Revisiting the Timeless Perfection of Red Dead Redemption 2

[Music] Red Dead Redemption 2 is a game that many consider to be one of the greatest video games of all time almost 6 years on from its release in 2018 Red Dead Redemption 2 remains as an industry standard in many aspects its visual Fidelity not only holds up to this day but at times is on par if not better than many modern games the story lives on as an exciting yet tragic downfall of a gang of Gunslingers trying to get one last payday in a world that is leaving their type behind and characters that have gone down in gaming history as some of the greatest characters we've ever seen Red Dead Redemption 2 is a game that I absolutely love I'd consider it to be on par if not just behind the last of us as my favorite game of all time I adored it when it came out and replaying it again in 2024 my love for the game has only increased so I figured it was time to revisit Rockstar's Magnum Opus one of the greatest video games of all time the open world the story the characters the game play and take a deep dive retrospective look into the Timeless Perfection of Red Dead Redemption [Music] 2 the story of Red Dead Redemption 2 I think was was a major surprise for everyone I think we all expected a certain level of quality out of Rockstar for sure but the depth and Nuance in which this story was told was simply phenomenal it's a story that focuses on the impact of industrialization on society and specifically what that means for the Lawless gunslinging west of which our characters are deeply embedded within they sense that the world is changing and they want one final payday to escape to Paradise as they know they just don't fit in in this new Society but their leader Dutch constantly leads them astray forcing them to question their loyalty to him and of course Dutch's mental decline with Arthur being the main vessel in which we explore the story Redemption also plays a huge part in the game as the title would suggest there's also an essence of family revenge and change throughout the story and upon second play through there were many things that I never really appreciated when I first played the game back in 2018 it's a deep rich and layered story that deserves multiple playthroughs so let's go through that story it is a very very long story so the people who do have criticisms about the game tend to point out that certain moments of the story are a little too slow many point their finger at the opening chapter of the game The velind Gang are stuck in the mountains hiding from the law after a job gone wrong in Blackwater we're not given the full context into exactly what went wrong only what we can piece together together from small moments of dialogue hinting that something uncharacteristically bad happened with Dutch having a part to play there's a lot of mystery from the past in the first chapter of the story and a lot of time spent getting to know the members of the gang some of which we'd seen in the first Red Dead Redemption and some new faces as well again many people say this opening chapter is too slow and whilst I agree that yes it is slow I wouldn't change it for the world if the opening chapter of the game didn't take its time in planting seeds introducing all these characters in meaningful ways then the payoff toward the end of the game would never have been as good as it was the story definitely kicks upper gear in the following chapters however the gang make their way to Valentine with the aim of making money whilst laying low but their past follows them with the Pinkerton and OD Driscoll making it clear that the gang's ultimate motive of one final payday before disappearing into the sunset isn't going to be as easy as Dutch is making it out to be and of course it's not conflict arises continuously forcing the gang to move location and lay low once again and it's essentially rinse and repeat you move to a new place you lay low you make money but Dutch becomes increasingly unhinged as time goes by and Arthur starts to question him more and more so although the game does the same thing with relocating the gang a handful of times each time is significantly different because of where the characters are at at that specific time mostly Arthur and Dutch but also what characters aren't around anymore adds to the drama because you're often dealing with the Fallout of what happened that forced the gang to move location all of it eventually boils to a head with a major heist in sand which goes wrong seemingly a repeat of the situation in Blackwater before the events of the game this is a major turning point in the story it's where things really go off the rails for the gang as if the conflicts with the Pinkerton and adris Scholls weren't enough up until that point already gang members are killed Jon is captured as the heist goes suspiciously wrong leading the gang to make a desperate escape and they do but through A Series of Unfortunate Events they're boat capsizes and they end up prisoner in gu which is probably my least favorite portion of the game it is fun enough and we do get to see Dutch's violence side really start to come out but the game returns to form when you get back to the rest of the gang unfortunately by this time the pinkertons are right there once again waiting for them and they are then forced to move to Beaver Hollow the final destination of the story this is where the game really starts to display its true colors and becomes a video game story that nobody can forget Arthur collapses in the streets of sand and is diagnosed with tuberculosis a progressive disease that will kill him in a matter of time Arthur has a Moment of clarity upon his diagnosis and the Redemption Arc kicks into full gear we find out that Molly one of the G gang members had tipped off the pinkertons about the robbery in s showcasing that the one thing Dutch values that being loyalty has started to leave the gang going against Dutch's orders Arthur and sad saved John as it turns out he didn't die in the sand Heist and it's at this moment where we really see Dutch start to lose himself loyalty Arthur it ain't I had a godamn plan it's no coincidence that in this scene specifically Micah is standing right behind him by this point Arthur comes to a realization that he doesn't have to be Dutch's lap dog he can die a better man he doesn't have to be blinded by loyalty he can redeem himself in some way now it's worth noting that the first time I played through Red Dead Redemption 2 I had a high honor playthrough so this time round I went for a low honor ending on purpose as by some miracle I Never Had It spoiled for me but by this point in the story I no longer wanted the low honor ending because the Redemption side of the story I forgot how strong that it was and Arthur is so likable that you want the best ending for him so despite initially wanting the story to play out a certain way because I hadn't seen it before the power of the story made me want to fight for the high honor ending completely throwing out 30 40 hours of game playthrough just because of how powerful the story was now as the story really heats up Dutch sets up a meeting with Leviticus Cornwall to call off the pinkertons and Arthur Flags this immediately as another Dutch Revenge Quest that's going to cost more lives by this point Arthur is seeing straight through Dutch it's clear to him by this point that his friend may not be worth salvaging that the Dutch that he thought he knew might be gone yet Dutch seems to still have a sense of self-righteousness as per his monologue to Leviticus Cornwall you kill I kill you Rob I Rob only difference I can see is I choose whom I kill and Rob and you destroy everything in your path by this point in the story many gang members are starting to turn on Dutch with Arthur and John being the main two they can see his Decline and can tell it's only a matter of time before things go beyond the point of no return that the gang is most likely done for already as things boil to a head the gang sets off on a mission to help the Indians attack an oil plant Arthur and Charles are doing so to actually help the Indians Dutch on the other hand has another plan he's always got a plan after all Dutch masks his true intentions saying that this would help take the heat off the gang but in reality he wanted them to attack the oil plant so he can get the bonds there to fulfill his plan on getting the money needed to escape the West upon leaving the plant however Arthur is pinned down facing certain death Dutch has a chance to intervene but he walks away putting Beyond reasonable doubt that Dutch has lost his mind and Arthur and others know that he has truly gone off the rails and is almost Beyond saving and it's time to leave the gang for good I swear back there Dutch just stood and watched if it wasn't for Eagle FES I'd be I know I feel like he's descended into the kind of man he told us never to be maybe he's just become more who he really is I don't know anymore I just feel like a fool Arthur then continues to question Dutch's Authority by asking to let the women and children in the gang leave and sternly says As Much by this point it is beyond clear that Dutch has had enough of Arthur's lack of faith even though it's obvious as to why but Dutch in his self-righteous ways fails to see it they then go on a train Heist and JN has seemingly been killed although it's off screen and we don't see it and we of course know for a fact that it's a lie as well because we play as JN in the next game but anyway to pile on to this Abigail was kidnapped by the pinkertons naturally Arthur wants to save her as that's what the gang would always do for one of their own but this time Dutch says no indicating how far he has fallen you're right that's M it pains me to say it Arthur but he is Right Touch come on boys I guess that's that there Arthur and sad go solo and save Abigail and find out that Micah has been ratting on the gang since they got back from gu and by this point it's clear that Arthur has just had enough and it's time to end Dutch's Madness in one way or another forcing him to get rid of the devil on his shoulder once and for all that being Micah the man that has manipulated Dutch into acting on his worst impulses just as Arthur confronts Dutch it's revealed obviously that JN is still alive and despite Arthur making it clear that Micah is a rat Dutch is too far gone by this point and draws the Line in the Sand to which it's only Arthur and Jon left against him at this point Arthur knows his time is coming to an end and he wants to help Jon return to his family topping off the Redemption he's undergone throughout Dutch's downfall the pink interrupt the standoff and as they escape Arthur's horse is killed which is completely heartbreaking come on brother let's go give me a sec come on push [Music] Arthur thank you Arthur this is where Arthur chooses to hold off the Pinkerton to allow Jon to live and to get to his family ending his life with a redeeming act but Micah and Dutch are still there we see Arthur and Micah fight to the death the fight pushes Arthur to his physical limit and his sickness has gotten the better of him and he's only moments from Death he almost reaches a gun to kill Micah but Dutch intervenes it is over now AR it's over DD he's a right you know it I know he's sick he's dying he's talking crazy I gave you all I had I'm did uh come on Dutch let's go buddy we made it we want come on John made it he's the only one rest of us I tried in the end I did come on let's go we can make it come on [Music] Dutch come on Arthur's dying words actually have an impact on Dutch and for the first time in the story Dutch walks away from Micah now depending on your honor level Arthur crawls to the edge of a cliff and passes away peacefully as the sun rises but if you got the low honor ending which is what my recent playthrough was Arthur dies at the hands of Micah both endings are heart-wrenching in their own way there are two other identical endings that take place at the camp but the result is essentially the same regardless fact of the matter is Arthur is dead marking the death of one of the greatest video game characters to ever exist and it's topped off by an incredible soundtrack it's truly one of the most emotional moments I've ever had playing a video game and I know we're just doing the cliff notes part of the story here for this video because we could realistically do this for hours but but it just still hits so hard almost 6 years later even though I knew Arthur's death was coming it's just as powerful as I remember but the story isn't done there we switch characters and play as JN in the epilogue to set up the events of Red Dead Redemption we see John battle with the new life he's trying to create due to Arthur's sacrifice trading in the Gunslinger lifestyle to a ranch hand that works to provide for his family not only to please Abigail but to honor Arthur's sacrifice to help him escape the epilogue does drag on a little bit if I was to nitpick but I completely understand why Rockstar felt the need to spend so much time playing as JN it helps you appreciate and process the loss of Arthur rather than just rolling credits we see Jon struggles to go straight the building of his Ranch and his proposal to Abigail with the ring Arthur had in his Satchel in a way Arthur's Legacy is John and his family by the epilog's end we start to hear word of Micah floating around from Sadi and of course it builds to a final confrontation with mic by this point all we want to do as a player is just put a bullet in his head and thankfully we group up with Sadie and Charles and set on a journey to do so to Jon's surprise Dutch is with Micah to retrieve the stash left at beaver's Hollow but it's not lost on Dutch that mic was a rat and of course that mic was a major reason as to why the gang was torn apart it's clear that Arthur's dying words truly did get through to Dutch so he kills Micah and walks away a defeated and broken man he leaves the stash behind for Jon to take using the stash sad Charles and Jon all get their happy ending going their separate ways to live their lives peacefully but we of course know that Jon doesn't get to live happily ever after this story is simply phenomenal and the only way to do it true Justice would be to do a five hour video talking about just the story itself we obviously just kind of went over the cliffnotes version because this game just offers so much more than the story and we've got to get to all of it but seeing the slow decay of a gang of Outlaws that you can't help but love is hard to watch but in an amazing way the care the writers has put into this story is top shelf and is without doubt one of the best video game stories ever told it's a slow burn at times but because of that when it all comes to a head the ending is so much more impactful and it's an ending that sticks with you long after the credits [Music] Roll Red Dead Redemption 2 is the kind of game where you can talk about the characters for hours on end normally when I make these kinds of videos I group the characters in with the story section but this game the the characters deserve their own Spotlight Arthur and Dutch are obviously the main two characters with the most depth here but what surprised me was just about every single character within the gang itself got an arc of some kind whether it was necessary for the game story or not there are a couple that go a little underdeveloped sure but characters like Reverend Swanson goes from a bumbling drunk to a man put together that leaves before the gang's inevitable collapse and also gives Arthur some really good advice sad goes goes from a Mourning Widow to a badass Bounty Hunter and even Kieran goes from a man with a head to a man without one no but seriously he goes from an odris to a vanderland which is pretty cool John also goes from a gunslinger to a family man at least for now moral of the story minor characters go on arcs of their own in the background and you only really see it if you engage with them in Camp now obviously Jon's no minor character but he is on the sidelines for major portions of the game as to take the spotlight away from Arthur but he's still undergoing an arc in the background and then there's Micah well mic's just a prick but he does rise up the ranks of the gang and goes from the hotthead who's good in a fight to someone who has managed to manipulate Dutch into acting on his dormant impulses but when you discuss the characters of Red Dead 2 you go to the two main pillars that hold this game up to be as iconic as it is and that's obviously Arthur and Dutch I find both of these characters is extremely fascinating a lot of the spotlight tends to get put on Arthur as one of the greatest video game characters of all time which I totally agree with but in my opinion I think Dutch is right up there with him so let's start with Dutch because this character is wildly fascinating and so incredibly complex and layered that people still discuss his decline 6 years on from The Game's release many people make the argument that Dutch declined as a person and started as a somewhat decent man at least for an Outlaw but regressed into a bad man on the other hand many people make the argument that he was always a bad man but just got worse at hiding it as the game progressed I tend to agree with the latter I think Dutch was always a bad man but the events of the game and stress put on him by the gang's dwindling Faith broke him down over time and on top of that you have Micah on his shoulder bringing out the dormant monster hiding behind the facade of an admired leader at the beginning of the game Dutch had values values that he forced the gang to live by but as you progress throughout the game you see him contradict those very values for example early in the game Dutch says that revenge is a luxury that we can't afford obviously throughout the game that code is abandoned by Dutch himself he also says this to Kieran I got a Sayan my friend who shoot fellas is need shootting save fellas is need save them and feed them is need feed beaten we are going to find out what you need now flash forward to the end of the game and Dutch refuses to save people that need saving multiple times not just random people longtime members of the gang with John and Abigail this is also the same man that left Arthur for Dead when he could have easily intervened indicating how much Dutch's values withered away as the game progressed but you could also make the argument that those values never existed it was all a part of the facade again that's why discussing this character is so interesting at the beginning of the game you as the player are drawn into Dutch's Charisma and Leadership much like the characters are just about all of the gang members have an unshakable loyalty to him which carries on quite far into the game all of the gang members refus to hand him over to Milton flash forward to the end of the game and almost every single member wanted to get as far away from him as possible the game has many major moments that send Dutch off the rails but I think the biggest Catalyst by far in Dutch's decline was the death of Hosea Hosea was the voice of reason that kept Dutch's true self at Bay for so long but without him and Micah in hosea's place the dormant monster came out if Hosea never died this story would have played out completely different Dutch would have remained a little more levelheaded I'm not saying he wouldn't have gone off the rails and gone a step too far with certain AXS as he was was always prone to do that but hosea's death essentially broke the shackles off of Dutch's Madness completely and Micah was there fueling Dutch's ego whereas Hosea would keep it in check as the voice of reason when The Dominoes start to fall and everything goes wrong Dutch is simply incapable of accepting that he has a major role as to why he blames anyone he can but himself blaming the fading loyalty of characters like Arthur and Jon as to why the gang are in a bad situation or he'll just blame it on bad luck rather than his egotistical decision making that led them to that point now Dutch isn't just battling himself the gang the pinkertons the adris but he's battling the new world the evolution of society that's quickly leaving relics of the past like him behind which just adds to his downfall there's a lot going on for him toward the end of the game things get seriously complicated for Dutch Arthur and John were like Sons to to him yet they are the main two that turn on him they've warned him about Micah but Dutch in his huis fails to see it he'd rather side with someone who fuels his ego than someone who questions it regardless if they were like Sons to him or not that's one of the reasons why I think Dutch was always a bad person there's no way a good man at least in an outlaw sense who's lost his way could go down the path of siding with a homicidal maniac like Micah and be quick to kill or leave for dead two people who were like Sons to him it's because deep down Dutch is more like Micah he always was it just took the death of Hosea questioned loyalty the pressure of the new world and constant failure that brought it out at the end of the game we finally see Dutch actually paus for a minute to see that he potentially did make a mistake that somewhere along the line he did lose himself the fact he walks away from Micah is evidence of that but at the same time he also walks away from a dying Arthur he's confused he's angry he feels betrayed by not only his companions but betrayed by himself and the road that leads him down eventually isn't a good one it is picked up a little bit in the epilogue and it's clear that Dutch is just a defeated man at this point say something Dutch say something I ain't got too much to say no more I find Dutch to be one of the more interesting antagonistic characters I ever seen in a video game there's simply so many layers to peel back for this character and when I play the game again someday which I will do I have no doubt I'm going to uncover so much more about this character that I didn't spot in my first two playthroughs these characters are that layered that you can uncover something new every single time you play and that's the sign of an incredible character now we of course can't talk about characters without talking about Arthur freaking Morgan who is is straight up one of the best video game characters to ever exist Arthur's story is just incredible he started out as a young delinquent who was essentially raised by Dutch and the Gang he's a killer with a sense of Honor he's a bad man but not Beyond Reason if there's a job to do he'll do it but he maintains his moral compass at least to some degree for an outlaw as amazing as this game is at its core it's essentially a character study for Arthur Morgan but what made this character so great well I mean where do we even start when we first meet Arthur he's a stereotypical Outlaw he's had a tough upbringing he's part of a gang with a code he will do what is necessary for the safety of himself and his gang but there's a likable aspect to him most of it comes from Roger Clark's incredible performance they got Micah and the sheriff's in strawberry and there's talker hanging them there's open Arthur what there's also inserted backstory through side missions with Mary Linton where we see more of Arthur's life before the event of the game we learned that he had a son and has always dealt with his label of an outlaw despite wanting a different life for himself these are the kinds of things that you only find if you do the extra side missions now as sad and tragic as Arthur's story is he's got a sense of humor he's naturally likable despite sometimes doing some pretty bad [ __ ] you go through the early areas of the game doing some pretty messed up stuff as Arthur but if you read his journal you get a bit more insight as to how he really feels about the things he does in the name of loyalty to his gang and Dutch Arthur says something in the game that summarizes the character perfectly be loyal to what matters and he stayed true to that from beginning to end despite having such a massive Arc throughout the story there were many great moments I remember from my high honor playthrough such as the famous I'm afraid scene which is without question one of the best of the game I didn't get it this time round as to my knowledge it's a high honor only cutscene but that remains etched in my mind all these years later Arthur's story is ultimately one of redemption he goes from a man who beat to death a dying father for a few dollars to sacrificing himself for a chance not a guarantee a chance for someone else to have a better life when faced with his own mortality Arthur begins to act on the dormant feelings he's had whilst doing bad things he's a essentially the opposite of Dutch Dutch was basically a bad man pretending to be good for the good of the gang and Arthur was a good man pretending to be bad for the good of the gang it's a little more complicated than that sure but I think it's a valid statement to make the game story brought out the real Dutch and the game story brought out the real Arthur and I love that parallel between the characters Arthur also has strong parallels with Micah on the surface at least at the start of the game they're both bad men they do bad things but the difference is one enjoys it and one deep down despises it and although Arthur and Micah seem similar early in the game we see how drastically different they both are by the end now when coming face to face with his own mortality later in the game Arthur chooses to accept that his end is inevitable but he can still help others live a better life and that's ultimately the driving force for the final third of the game every time Arthur coughed it was a stark reminder that his death is close and as the player that's really hard to take even though Arthur is the vessel in which you're experiencing the story you still feel like you're externally watching a friend go head first into their own death it creates this depressing feeling as the player but a hunger to write wrongs at the same time to give a character that you know is going to die the best ending you can possibly give them earlier in the game Arthur knows that the things he's doing are bad but in a way are Justified as his loyalty to the gang is his priority as loyalty is the most important thing to Dutch Arthur is essentially a reflection of that he'll get his hands dirty to help support the gang because he's the enforcer he's the best shot and he has his role to play and whether he likes it or not he plays that role until he comes to realize who Dutch really is where his loyalty actually got him and at that point he questions everything it's really fascinating how it all weaves together if you really crank through the side quest toward the end of the game you realize just how far Arthur has come on his Redemption early in the game Arthur kills a dying father for a few bucks collecting a small Bounty and that man is the one that gave him tuberculosis so he essentially got himself killed for something so minuscule doing an act that he'd rather not be doing so when confronted with the family of which he took the Bounty from he's quick to do what he can to help them I ain't looking for forgiveness it ain't about that don't forgive me just take the money and get out of here please I know I ruin your life I suffer for it every day but don't let yourself get killed for for Pride I've seen it kill too many folk don't say anything don't thank me just take the money and back your bags that's all I got to say Thank you Mr Morgan I said don't thank me get out of here Authur doesn't want a thank you he just wants to do some good in this world before his inevitable end he just needs that in a way to at least try and write some of his wrongs that he committed because of his blind loyalty to Dutch Arthur's Final Act of loyalty toward Dutch is exposing Micah as the rat in the group by this point Arthur had every reason to just leave he saved Abigail but his loyalty carries through all the way to the very end he knows the second he outs Micah as a rat things aren't going to go well but he does it anyway he's loyal to Dutch the entire way through which is exemplified just before his death he gave Dutch everything he had to make him see the truth to help his friend to remain loyal yet Dutch still turned on him it's only then Dutch realizes his failure but by this point it's too late Arthur is on death's doorstep and the Gang has been destroyed it's honestly just heartbreaking man like it's such a sad story now Arthur's Redemption is kind of Bittersweet too as we know that his sacrifice leads to Jon's death and Jack turning Outlaw to avenge Jon so some people say Arthur's Redemption is actually pointless which I must say I strongly disagree with that's why the epilogue to the game exists Jon managed to reunite with his family he managed to build a house to have a chance of trying to be a better man that chance was because of Arthur the times of peace and happiness John got before things went South in the events of the first game were because of Arthur's final act it may not have lasted forever but nothing lasts forever the passing of the Hat between Arthur and John also just means so much the passing of the mantle for a player but Jon carries these items with him in a way honoring Arthur's sacrifice and he proposes to Abigail using Arthur's ring Arthur lives on through John and his family and I love that that's how they tie the two protagonists together it's perfect Arthur is just a character that feels real a character that feels like a friend as opposed to a vessel that takes an audience through a story in a video game he is truly one of the greatest if not the single greatest video game character of all time and I could talk for hours as to why this character is so great but again we're trying to cover a lot of bases in this video Arthur is simply a phenomenal character through and through one of the very best [Music] so now that we've got the story and characters out of the way let's get into the open world of Red Dead Redemption 2 this game essentially ruined open world games for me because I've yet to come across anything in the past six years that tops it whenever I play an open world game without even meaning to I subconsciously compare it to Red Dead 2 because I still think it's the best open world game ever made and I don't even know how it's realistically going to be topped unless Rockstar knock GTA 6 out of the park or they make a Red Dead Redemption 3 I just feel like the only people who could possibly top Red Dead 2 in an open world sense are the people that made Red Dead 2 what they managed to build here is an incredibly alive and immersive open world a place where you can get sidetracked and end up doing hours of content off the the beaten path with ease I remember halfway through my playthrough I went up into the mountains to have a look around and I literally spent 4 hours there just exploring no game has made me do that in a long long time there's always something to find something to do something to get lost in and it doesn't matter where in this sprawling open world you are there's always something waiting behind every corner random NPC interactions are a standout and make the world feel alive they comment on your appearance if you buy a new horse they comment on the horse if arur is filthy they'll say it it actually feels like you're taking part in a living and breathing world you can be ambushed by other Outlaws you can face repercussions for things you did 20 hours ago in your playthrough the game seemingly doesn't forget your actions and I love that it helps that the setting itself is incredibly diverse you have deserts Open Spaces Canyons Snowy Mountains forests swamps t accurate cities they just about have all bases covered for where you can go and the environments themselves have a role to play if you're in the snowy mountains and you don't have the appropriate clothing it actually affects you same goes if you're wearing layers of clothing in a hot environment it helps add to the feeling of immersion you get when exploring the world and the world is put together so well by Rockstar that it still holds up to this day visuals don't represent objective game quality but it definitely helps when the game looks as good as this the world is your playground and why would you not want to explore every nook and cranny when it looks so good now granted the footage you're watching was recorded at 4k on PC completely maxed out settings and I hope YouTube's compression doesn't diminish the quality of what this game was like to play through in a visual sense I'd often just slowly walk around and take in the visuals the atmosphere the lighting and just be totally lost in this world the Environmental storytelling is also next level you get a sense of the time period the ushering in of the Industrial Age just from walking down the streets of s KN the thought and Care put into this world is unbelievable now spread across the open world is essentially endless content side missions are absolutely everywhere and unlike many open world games nowadays the side content is actually worth doing not all side missions are a home run but some of them are just as exciting if not better than many main story missions stumbling across a stranger and actually engaging with the content is worthwhile there is endless hours of content here 100% in this game is something that I want to do someday but the amount of time needed to do so is just insane now any developer can fill their world with a stupid amount of content that's overwhelming and totally not worth it look at many Ubisoft titles for example but that's one of the things that separates Red Dead 2 from other open World Games the filler content spread throughout the map is actually worth doing and there's so much of it even though I've put well over 150 hours into Red Dead 2 I only figured out a week ago that there's a vampire side mission like that's just insane there is just so much to do in this world you can hunt animals you can collect bounties side missions Rob people Banks stores trains fish Easter eggs shop horse breaking gambling mini games like it just doesn't end now granted not all of these activities are fun to do like the fishing for example is kind of boring but it's there it's an option I'm just always in a constant state of Amazement when exploring this world I still think to this day it's just the best open world that we [Music] have now when it comes to gameplay this is where some people take issue with Red Dead 2 most people tend to agree that the story is phenomenal the characters are iconic and the open world is one of if not the best ever created but the game play is where people tend to find chinks in the armor of red dead 2o now I'd be remissed to ignore that the game play in some areas has its problems but it's nothing that can even begin to ruin my experience with the game sometimes if you're in a confined space moving around to shoot or engage in hand-to-hand combat it can be a little rag Dolly you know a little bit clunky but apart from that I think everything works pry pretty much perfectly the ragd doll physics tend to be a go-to for people that for some reason just hate this game whilst in some areas sure it can be annoying like what I mentioned earlier but at worst the ragor physics I think are just absolutely hilarious CRA now the snap aiming tends to be something that you either love or you hate personally I like the snap aiming it feels like it would just be ridiculously hard to hit targets without it especially when you're riding on Horseback which is an obstacle they would have had to overcome when they were making the game but playing the first Red Dead the snap aiming is way more immediate and snappy if that's even a way to describe it but here in the sequel It's a little more relaxed but it is a lot of hide behind cover aim move the stick up slightly for a head shot and shoot but it is satisfying and even if it is a flawed system it is still fun and I think that's just the most important thing if your game mechanic isn't great but it's fun then realistically who cares same goes for the dead eyee feature some people see it as a bit of a copout during difficult situations but I just find it awesome lining up half a dozen people and ending them all in the dead eyee animation is a load of fun the shooting in general in this game is great overall rifles do what a rifle should do pistols at times can feel a little bit underpowered especially if you don't maintain them and shotguns are just insanely brutal now traversing the world means you spend a lot of time on Horseback and although I wouldn't say the horse mechanics are flawless I think it's still incredibly strong there's only really issues when you're around steep areas or dense forests but 99% of the time riding on Horseback feels smooth weighty and engaging especially as you increase your bond with your horse and can do extra Maneuvers now one thing that really did strike me when jumping back into Red Dead 2 again was that in a gameplay sense it can be quite slow a lot of riding around a lot of time on Horseback and for some people this might not be their thing they want to explore the map much faster but given how good the game looks and how alive the world feels I love the extra time spent riding around on Horseback it gives you that Gunslinger Western experience that you're probably after now hand-to-hand combat is one area of the game that I feel is maybe a little off a lot of it is waiting for a Parry punching someone once or twice and then rinse and repeat until they get knocked out or die it's not ter terrible but there are a lot of games that do hand-to-hand combat better just recently I played through the Last of Us Part Two again and the hand-to-hand combat in that game definitely feels much better than it does here to be honest though most of the time I just pulled out a shotgun and shot someone in the face anyway so it's kind of not a problem if you just do that and I think the general gameplay Loop of Red Dead 2 it's just fun you do a mission then a new Mission unlocks quite often forcing you to Traverse the world and along the way you get a random NPC interaction a side quest something to do and then you eventually end up at the next main mission it's a fun gameplay Loop and it does keep you wanting more I'd often want to power through the missions as the story was just so engaging but along the way I'd get sidetracked because there was something I wanted to do or items that I wanted to progress as the progression is very complex and almost every aspect of the game can be leveled up in some way so in a gameplay sense I think it's maybe the weakest aspect of the Red Dead 2 experience which is really saying something about the quality of the game because the game play is excellent it's just not really the star of the show the story the characters the open world tend to be at the Forefront and then you have what is still very good gameplay to mesh into it it's just a fun gameplay experience Red Dead Redemption 2 is ultimately one of the best video games ever made and in my opinion still to this day the best open world game ever made it truly felt like all the stars aligned to create a game that anybody can love that's so rich with things to do places to explore stories to get immersed into and characters to love it's pretty impressive that I can open up a game in 2024 that came out 6 years ago and just lose myself just as much as the first time I played it the graphics May age eventually but the story and characters will live on as some of the best ever in video game for many people Red Dead Redemption 2 is more than a video game and given the Mastery on display here it's not hard to see why

Channel: Game Overload

Views: 195,352

Keywords: red dead redemption 2, red dead 2, red dead 2 retrospective, red dead 2 analysis, red dead redemption 2 analysis, red dead redemption 2 retrospective, red dead redemption 2 video essay, red dead 2 video essay, rockstar games, gaming, arthur morgan, dutch van der linde, open world, open world game, game overload, rockstar, red dead, red dead online, video game, video game analysis, video game retrospective, gameplay, game review, roger clark, ps5, xbox, pc, gaming review

Id: v6Nnin9mDjo

Length: 43min 41sec (2621 seconds)

Published: Thu Apr 11 2024