I was, as the kids say, gassed when I finally got my hands on Red Dead Redemption 2. At the time, I was writing for a now-defunct video game website, and in celebration of one of the most anticipated games of all time launching, we were given the day off. (In hindsight, with eight years of industry experience under my belt, that’s a baffling decision, but I wasn’t complaining at the time.) Unfortunately, within a few hours of slogging through the snow, setting up camp at Horseshoe Overlook, and discovering Valentine, I was bored out of my skull.
Listen, I’m not just hating to be contrarian for the sake of it. I wanted to love the game. The original Red Dead Redemption had me weeping during that unforgettable, devastating final scene. And Grand Theft Auto 5 is one of my all-time favorites, too, so I was all set for Rockstar’s next major outing to blow me away. Arguably, it did, but not in the way I was expecting.
At the time, Red Dead Redemption 2 was one of the most detailed games I’d ever played. The world felt alive. The story was gripping. The characters were entertaining, personable, and sometimes even relatable. And technically? It’s a masterpiece. Take hunting, for example: 178 different kinds of animals, each with different habitats and behaviors, and many of them require bait to attract them while you lie in wait.
The problem is that with Rockstar leaning so far into realism, Red Dead Redemption 2 may be impressive, but it isn’t fun. Slowly following the scent of a bear, setting a trap, then hiding in a bush for minutes on end isn’t engaging gameplay. Another example is that looting is astoundingly detailed: the ability to search through every individual drawer and the fact the game doesn’t just open an inventory screen in its UI is commendable, but it takes so, so long.
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