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Set twelve years before the events of Red Dead Redemption (making this a prequel, not a sequel), you play as Arthur Morgan, a member of the Van der Linde gang, on the run from the law and rival gangs.
I still maintain that the first Red Dead Redemption is one of the most tedious and annoying games I've ever played, a prime example of a game that I hate but everyone else loves. I could only hope that this follow-up would be at least a slight improvement, so I watched a walkthrough (or rather a "game movie" showcasing nineteen hours of cutscenes and in-game dialogue) to see if I'd be interested in playing it myself.
From a technical standpoint, the game is a marvel. The graphics are A1, and it exchanges the first game's desert setting for much more picturesque snowscapes, mountain forests and cities. On top of that, you have several conditions to keep track of, including the bond with your horse, your weight and stamina changing depending on how much you eat, animal carcasses decaying, and even your hair growing realistically over time. Impressive systems to include, yes, but there are times when adhering to realism isn't entirely necessary. Some have criticised these features for limiting player freedom, and I can understand why.
But as far as I'm concerned, technical achievements are all for naught if the story isn't to my taste. So, is this one? The answer is… yes and no.
It's not like the first game, which gave you a simple goal that ostensibly should have been attainable straightaway, but kept dragging its feet with contrived reasons to keep you from reaching it, to the point where I was pleading for it to just end already. No, this game… doesn't really have a plot, or so it seems at first. The gang's goal is merely to survive, and make enough money to secure their retirement. Unlike the first game, everything you do is clearly and unequivocally a means to that end.
Unfortunately, you spend so much time on those tasks that the game feels stagnant, and I began to sorely feel its length. At some point during the Saint Denis section, I finally lost patience and watched a story summary video to hear the rest. …And I discovered that it was right after that that all the interesting stuff started happening! The events that unfolded afterwards sounded incredible on paper, but I got the distinct impression that there was still a lot of filler in between. There's nothing wrong with a slow burn, but this one, for me at least, is far too slow.
Now, obviously, to talk about the aforementioned events too much would mean getting into heavy spoilers, but let's just say the narrative explores themes like morality and loyalty in a way that, in other circumstances, would have made for outstanding drama. I've no doubt I would have loved it… if I'd even remotely latched onto the characters before that point, and if the mind-numbingly sluggish pacing hadn't long since killed my interest, however slight it may have been.
Speaking of which, I mostly felt pure apathy for the characters. Again, I love what they were going for with certain characters' arcs, but I didn't find them remotely engaging before then. I'm extremely uncomfortable with the idea of robbing or assaulting people and actively performing those actions through gameplay, so I have no interest whatsoever in playing as a character who gets into such situations regularly. Now, the game does its best to paint the protagonists in a positive light regardless: the Van der Linde gang never pushes harder than necessary, they look out for each other and, under Dutch's benevolent leadership, do seem to function as a family. It also makes sure to portray their opponents as so much worse by comparison. In particular, the government agents on their trail are complete slimeballs who seem to sadistically enjoy provoking them. So it's clearly trying to make the gang seem like the preferable option. It is a testament to how little inclination I have to play as a criminal that it doesn't work.
So yes, it is better than the first game, but I still have no desire to own it. I can certainly see the appeal; I could potentially have viewed it as the masterpiece everyone else does. I desperately want to like this game, but I simply never warmed to the characters, and its excessive length and protracted pacing was just too much for me, so I can't declare it any better than just okay. All in all, I'm still not a fan of this series (or Rockstar Games in general).
My rating: 60%
