Now Playing: Red Dead Redemption 2

Despite my positive first impressions, Red Dead Redemption 2 was the most disappointing game I played in 2019. The opening chapters were engaging in terms of story, pacing and gameplay. They struck a fine balance between scripted, story based missions and the free form exploration of the extensive open world.

But as RDR2 progressed, that balance began to waver. I’d say the problems began to mount during the third chapter which ended in a way that felt abrupt, unsatisfying and left far too much unresolved. And that would become the ongoing pattern of my RDR2 experience – with each subsequent chapter degrading more than the last.

The story, overall, is still enjoyable and Arthur Morgan is an excellent protagonist. But there are many aspects of the story that left me unsatisfied as they weren’t appropriately explored or resolved. Towards the end of the game, characters who I’d come to like simply disappeared with little word or explanation.

RDR2 isn’t just Arthur’s story, but the story of the gang – the family – he travels with. Interacting with and venturing upon missions with your fellow gang members is a core component of the experience. And that’s why it’s so strange and disappointing that as you approach the conclusion of this story, the majority of these characters become rather irrelevant.

 

The core story of RDR2 is the story of how this family slowly falls apart. The early progression of this story is excellent, but sadly degrades over time resulting in a conclusion that, as I’ve already described, feels abrupt, unsatisfying and leaves far too much unresolved. The final ‘epilogue’ chapters do fix things to a degree, but I still came away feeling deeply unsatisfied by the progression of the narrative.

But as I said, as flawed as I feel the story may be, I did still enjoy this tale and I still think Arthur Morgan is a wonderful protagonist. Unfortunately, my issues with RDR2 aren’t simply limited to the narrative, but to an even more important aspect – the gameplay.

Whilst I prefer games that offer more creative player flexibility in terms of mission design, I’m certainly not opposed to more linear, tightly scripted ‘cinematic’ missions if they’re enjoyable and engaging to play. And whilst there are many missions in RDR2 I thoroughly enjoyed despite their linearity, there are many others I did not.

There are too many missions that feel inconsequential within the core plot. Missions that feel like needless busywork. Missions that . . . well, are just plain boring to play. In one chapter, Arthur and several of his companions take an unexpected detour to a tropical island. Whilst this is a fun diversion and a welcome change of scenery, it’s ultimately a rather pointless diversion that only disrupts the pace of the ongoing core story.

 

There are simply too many missions in RDR2 that I played purely to complete and progress, rather than enjoy. I think you could easily cut a quarter – maybe more – of the missions from the game and you’d have a far more engaging and tightly paced experience. And that’s the weird thing about RDR2 – it has more than enough missions in which to properly tell and explore its story, but it meanders along and squanders far too much time on irrelevant things, resulting in the more important aspects being rushed or resolved in ways that aren’t particularly satisfying.

I was also a little disappointed by the side or ‘stranger’ missions in RDR2, some of which are very good, but many others feel poorly developed. And whilst I enjoyed ‘upgrading’ my camp early in the game, donating various materials or funds, it turned out to be totally pointless by the end and something I regretted wasting so much of my time on.

But if there is one aspect of RDR2 that is truly excellent, it’s the open world you can explore. The attention to detail is staggering and, visually speaking, RDR2 is one of the best looking games you’ll ever play. It’s not just how it looks that’s impressive, however, but how alive the world feels. The landscapes, the weather, the wildlife and the random npc encounters all serve to build what may be the most impressive open world ever constructed.

If I had to sum up my thoughts on the single player side of RDR2 it would be – a bloated, messy, occasionally excellent but frequently dull experience. The good outweighs the bad, but it’s hard not to be disappointed. And that disappointment continues to grow with the multiplayer side of RDR2 – Red Dead Online.

 

I was a big fan of the multiplayer in the original RDR. I sunk countless hours into it. It was the only reason I continued to pay my subscription to X-Box Live for as long as I did. And yet, after only a few short hours in Red Dead Online, I was already bored of it. I stopped playing it and had no incentive to return.

I think there are a few key reasons for this. The first is the lack of an engaging story. Whilst many missions in the core game may be a little dull to play, they’re supported by some good narrative and some excellent characters. But Red Dead Online has very little story or characters to explore. The missions are just . . . missions. Dull missions with no plot or character aspects to elevate them into something a little more engaging.

The map in Red Dead Online is also . . . too big. It seems a strange complaint, but when playing RDO I very rarely saw another player – we were all so spread out across such vast distances that our paths never crossed. And this made the missions even more dull, because whilst it is possible for rival players to join various open world missions to help you – or try to stop you – it’s not something I ever saw or experienced because everyone was so far apart.

The map in the original RDR may have been smaller, but it meant that you were never too far from where the action was. In RDO, travelling so far to try to link up with other players or join an in progress mission to help or hinder is just too much time and trouble to bother – particularly when the rewards are so damn measly.

 

The original also didn’t feel like so much of a grind. Everything in RDO is level locked – weapons, clothes, camp upgrades . . . even ammo types. I understand the intention to give players a long term goal, but I just don’t care. I just want to play for . . . fun? And I just don’t find RDO fun to play, not when I wanted to purchase a new hat for my character and realised I’d have to wait until I was level 30 to do so. A f**king hat.

And don’t even get me started on the completely unnecessary fees to change your appearance, or the ‘virtual stable’ fee or the – and I can’t believe I’m writing this – virtual ‘Horse Insurance’. I guess you could argue that none of these things really matter and they’re not a Big Deal, but just as I found the ‘car insurance’ in GTA Online to be totally ridiculous, I find ‘insuring’ virtual items just as ridiculous here.

Okay, it’s time to wrap this up. Red Dead Redemption 2 was a frustrating and very disappointing experience. Some aspects of it are excellent, but there are far too many negative aspects dragging the overall experience down. I think the worst thing about RDR2 is how I have zero desire to replay it in the future.

Whereas I’ve played the original RDR multiple times, I simply don’t think I have the patience to grind my way through the dull missions and meandering plot of RDR2 in order to experience those few excellent moments. By the end of RDR2 I had to force myself to sit down and finish it and once I had, I had no desire to return. No desire to finish any outstanding bounties, stranger missions or challenges. No desire to replay any missions. No desire to return to Red Dead Online. I was done with the game – glad to be done with the game. Glad I played it, but more glad I’d finally finished it. What a shame.

6/10