowest honor possible. The story and open world gameplay are too disconnected.

 

[Games of Today]

I used to think like this too but the more I learned about the game and understood its systems, the more I saw how shallow and 2 dimensional it really was. What appears on the surface as some deep layered ocean, is really just a heavily scripted puddle that falls apart the second you really put it to the test. Think about the wanted system for example. It seems really complex on the surface, but at its core it's nothing more than the same old GTA wanted system. There's almost 0 nuance or ambiguity to it, it's super basic hard coded rules with very limited flexibility for player agency. They give you things like a fucking full face mask that covers your entire head, then the second you pull the trigger, every random civilian and officer knows you're Arthur Morgan and puts a $50 bounty on your concealed head. It's fun the first time around when you're totally dazzled by all the beautiful graphics and lighting, but if you really go searching deeper, you realize how the whole show is propped up on the most shaky foundation of all time. Really, it speaks volumes about how the future of gaming will never overcome that feeling of artificiality and being limited by the lengths of programming the developers put in the game.

I agree with what you're saying but you do not get wanted by name when you commit crimes with a mask on. You'll simply be wanted.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Red dead 2 is a clear simple western shooter.

 

[KuraiShidosha]

I agree with what you're saying but you do not get wanted by name when you commit crimes with a mask on. You'll simply be wanted.

You do. Shoot someone in the face in Saint Denis with a full head covered mask on and you'll instantly get a bounty with your name. Doesn't even have to be an officer, just a civilian in front of other civilians. You'll instantly get wanted and a bounty.

Either way yeah the point is the game appears deep from the surface but falls apart and is really shallow when you actually test it. I'm also not a fan of the pseudo RPG elements like the cores, cleanliness etc. They're another example of how the game seems complex but really isn't. It's just an annoying nagging system that serves no real purpose other than to appear deep when they're really not. You can run around with empty cores nearly the whole game and it doesn't matter. I'd rather just play RDR1, which is the peak of Rockstar's library.

 

[kvltus lvlzvs]

I used to think like this too but the more I learned about the game and understood its systems, the more I saw how shallow and 2 dimensional it really was. What appears on the surface as some deep layered ocean, is really just a heavily scripted puddle that falls apart the second you really put it to the test. Think about the wanted system for example. It seems really complex on the surface, but at its core it's nothing more than the same old GTA wanted system. There's almost 0 nuance or ambiguity to it, it's super basic hard coded rules with very limited flexibility for player agency. They give you things like a fucking full face mask that covers your entire head, then the second you pull the trigger, every random civilian and officer knows you're Arthur Morgan and puts a $50 bounty on your concealed head. It's fun the first time around when you're totally dazzled by all the beautiful graphics and lighting, but if you really go searching deeper, you realize how the whole show is propped up on the most shaky foundation of all time. Really, it speaks volumes about how the future of gaming will never overcome that feeling of artificiality and being limited by the lengths of programming the developers put in the game.

Ironically, at the other end of the spectrum, you have Dwarf Fortress, Cataclysm DDA and Caves of Qud, but they all look, well, like Ascii.

 

[SkyHighTrees]

It's only behind Witcher 3 for me. Fantastic game I need on ps5

 

[Games of Today]

You do. Shoot someone in the face in Saint Denis with a full head covered mask on and you'll instantly get a bounty with your name. Doesn't even have to be an officer, just a civilian in front of other civilians. You'll instantly get wanted and a bounty.

Either way yeah the point is the game appears deep from the surface but falls apart and is really shallow when you actually test it. I'm also not a fan of the pseudo RPG elements like the cores, cleanliness etc. They're another example of how the game seems complex but really isn't. It's just an annoying nagging system that serves no real purpose other than to appear deep when they're really not. You can run around with empty cores nearly the whole game and it doesn't matter. I'd rather just play RDR1, which is the peak of Rockstar's library.

I wonder if it's because it's the head covering and not the bandanna? I'm going to try this now. Isn't that the whole point of the game having masks in the first place. I know the mechanic works the way I'm saying as I've done it before but I also don't doubt that they could have fucked it up somehow. I also play in the v1.00 of the game so it may work differently.

Yea none of the gameplay elements are that deep. I don't mind the cores but it would be nice if they actually served more of a purpose. It's also one of those games that upgrades your character's stats without asking you. So you your cores will get better and better causing you have more health, making the gun fights easier which removes a lot of the fun.

But on the flip side it's one of those games where you can impose your own limitations on many different elements in the open world gameplay. Like only making money from hunting or looting instead of using money from campaign missions. Once you do one or two campaign missions it basically breaks the open world economy. You can so easily get like $300 and the only things to buy that somewhat set you back on money are the full outfits in the catalog and new guns. Eveyrthing else is like $1.00 give or take so it makes saving money to buy extra food, to keep you alive in the wilderness useless.

I also sell any tonics, cures and revivers that I get. I think it's awesome that if you fuck off on your horse or someone shoots it, it can get severely wounded and you may have to put it out of it's misery.

 

[Hero_Select]

"Everything about RDR2 is still miles ahead of other games"

Except the most important part. The gameplay.

There's no denying the attention to detail is just unmatched but my fucking god is the game just.. slow. And archaic in mission design with the "hey don't stray too far off the mission path or it's game over"

I don't want to spend 5 seconds looting each body or opening and searching and closing a drawer.

And that not even mentioning the gunplay which sits firmly on the *bad* side.

I can understand why people like the game but I can much more easily see why someone would hate it.

I much prefer RDR 1.

 

[darrylgorn]

Couldn't look more dull to me but I'm also biased against westerns.

 

[bbeach123]

The best atmospheric lighting in video games .Early morning feel like early morning , midnight feel like midnight , evening feel like evening .

Not just look like , its feel like one .

 

[Punished Miku]

I'm waiting for it to hit $10. Never seen it below $20.

 

[MiguelItUp]

Outstanding game, I loved it so much. I will say, I DO feel like RDR2 had some weird flow issues in the campaign. Some parts got REALLY slow, but then it'd pick up again almost immediately. I never felt that way with RDR. But I love both so much, and somehow after RDR2 I loved Arthur more than John and I never thought that'd be possible.

 

[SJRB]

What's up with trash games ruining people's gaming lately?

 

[TrueLegend]

RDR2 is only next gen in my mind. Even with pathtracing once you see the enemy ai animations in Games like Cyberpunk all that generation talks gets out of window. Only RDR2 feels like a true next gen game ofc on PC but even console versions still stand tall.

 

[Bumblebeetuna]

It’s a technical masterpiece with depth that is at times awe inspiring. But it’s also a chore to play.

 

[DenchDeckard]

Absolutely incredible game, and probably top 3-5 best stories in gaming ever!

Just a special, special game.

 

[Pidull]

You do. Shoot someone in the face in Saint Denis with a full head covered mask on and you'll instantly get a bounty with your name. Doesn't even have to be an officer, just a civilian in front of other civilians. You'll instantly get wanted and a bounty.

Either way yeah the point is the game appears deep from the surface but falls apart and is really shallow when you actually test it. I'm also not a fan of the pseudo RPG elements like the cores, cleanliness etc. They're another example of how the game seems complex but really isn't. It's just an annoying nagging system that serves no real purpose other than to appear deep when they're really not. You can run around with empty cores nearly the whole game and it doesn't matter. I'd rather just play RDR1, which is the peak of Rockstar's library.

The Wanted system is more nuanced than that. When you put on/take off a mask is important, also what clothes you're wearing between crimes matters too. If you wear the same clothes all the time, of course you'll be recognized.

Put on a mask, head to town, kill a bunch of people, and return to that town later in different clothes and without a mask on and you shouldn't be recognized.

 

[FoxMcChief]

It’s a fantastic game. Once you get the idea out of your head that it’s not a western GTA, and it’s more of a western outline simulator, you will get so much more out of it.

It’s a top 10 game of all time, that’s for sure.

 

[Aenima]

Never played this. Looks boring in gameplay videos.

Is it worth it?

Part 1 I liked but that too was overly long and dragged in a lot of sections.

Im far from rating RDR2 as one of the best games out there, but the game has some stuff that is still very impressive. The open word is one of the best ever created with an insane amount of detail, especially wild life. Story is good too. My complains go most for the gameplay department like mission design with auto fail when u deviate a bit from the objective or try to solve the mission in a more creative way, and other annoying things. Outside hunting all kinds of wildlife, there nothing much to do in that beautifully crafted open world aside from taking screenshots.

I still consider it a must play.

 

[cash_longfellow]

Game looks fantastic, that’s legitimately it. The story is mediocre…and I’d rather not even discuss the jank controls, because then I’ll get sad. RDR blows RDR2 out of the water imo, although RDR controls are pretty shit too.

 

[Bartski]

well at least it didn't ruin your gaming

 

[Cashon]

Never played this. Looks boring in gameplay videos.

Is it worth it?

Part 1 I liked but that too was overly long and dragged in a lot of sections.

Red Dead Redemption II, to me, is the culmination of everything that games had led up to at that point. That being said, no game is for everyone; don't let other people hype you into playing something you won't like.

I also think the first game is another of my favorites of all time, but even I think it's still too long. Basically, the Mexico section is unneeded, weakens Marston's characterization, and drags the pacing of the game to a frustrating crawl.

 

[Cashon]

Game looks fantastic, that’s legitimately it. The story is mediocre…and I’d rather not even discuss the jank controls, because then I’ll get sad. RDR blows RDR2 out of the water imo, although RDR controls are pretty shit too.

Did you mess around with the options at all? How did you choose to play it, options-wise?

 

[SmokedMeat]

Ok, anyone mind telling me what the hell is this thing?

Natural Hot Spring

I love the differences in water quality, throughout the world. Take note of how dirty and disgusting the water is outside of the industrialized location.

 

[oji-san]

Best Rockstar game and one of the best ever made, the world is just amazing.
There are minor things that would be better, like rotten skins when you explore too much, but really this game is a masterpiece.
Please for the love of god patch it up to 60fps on consoles, it already looks amazing just need performance bump, I'll pay just make it happen already.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Natural Hot Spring

I love the differences in water quality, throughout the world. Take note of how dirty and disgusting the water is outside of the industrialized location.

Yep, from Yellowstone.

Not sure I would want to take a dip, however.

 

[SmokedMeat]

Yep, from Yellowstone.

Not sure I would want to take a dip, however.

Imagine being the first one to find out lol

 

[TheRedRiders]

RD2 and Witcher 3 are unrivalled in their world design.

 

[DeepEnigma]

Imagine being the first one to find out lol

 

[cash_longfellow]

Did you mess around with the options at all? How did you choose to play it, options-wise?

Tried messing with things. Like most of the controls tps standard, but sprint/move faster threw the whole thing off for me on X. I even adjusted the controls to switch button mapping on the PS5 itself, but assigning sprint anywhere other than X threw something else off no matter what.

The controls plus the idea of forced survival gameplay were my two main reasons for not enjoying it. I could deal with the slower pace and the story, as the story isn’t terrible to me, I just thought it was average…but those two thing’s completely ruined the experience for me. I don’t understand how RS hasn’t figured out how to properly implement controls in their games yet.

 

[Cashon]

Tried messing with things. Like most of the controls tps standard, but sprint/move faster threw the whole thing off for me on X. I even adjusted the controls to switch button mapping on the PS5 itself, but assigning sprint anywhere other than X threw something else off no matter what.

The controls plus the idea of forced survival gameplay were my two main reasons for not enjoying it. I could deal with the slower pace and the story, as the story isn’t terrible to me, I just thought it was average…but those two thing’s completely ruined the experience for me. I don’t understand how RS hasn’t figured out how to properly implement controls in their games yet.

First-person is my preferred way of paying it.

That won't negate the survival aspects though, obviously. Which, I agree, is the weakest aspect of the whole game.

 

[ZoukGalaxy]

Sure, here you GOAT

 

[zeldaring]

If RDR 2 played like MGSV then we would have the perfect game. One day i can only dream. unfortunately the gameplay is none existent .

 

[AJUMP23]

One of the best games I have ever played I agree. I enjoyed RDR2.

 

[Jibran#one]

Rdr2 is the greatest game ever made I'm with u op but
The multiplayer left so much to desire, the idea of it was good but rockstar just fucked it up

 

[cash_longfellow]

First-person is my preferred way of paying it.

That won't negate the survival aspects though, obviously. Which, I agree, is the weakest aspect of the whole game.

I might revisit it in FP if they ever drop a 60fps patch on consoles. I still own the game, so maybe if the feels are right I’ll jump back in!

 

[DeepEnigma]

Sure, here you GOAT

Sir, sir, that's a llama, sir.

 

[M.W.]

GOAT for sure. It's not even a contest.

 

[Woggleman]

It's not the goat and I get the complaints but it was still an incredible experience to me. The closest thing to an epic film that gaming has produced.

 

[rodrigolfp]

Everything about RDR2 is still miles ahead of other games.

Especially the jankiness on controls/input lag.

 

[Sleepwalker]

It is an awesome game with mediocre gameplay, Arthur is the best game protag out there.

 

[zeldaring]

It is an awesome game with mediocre gameplay, Arthur is the best game protag out there.

its sad cause i do feel rockstar makes the best open worlds in gaming that feel alive . they just don't care about how the controls feel or making any combat that actually engaging or requires and skill.

 

[Cashon]

its sad cause i do feel rockstar makes the best open worlds in gaming that feel alive . they just don't care about how the controls feel or making any combat that actually engaging or requires and skill.

What is a similar game that, in comparison, does have engaging and skill-based combat, in your opinion? Which games do you think of when you levy that criticism?

 

[rofif]

I think you would like gta 4

 

[TerribleAtThisGame]

The mission design is mindbogglingly shit to the point I laughed out loud several times at it essentially having invisible camera marks.

 

[BouncyFrag]

Game is incredible. My biggest regret was wrapping up the story too soon so the rest of the side content was played with Marston.