Red Dead Redemption 2
Red Dead Redemption 2 is a crazy-massive game. I've finished the main story and am into the epilogue, so I think I have a pretty good feel for it even if I haven't seen everything.
From a technical standpoint, it is impressive in just about every way.
It looks good. About the only thing that regularly struck me as visually off was the appearance of a worn bandelier rarely fit well on the main character model. Everything else? Good or better.
It sounds good. Throughout most of the game, I didn't really notice the music, but anytime I did, it fit. And the few times the music was pushed to the forefront, it sounded even better. I found no complaints about the voice work.
The level of detail is where it gets into crazy territory. There is so much detail, with attention given to a great many things that probably aren't "worth it." A lot of it serves to boost the period feel and "realism" of the game, but there are so many things that could have been left out and no one would think to complain. Having them in certainly adds to the wow factor and raises the bar.
The game is expansive, with a large map and relatively limited fast travel. That latter point is both positive (for immersion) and negative (for inconvenience in play). While there are a lot of side missions and random events that can make long-distance travel more interesting, there were definitely times I just wanted to get back somewhere, but had to spend a while getting there.
The number of game systems are huge as well. Chapter two of the game, several hours in, still introduces a number of things like fishing and the fence. The character body weight system is there, though I pretty much ignored it and only ate when stat cores were down.
In a game with so very much, you expect a certain amount of bugs. In my play, I only really encountered one of note and it was... highly annoying, though not quite game-breaking. In a major story mission, the camera shake that is sometimes triggered by explosions, spun out of control and didn't go away, making it incredibly difficult to aim, move, and even see what was going on. I managed to play through it with some trouble because I didn't want to lose progress, but after I finally exited and reloaded the game, I didn't see that happen again.
I can't really discuss the story without spoilers. I'll try to keep them minor, but can only do so much while touching on important points I feel bear remark.
The game centers on a group of outlaws in the wake of a big heist that went bad in which they lost the take and some members. That makes it obvious from the get-go that these are not exactly the greatest of people. They are criminals. But Dutch, the leader of the group, does seem to preach a set of ethics that comes up, including things like "we shoot what folk need shooting, we help what folk need helping..." Ultimately, you see this group is a sort of extended family and they look out for their own first, but they're not maliciously evil. At least, that's the baseline of how they're presented.
In the very beginning of the game, the group is stuck in snowy mountains with few supplies and out searching for some food. They come across a homestead that happens to be under attack by a rival gang, so they kill the rivals, scavenge supplies, and adopt the survivor of the attack. It is very easy to imagine, however, if those rivals weren't there... would Dutch and his group have robbed this couple of supplies they probably need to survive? Would they have gunned down the couple living there if they resisted? The game avoids that question entirely by circumstance, painting them in perhaps a better light. But if you look at that situation at all, you see how fine a line that is.
The main story follows Dutch's gang from the perspective of one of his right-hand men, Arthur, as they try to escape their troubles. This always involves making enough money to escape the law (generally in the form of the Pinkerton Detective Agency), rivals, and victims.
By the beginning of the third chapter, I had already though the game deserves an alternate title: This Will Not End Well: The Game. Both in large scale (the civilizing of the West and ever-present bounties) and in small scale (every new scheme that comes up), I think it becomes clear pretty quickly that there is not going to be any big score that leads to a pleasant retirement in Tahiti. Given RDR2 is a prequel to the previous game, that's pretty well understood. I can't say I found any of the "twists" or "reveals" in the story very surprising. One was spoiled for me (perhaps a little too late) while the others were just apparent.
Maybe I played Arthur a little too "good" early on, as I felt there was a disruption to immersion when I'm giving money to the poor and helping people on the trail, but he's gruff and brutal in cutscenes. He softens a bit later on, or at least he can - I'm not sure how much variability there is in that. That damaged immersion slightly.
And... there's another major dichotomy I found in the game. The second chapter on through, perhaps, the fourth there was a sense of wonder and exploration. The open world map beckoned with distant sites to visit and side quest markers. Activities like hunting appealed. Money was to be amassed for new gear and upgrades, both personal or for the group camp. Then you have Chapter 5, which is sort of a detour on a separate map that sets aside a lot of that and the connected systems to focus on story. Chapter 6 returns to the main map, but with a more somber feel to everything. While this final main-story chapter did not enforce it like the previous one, I felt my will to explore and upgrade drained away. Instead, it felt like time to wrap up missions and more ahead to the finale. I don't know how intentional that was (quite possibly very), but the effect was profound for me. There's a distinct air of fatalistic resignation to it that is harsh - though it is absolutely fitting for Arthur Morgan's journey. There was solid emotional impact to it all that felt appropriate and earned.
After the "end" things open up a little again with the epilogue chapters, following a bit more story before giving the open map to roam once more. It's different, though. With the main story done, I think I want to see through the epilogue story missions (which pretty much seem to set up the starting point for the original RDR), but I don't feel particularly interested in hunting down the legendary animals I didn't previously or searching out any and all side missions I may have missed.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is an incredible work, both as a game and a story. Even what I didn't strictly enjoy about the narrative, I greatly respect/appreciate from an objective standpoint. I will miss playing Arthur Morgan.
From a technical standpoint, it is impressive in just about every way.
It looks good. About the only thing that regularly struck me as visually off was the appearance of a worn bandelier rarely fit well on the main character model. Everything else? Good or better.
It sounds good. Throughout most of the game, I didn't really notice the music, but anytime I did, it fit. And the few times the music was pushed to the forefront, it sounded even better. I found no complaints about the voice work.
The level of detail is where it gets into crazy territory. There is so much detail, with attention given to a great many things that probably aren't "worth it." A lot of it serves to boost the period feel and "realism" of the game, but there are so many things that could have been left out and no one would think to complain. Having them in certainly adds to the wow factor and raises the bar.
The game is expansive, with a large map and relatively limited fast travel. That latter point is both positive (for immersion) and negative (for inconvenience in play). While there are a lot of side missions and random events that can make long-distance travel more interesting, there were definitely times I just wanted to get back somewhere, but had to spend a while getting there.
The number of game systems are huge as well. Chapter two of the game, several hours in, still introduces a number of things like fishing and the fence. The character body weight system is there, though I pretty much ignored it and only ate when stat cores were down.
In a game with so very much, you expect a certain amount of bugs. In my play, I only really encountered one of note and it was... highly annoying, though not quite game-breaking. In a major story mission, the camera shake that is sometimes triggered by explosions, spun out of control and didn't go away, making it incredibly difficult to aim, move, and even see what was going on. I managed to play through it with some trouble because I didn't want to lose progress, but after I finally exited and reloaded the game, I didn't see that happen again.
I can't really discuss the story without spoilers. I'll try to keep them minor, but can only do so much while touching on important points I feel bear remark.
The game centers on a group of outlaws in the wake of a big heist that went bad in which they lost the take and some members. That makes it obvious from the get-go that these are not exactly the greatest of people. They are criminals. But Dutch, the leader of the group, does seem to preach a set of ethics that comes up, including things like "we shoot what folk need shooting, we help what folk need helping..." Ultimately, you see this group is a sort of extended family and they look out for their own first, but they're not maliciously evil. At least, that's the baseline of how they're presented.
In the very beginning of the game, the group is stuck in snowy mountains with few supplies and out searching for some food. They come across a homestead that happens to be under attack by a rival gang, so they kill the rivals, scavenge supplies, and adopt the survivor of the attack. It is very easy to imagine, however, if those rivals weren't there... would Dutch and his group have robbed this couple of supplies they probably need to survive? Would they have gunned down the couple living there if they resisted? The game avoids that question entirely by circumstance, painting them in perhaps a better light. But if you look at that situation at all, you see how fine a line that is.
The main story follows Dutch's gang from the perspective of one of his right-hand men, Arthur, as they try to escape their troubles. This always involves making enough money to escape the law (generally in the form of the Pinkerton Detective Agency), rivals, and victims.
By the beginning of the third chapter, I had already though the game deserves an alternate title: This Will Not End Well: The Game. Both in large scale (the civilizing of the West and ever-present bounties) and in small scale (every new scheme that comes up), I think it becomes clear pretty quickly that there is not going to be any big score that leads to a pleasant retirement in Tahiti. Given RDR2 is a prequel to the previous game, that's pretty well understood. I can't say I found any of the "twists" or "reveals" in the story very surprising. One was spoiled for me (perhaps a little too late) while the others were just apparent.
Maybe I played Arthur a little too "good" early on, as I felt there was a disruption to immersion when I'm giving money to the poor and helping people on the trail, but he's gruff and brutal in cutscenes. He softens a bit later on, or at least he can - I'm not sure how much variability there is in that. That damaged immersion slightly.
And... there's another major dichotomy I found in the game. The second chapter on through, perhaps, the fourth there was a sense of wonder and exploration. The open world map beckoned with distant sites to visit and side quest markers. Activities like hunting appealed. Money was to be amassed for new gear and upgrades, both personal or for the group camp. Then you have Chapter 5, which is sort of a detour on a separate map that sets aside a lot of that and the connected systems to focus on story. Chapter 6 returns to the main map, but with a more somber feel to everything. While this final main-story chapter did not enforce it like the previous one, I felt my will to explore and upgrade drained away. Instead, it felt like time to wrap up missions and more ahead to the finale. I don't know how intentional that was (quite possibly very), but the effect was profound for me. There's a distinct air of fatalistic resignation to it that is harsh - though it is absolutely fitting for Arthur Morgan's journey. There was solid emotional impact to it all that felt appropriate and earned.
After the "end" things open up a little again with the epilogue chapters, following a bit more story before giving the open map to roam once more. It's different, though. With the main story done, I think I want to see through the epilogue story missions (which pretty much seem to set up the starting point for the original RDR), but I don't feel particularly interested in hunting down the legendary animals I didn't previously or searching out any and all side missions I may have missed.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is an incredible work, both as a game and a story. Even what I didn't strictly enjoy about the narrative, I greatly respect/appreciate from an objective standpoint. I will miss playing Arthur Morgan.
Comments
Post a Comment