Red Dead Redemption 2

 PlayStation 4
User Score
8.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 21344 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18,146 out of 21344
  2. Mixed: 1,261 out of 21344
  3. Negative: 1,937 out of 21344
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  1. mpordes
    Nov 16, 2018
    7
    This game deserves a 7 based on the following characteristics: 1. Excellent story 2. Immersive world 3. Frustrating mechanics 4. Unoriginal and generic gameplay.

    1. Excellent Story There has never been a game with such a compelling story. The characters are all well-developed and you feel drawn in to a realistic, but exciting wild west. RD2 also benefits from the way its story is    This game deserves a 7 based on the following characteristics: 1. Excellent story 2. Immersive world 3. Frustrating mechanics 4. Unoriginal and generic gameplay.

    1. Excellent Story

    There has never been a game with such a compelling story. The characters are all well-developed and you feel drawn in to a realistic, but exciting wild west.

    RD2 also benefits from the way its story is told. The story is interwoven into every quest and surprises you at almost every turn. This is still a standard western with all the typical plot points: outlaw on the run, unrequited love, etc. But the game delivers these points in a continually fresh way. For example, sometimes a main quest is labeled with one character's name when it actually revolves around another.

    2. Immersive World

    Every new location you visit in the game is distinct and interesting in its own way.

    When you enter a town, the people that live there have their own personalities and occupations. And there is always some driving force to the town - it might be the clash of two wealthy families, or the mischief carried out by the city king pin.

    The outdoors is a mix of wild life, adventurers, and bandits. You can set out in any direction and find entertaining things to do when you get there. Whether hunting a deer or taking out an enemy camp, there are plenty of distractions to take you off the main course.

    3. Frustrating (but learnable) mechanics

    The main character, Arthur Morgan, moves really slowly. I've read multiple reviews that make this sound like a perk, but be assured that it is not. He barely moves and the only way to move even a little faster is to constantly press the "x" button. My hand was killing me. (It's even worse when riding your horse).

    Shooting is ok. However, the dead eye feature (freezing time to shoot) is not as cool or useful as advertised. I'll admit I couldn't get it to work at first, but this actually didn't give me a problem. It's easy enough to focus your gun on enemies and just shoot them. However, it's not that fun. Also, I would sometimes die on the first time through a mission because I entered the fight from the wrong angle. Once I died and came back to life, the game automatically adjusted me to the correct position. I'm glad I could continue on with the game, but this obviously took me out of the moment and gave the fight an artificial quality. This game is really stiff.

    4. Unoriginal and Generic Gameplay

    There is nothing original about RD2's gameplay. In fact, despite some denying that it is anything like Grand Theft Auto, it IS exactly like that!

    The main quests are tied into the story which keeps them interesting. But when you're not doing that what can you find? A fetch quest, and another fetch quest: bring the horse to the seller, deliver the letter, bring the lost person into town. And you know what? There's nothing wrong with that! Until game developers find a way to fill these massive worlds with original content we're going to have a lot of fetch quests. But this is not original content and that's why inflated reviews from the major gaming sites trouble me.

    One review site in particular (the biggest one) has a regular love fest about this game, where the critic turns all the game's flaws into perks and ignores any of the obvious problems. (Having to click the same button twice to reload your gun is not a plus...it's not necessarily a negative either but it's ridiculous to paint these aspects of the game as somehow beneficial). I've come to the conclusion that such reviews are for entertainment and not for information.

    I have nothing against users who rated this game as a 9 or 10. However, I must note that the mediocre and low user reviews on Metacritic are much more detailed than the high score reviews. In other words, it's easy to come on here and say "this game is great!" without justifying your opinion, but much harder to defend it.

    RD2 is a great game and most people will have a fun time playing it. It's the next step in action and role-playing video games. However, don't come into this expecting something revolutionary. You're sure to be disappointed.    … Expand
  2. Tuoppi
    Jan 30, 2021
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. After the first four chapters I was pretty happy with it although still frustrated with the poor controls and time wasters like skinning animations, gun cleaning and bathing. But with chapters 5 and 6 the game loses me totally aside from actually wanting to help the indians. I know rockstar doesn’t make RPG's but the way these games take the control from the player just so it can take the story in the direction it wants is infuriating. Why is there a moral system if it doesn’t impact the story other than some characters calling you a psycho if you go "all evil"?

    The problem for me is that Rockstar seems to want to make interactive movies. And that’s fine. But when I want to watch a movie, I'll watch a movie. When I want to play a game, I like to play not watch long cut scenes and/or listen endless expository dialogue when travelling to a mission that is pretty much on rails. Leave your horse here, go there, use that path, don’t kill that guy... or the mission doesn’t progress or fails. Most of the main missions end in a shoot-out and that's fine too. But even then, you're often told to follow a certain path.

    As for the story... This part of rockstar games is the most overrated part. GTA-series especially but also this game are full of genre cliches and predictable as hell. Even though I haven’t played the first RDR and didn’t even know this game was prequel I could see pretty much from the start where it's headed. Nothing in the story surprised me. Dutch was so full of BS from the start and Micah was so obvious traitor that he might as well had neon sign above his head. There is some interesting side content but main story just gets more boring and predictable with every chapter. Most of all it's really frustrating to listen to Dutch BS:ing towards the end when the game forces you to follow him regardless. GTA 5 story had much the same problems but it isn’t this long and there for doesn’t waste the players time as much. So in my opinion the writing in rockstars games isn’t nearly as good as people say or they themselves think! RDR 2 isn’t a masterpiece or a "work of art". It's pretty good game with rigid gameplay and one that overstays its welcome.    … Expand
  3. andrew9
    Nov 16, 2021
    7
    Good story bad gameplay .
  4. Hirenkj
    May 17, 2019
    7
    Red Dead Redemption 2 is not a great game, but a great movie giving an illusion that its a great game too.
    This game is the biggest example that a publisher or studio is making the product for casual gamers.
    Don't get me wrong this is an amazing experience to go through but it has its flaws, very bad flaws but no one seems to look at it or talk about it. To keep it short i will just    Red Dead Redemption 2 is not a great game, but a great movie giving an illusion that its a great game too.
    This game is the biggest example that a publisher or studio is making the product for casual gamers.
    Don't get me wrong this is an amazing experience to go through but it has its flaws, very bad flaws but no one seems to look at it or talk about it.
    To keep it short i will just list down the positives: Amazing story, Amazing characters, Beautiful world and fun combat and gunplay.
    But with all this why did i give it a 7 and am not impressed with this game? well its because this game gives me the illusion of freedom and choices. The game holds your hand through out the entire hours that you put in and will not let you try anything on your own and if you do, BOOM! MISSION FAILED!
    Rockstar games have a very old game design and because of how they make the game and story look good, gamers or let me say casuals forget it. I really hope we get more choices and mechanics from the next rockstar games.
    let me end by saying "ARTHUR MORGAN IS THE BEST PROTAGONIST I HAVE EVER PLAYED!"    … Expand
  5. Vitolo98
    Nov 2, 2018
    7
    Amazing story, world, and attention to detail. Gameplay is clunky at best and broken at worst. Outside of main story, much of side content is weak. This game will sell due to the R* name, and may win goty (Rdr2 vs God of War reminds me of Gta v vs Tlou in 2013). Overall, although a enjoyable experience, it hasn't dethroned Witcher 3 as the GOAT of open world games, and God of War is stillAmazing story, world, and attention to detail. Gameplay is clunky at best and broken at worst. Outside of main story, much of side content is weak. This game will sell due to the R* name, and may win goty (Rdr2 vs God of War reminds me of Gta v vs Tlou in 2013). Overall, although a enjoyable experience, it hasn't dethroned Witcher 3 as the GOAT of open world games, and God of War is still my game of the year 2018.… Expand
  6. esdrasfera
    Nov 13, 2018
    7
    RDR2 é um jogo que divide opiniões. Como essa é a minha opinião, deixou um pouco a desejar. Começando as partes negativas do jogo, temos um começo extremamente entediante (mas entediante mesmo, tanto que eu fiquei com sono nas duas primeiras vezes que joguei e desliguei o PS4 pra dormir). Outro ponto negativo são os comandos um pouco complexos e facilmente esquecíveis, além doRDR2 é um jogo que divide opiniões. Como essa é a minha opinião, deixou um pouco a desejar. Começando as partes negativas do jogo, temos um começo extremamente entediante (mas entediante mesmo, tanto que eu fiquei com sono nas duas primeiras vezes que joguei e desliguei o PS4 pra dormir). Outro ponto negativo são os comandos um pouco complexos e facilmente esquecíveis, além do gerenciamento de diversas coisas. Embora na teoria fique incrível você ter que mudar de roupa dependendo do clima, alimentar o personagem e seu cavalo de acordo com o tempo, manter um nível de saúde de acordo com o peso e coisas do tipo, isso na prática fica bastante chato. Claro que com o tempo o jogador pode pegar as manhas, mas isso à princípio é bem incômodo. Um terceiro ponto que deixou a desejar e que vou "agregar" com um quarto ponto é o HUD e a mistura de legendas com instruções. A barra de energia é pequena e bem esquisita, temos a explicação de como funciona, mas o jogo segue enquanto as instruções são dadas e o jogador fica meio "perdido" entre ler as instruções e as legendas pra tentar entender a história do jogo. Nesse ponto, uma dublagem faz uma falta absurda. Um último ponto negativo, pelo menos pra nós brasileiros é o preço. R$ 250 nesse game que, pelo menos até onde eu joguei, dá pra se pensar se valeu a pena. Mas como nem tudo são espinhos no RDR2, os gráficos estão de encher os olhos. A vida silvestre está muito bem feita e é muito interessante ver os animais por perto enquanto andamos à cavalo. Outra coisa que está muito bem encaixada no jogo é sua trilha sonora, seja em ação ou em momentos mais tranquilos, a trilha sonora coloca o jogador no clima. E o que dizer da música que toca quando saímos da região de neve?! Que música! Um outro ponto positivo (que está mais pra um bônus do que um ponto positivo em si) é pra quem adquiriu o jogo em disco, ganhar um mapa da região do jogo. Enfim, o jogo começa bastante sem graça e depois ele fica mais animado. Com certeza ele será indicado ao GOTY 2018, mas no meu ponto de vista, se dependesse apenas da campanha (pois ainda vem um online e talvez esse seja o ponto forte do jogo), não venceria como jogo do ano.… Expand
  7. TheSnowman
    Oct 26, 2018
    7
    Pros
    Good graphics
    Good story No load times Cons Story pacing is very slow Controls are very clunky (turning and aiming) Menu system is terrible Gun gameplay mechanics are garbage They fail to do anything new, game is a next gen version of RD, who wouldn’t like that. No skill progression or RPG feeling to the game, this missed an opportunity for sure, feels like they could    Pros
    Good graphics
    Good story
    No load times

    Cons
    Story pacing is very slow
    Controls are very clunky (turning and aiming)
    Menu system is terrible
    Gun gameplay mechanics are garbage

    They fail to do anything new, game is a next gen version of RD, who wouldn’t like that.
    No skill progression or RPG feeling to the game, this missed an opportunity for sure, feels like they could have done a lot more, considering how long the game was delayed.    … Expand
  8. Gerardcc
    Jun 1, 2019
    7
    It's actually a good game from rockstar and I loved but it's getting boring on the horse
  9. isaka
    Oct 29, 2018
    7
    Astonishing open world and detailed game design. But these elements don't equal to FUN.
    The game is just not that fun compare to the expectation everyone has before it released.
  10. B0rn2_w1n
    Oct 4, 2020
    7
    Good game overall but with several cons

    Pros:
    Graphics
    Characters
    Dialogs

    Cons:
    Very slow
    Nut much entertaining things to do on the open world, I ended up using the auto-pilot feature while riding the horse
    Some of the missions are a joke in terms of 'excitement'
  11. Damedius
    Oct 26, 2018
    7
    It looks pretty, i'll give it that much.

    The main story is somewhat entertaining but most of the rest of the game is kind of boring. I will be honest though I get bored of most Rockstar games after awhile. Game is still kind of buggy. Often your character will get stuck in a repetitive loop where you keep holstering your gun. All those 10 out of 10 reviews from gaming websites    It looks pretty, i'll give it that much.

    The main story is somewhat entertaining but most of the rest of the game is kind of boring. I will be honest though I get bored of most Rockstar games after awhile.

    Game is still kind of buggy. Often your character will get stuck in a repetitive loop where you keep holstering your gun.

    All those 10 out of 10 reviews from gaming websites seem suspicious. It's a good game but doesn't deserve 10 out of 10.    … Expand
  12. TheCrises
    Oct 26, 2018
    7
    It's a very slow burn. I'll give it to Rockstar with the realism they implemented, however, down the road it can be aggravating just to watch meticulous tasks over again can be discouraging to play the game for a half an hour or an hour. I haven't finished the game so the review might change, who knows.
  13. remaille69
    Oct 31, 2018
    7
    Bought this game 2 days ago and i was so exiting to play it, after playing once again to the 1st RDR to feel the western vibe. and...
    DAmn, this game is beautiful, great atmosphere...BUT....
    - The gameplay is really really slow , Arthur is way too 'heavy', really feels like a Lag is present , crafting takes eternity . - Lot of dialogues (ok it's a Rockstar game, it's great with the    Bought this game 2 days ago and i was so exiting to play it, after playing once again to the 1st RDR to feel the western vibe. and...
    DAmn, this game is beautiful, great atmosphere...BUT....
    - The gameplay is really really slow , Arthur is way too 'heavy', really feels like a Lag is present , crafting takes eternity .
    - Lot of dialogues (ok it's a Rockstar game, it's great with the cinematic View), but no way to make subtitiles bigger.
    - You can't set the difficulty ...

    After the 1st hour i was ready to give a 10
    after 2 hours a 9
    after 4 hours a 8...
    and i'm feeling it's a 7 now :(

    RDR 4K would be the climax actually...    … Expand
  14. Wafflestein
    Oct 29, 2018
    7
    Some of you might wonder why the Critics Score is so high in comparison to User Score. You simply have to invest more playing time than the average critic. 20% into the game you hit a bit of a wall, you begin to no longer enjoy the game on the same level as you did in the beginning and all the beautiful landscapes won't save it. Don't get me wrong RDR2 is a beautiful immerse game but as ISome of you might wonder why the Critics Score is so high in comparison to User Score. You simply have to invest more playing time than the average critic. 20% into the game you hit a bit of a wall, you begin to no longer enjoy the game on the same level as you did in the beginning and all the beautiful landscapes won't save it. Don't get me wrong RDR2 is a beautiful immerse game but as I got older I realized that I needed more content and less tedious mundane tasks that I do from 9-5. It needed to be more than just ride one direction and back to complete a mission.

    So, let's get into the review part.

    Story:
    Last time around I felt more invested in the story. I feel like with every Rockstar game you really care and feel for the characters even though the characters are protagonists with the life of crime. Arthur isn't really a cool character he's just there and whoever you put in his place would be fine. I don't get a sense of his personality to the world. Honestly, if this was GTA 3 and the character didn't talk I would've felt the same way. With all the other characters, every time you do a mission you're like who theis this guy that's giving me this mission, oh okay some random member of the gang. Great... You're not hooked on being that guy or another.

    Mission gameplay:
    The world is big like really big... like I ride for 15 mins kill someone then realize... I have to ride back now... 30 mins spent on just riding. Shooting is clunky and majority of the time is spent using Dead Eye to kill people. The first person then becomes a bit unplayable. The realistic part is there, you definitely can't just walk towards enemies and kill everyone without hiding. On PC, I think the shooting would've been a bit better, but we shall see when it's released.

    Overall experience:
    The game is filled with stuff to do but it feels empty... idk maybe I'm just outgrowing single player campaign games. I'm like 20% into it but I decided to play Wow instead after a while.    … Expand
  15. SrirachaChicken
    Oct 30, 2018
    7
    The game is absolutely amazing and there is plenty to be astounded over and loved, but there are some game play issues that muddles over the fantastic core experience and dirties the game into the mud.

    The question is, how much realism do we actually need in a game. Rockstar has tried to nail down the realism of RDR2 to its core but instead of enhancing the gaming experience, to me it    The game is absolutely amazing and there is plenty to be astounded over and loved, but there are some game play issues that muddles over the fantastic core experience and dirties the game into the mud.

    The question is, how much realism do we actually need in a game. Rockstar has tried to nail down the realism of RDR2 to its core but instead of enhancing the gaming experience, to me it feels like there is more control over the player and what he can do then actual freedom within the game.

    One thing that is really bothersome is when Arthur tries to do anything in camp. He moves at a slow pace and there is no work around to have Arthur move faster within camp. Horses cannot be ridden to your bed and skinned animals cannot be dropped off at the butcher. Trying to successfully accomplish a task within camp can sometimes feel like you're fighting the controls when you are trying to achieve a button prompt. I think it has something to do with the camera and the way Arthur steps around, he could sometimes hum over certain prompts within camp just because he isn't positioned right or directly over the object.

    The button prompts have drastically changed from Red Dead 1 to 2. Now you can essentially "engage" someone by holding L2 and focusing in on them. This has caused me more problems with the NPC's then good ones... I don't know why but everytime I try to talk to someone or focus in on them, I get into more fights then friendly banter. I'm also not really into holding the square button when trying to pick up a body or animal pelts and then you use the Triangle button to loot bodies and mount your horse. Its confusing what i'm trying to say and can really halt the progress of normal mundane tasks because the player is confused trying to figure out how to achieve his goal. Picking up someone else's gun is the same concept too. You have to Press R1 to scroll over the option menus to choose the right prompt and then press L1 to switch a weapon you wanted to pick up. Its just a mess really and game play wise extremely confusing.

    The menu is cluttered, making it confusing for the user making it a hard time understanding what exactly could be sold at a market or used for practicality. There isn't a sorting option available that organizes your pack for you, which I feel like they sorely needed to implement or give the option to manually sort items for ourselves so we can clearly define exactly what we need and what we don't need.

    One last thing.. The hunting is really bad. Really really bad. Its VERY hard to track and find an animal let alone kill it properly to get the perfect skin. it takes more time out the game when trying to hunt and it does it in way that doesn't feel satisfying. Hunting gameplay needs a huge look at and needs to be made in a way thats more friendly and rewarding to do.

    There are things that bother me about RDR2, its more about the controls then anything but the story and quests are engaging. Its a rockstar game in an open world scenario. You're going to be fetching things, you're going to be an errand boy but thats how its always been. Nothing new there and thats why we come back to these games for the immersion and silly quests. The game is beautiful and the world feels alive.    … Expand
  16. Skymning
    Oct 31, 2018
    7
    So I'm finally back in the real world after a hectic weekend in the wild wild west, and while I was hoping to go back to work bustling with excitement, praising the game I have been looking forward to for so long, I realize that the best way to describe my state of mind ambivalent.

    The graphics are amazing, the story is engaging, sound, music and voice acting are on point. But the    So I'm finally back in the real world after a hectic weekend in the wild wild west, and while I was hoping to go back to work bustling with excitement, praising the game I have been looking forward to for so long, I realize that the best way to describe my state of mind ambivalent.

    The graphics are amazing, the story is engaging, sound, music and voice acting are on point.

    But the game has some serious flaws that I would like to highlight:
    Rockstar decided that they wanted to make this game very realistic and immersive, but somewhere along the line they forgot that it is still a game and should be entertaining as well.. You don’t have to sacrifice fun to make it more immersive, you can have both. “Well you make a better game then, cried the fanboy” I will give an example on how to improve the game, hope that is enough?
    In camp you do choirs to boost the morale for your partners in crime, chopping wood for example. I don’t mind doing it, if you actually make it rewarding instead of feeling like a proper choir, we all have enough of those irl.

    Chopping wood: You walk up press triangle and watch Arthur do a 10 sec animation of him swinging the axe, then you get to press R2 to see him do it again for 10 sec, R2 and repeat.
    Improvement: A minigame where you have to angle the axe correctly with the analog stick to actually hit the wood while timing the swing with R2.

    It’s the same scenario with other tasks that you are required to do; Brushing your horse, skinning a animal, cooking, weapon maintenance etc. Implement minigames that is rewarding and challenging and these realistic features becomes entertaining.

    My next rant, the interface – Long story short, its overly complicated.

    You press L1 to get a equipment-wheel where you browse different weapons, press R1 to change to a different wheel with consumables. Browse between the different items with R2 and lift L1 to equip/consume. It’s complicated, you missclick way too easily and its hard to get a overview on your inventory, esp in a fire fight.

    In order to open the world map you have to press Options, wait for 1½ sec for the menu to load and then press X. Why not do like every other game where you press touchscreen and from there you can browse your inventory, journal etc? Now these functions are spread out in different menus without any apperant logic behind.

    Shopping is also too complicated. I want to buy a hat and a jacket, here how it goes:
    Walk into store
    L2 to greet shopkeeper
    X to see catalog
    You get a realistic catalog with a “root-menu”
    Select Clothing
    Submenu: Select hats
    You get to browse differnet pages in the catalog with drawn pictures of hats and get to select the one you like, press X to view on character.
    All of a sudden you have a list of all the hats available and can skip through them all to try before you buy.
    From here you actually have to go back to the rootmenu in the realistic catalog and start over and do the whole process all over again. Why not give us an option to press Circle in the hat-menu, select jacket and browse them quick and easy?

    A lot of people complain about Arthur being slow and its true, he is. But I don’t think that is such a problem. It gives the game a different feeling that I can appreciate. If it was consistent.. It is not. You can run at a certain phase all over the world, but when you spend time in camp Rockstar decided to cap it by half. I get it, they want the player to really notice the details they invested in the environment here in camp. The problem is, it doesn’t work that way. Don’t force me to stop and appreciate as I will only get annoyed and see even less.

    I could continue ranting about the game mechanics, strange UI and wierd priorities; realism vs fun, that you can’t summon your horse, how bleak the gun fights are, awkward controls but I think I have made my point. Its a flawed game with a beautiful facade and a good story. Almost like they did a remake with improved graphics but forgot to hire people to upgrade the game mechanics to the smooth standard we are used to in games in 2018.

    I really hope that Rockstar can remove the horse blinders, listen to the legit critique some people try to raise and patch the game to the masterpiece it could have been.. But whom am I fooling?

    Reading the professional reviewers whom should be objective when judging a game but won’t even mention to bring up the strange controls and outdated game mechanics, something that would be a major drawback for a total score on any other game out there. R*logo equals quality, through and through. Otherwise you don’t get it, or the game isn’t for you. The end.

    But the game is for me - I love open world games in general, I loved RDR1 in particular and have been hyped for a sequel for as long as the rest of you.. It’s just that I cant praise a game this flawed. Please do better.    … Expand
  17. Bayden
    Oct 31, 2018
    7
    Just finished it this morning.
    The game is technically amazing, but is brought down buy tiresome gun mechanics and movement along with a frustrating lack of freedom within missions and many other inconveniences.
    For example if you forget to get your rifle from your horse before dismounting during a mission it will often fail you for walking 5 meters back to get it, so your left with a    Just finished it this morning.
    The game is technically amazing, but is brought down buy tiresome gun mechanics and movement along with a frustrating lack of freedom within missions and many other inconveniences.

    For example if you forget to get your rifle from your horse before dismounting during a mission it will often fail you for walking 5 meters back to get it, so your left with a crappy pistol for the whole thing.

    Your load-out constantly resets so you have to rummage through bags for 10 seconds to get everything you want before leaving your horse. main character doesn't seem to adapt based on your play style. game gets quite tiresome and i am glad its over.

    incredible amount of unique voice lines and unique interactions and a kinda good overall story bring the score up a bit.    … Expand
  18. Unto7
    Nov 2, 2018
    7
    Game is unplayable for me. Every text is too small my 60 inch Oled. And gamplay. It's like walking through tar. Not smooth at all..
  19. newloggins
    Nov 4, 2018
    7
    Good game not great.

    Controls are not that great. Wish R* would get w/ the times and update their control scheme.

    Sometimes more like a Camping Simulation than a game.
  20. Wolfinthefable
    Nov 6, 2018
    7
    This game is really overrated.
    The amazing environment is the only thing that really stands out if you ask me. Controls are bad and every interaction looks slow and clumsy. The menus are outdated. Missions lack variety: most of them consist of several tedious minutes of horse riding and some trivial gunfight... without the rides each mission would probably lasts 5 minutes or less. Game    This game is really overrated.
    The amazing environment is the only thing that really stands out if you ask me. Controls are bad and every interaction looks slow and clumsy. The menus are outdated. Missions lack variety: most of them consist of several tedious minutes of horse riding and some trivial gunfight... without the rides each mission would probably lasts 5 minutes or less. Game progression/difficulty WANTED.
    The plot becomes interesting halfway through while in the first chapters you have that "nothing important happened today" feeling. The second part of the story and the dialogues are nice.
    The soundtrack is ok, moving sometimes but only good as a whole.
    Details as growing hair, dirty clothes and other stuff like that are cool but Rockstar should have spend more time improving gameplay mechanics and controls.    … Expand
  21. MrBum
    Nov 6, 2018
    7
    They set the game in 1899, so I guess they wanted their control scheme out of the same era. The game controls like a drunk oxen trudging through cold molasses. The run and gun gameplay is some of the worst I've ever seen since the PS2 era. I had to constantly look up how to do things, nothing is ever explained, and i think i'm getting carpel tunnel syndrome from mashing x so damn manyThey set the game in 1899, so I guess they wanted their control scheme out of the same era. The game controls like a drunk oxen trudging through cold molasses. The run and gun gameplay is some of the worst I've ever seen since the PS2 era. I had to constantly look up how to do things, nothing is ever explained, and i think i'm getting carpel tunnel syndrome from mashing x so damn many times just to run (you know, the movement speed that should be default and has been in every decent game in the last two decades).

    Barring those gross --and in my opinion negligent-- deficiencies, what the game does well it does very well. The environmental design is top notch from lighting to art direction to sound design, all incredible and amazing. It's a shame we have to experience all of it through the absolutely inexcusably bad player interface.

    It's a shame, as this game would have easily been a 9, maybe even a 10 if Rock$tar wasn't stuck in the 19th century when it came to controls. As it stands now, I can barely manage to play a few hours at a time before walking away for a day or two in frustration.    … Expand
  22. Linx_13
    Nov 7, 2018
    7
    Clumsy controls, buggy gameplay and questionable mechanics keep Rockstar’s prequel to the excellent western Red Dead Redemption far from being a perfect game, but its characters and story still make up for a memorable experience.
  23. MisterLupus
    Nov 10, 2018
    7
    I'll start off by saying it's impossible to take game reviewers serious these days. Who are these people? A game rated at 97 should be so groundbreaking and awesome - so flawless and polished - whoever made it deserves to be deified. At that rating we're talking wonders of the world - something only the gods could do better - an event of historical proportions.

    And let's face it - Red    I'll start off by saying it's impossible to take game reviewers serious these days. Who are these people? A game rated at 97 should be so groundbreaking and awesome - so flawless and polished - whoever made it deserves to be deified. At that rating we're talking wonders of the world - something only the gods could do better - an event of historical proportions.

    And let's face it - Red Dead Redemption 2 does not deliver that quality. It's neither groundbraking, flawless or polished - and even though certain aspects of it does cross the border to what should be considered awesome others again falls miserably short of even seeing that border.

    Graphics are stunning, world is rich on content and the general atmosphere really sucked me in. Attention to details is almost unparalleled. The story is predictable and feels a bit forced - some turn of events simply doesn't make sense and the characters turn either dumb or genius according to what's convenient in furthering the storyline - and it's also quite quite static.

    All in all it's not very "organic" nor does it allow for the player to interact with it in any profound ways.

    But despite not being the pinnacle of penmanship nor deeply influenced by the player's decisions - it did entertain me and in addition to falling in love with the world itself I also ended up becoming invested in the characters and even sad to see some of them go.

    Rockstar is - as always - brilliant in creating the framework of a truly inspired game. Rockstar is also however - as always and unfortunately - mediocre at best when it comes to everything else.

    Gameplay suffers profoundly in this game. The controls are clumsy and bad - needlessly hard to navigate, often unresponsive - and both movement as well as combat are clunky to say the least and altso unimaginative. Something youd expect from a game made ten years ago - not a more recent AAA-Production.

    It lacks anything even resembling flow and also falls short in terms of user friendliness. Gunplay is pretty much autoaim and instant headshot - melee is simply mashing two buttons in accordance to animation and the mechanics for fishing actually made my hands go numb.

    And even though the story is good enough (though not as brilliant as many would argue) - the missions are unrewarding tours. In fact - the way they're played out - you hardly get to influence them at all as the game itself pushes you down certain paths and makes most decisions for you.

    They're so overly-scripted your actions and options constantly gets limited to a point where you might as well put the controller on the table and simply watch a movie. Most of the time you just follow character X through points A-Z then either click the objects he tells you to click or kill whomever he needs you to kill before being rewarded with a cutscene. It feels more like a tutorial that never ends than an actual game - and often it even dictates where you're allowed to move and at which pace or whether or not you're allowed to have your guns ready.

    Even your weapon setup is affected. Went through a lot of trouble choosing and prepping the desired weapons pre-mission? Tough luck as this game will revert your choices to what it wants you to use during the first cutscene (even though the weapons it forces upon you are of the same type as the ones you'd prefer).

    This to me was maybe my biggest nuisance - as I felt this game was treating me like an idiot. Some unwanted parasite in need of restraints. "Shut up and let me get on with my awesome story won't you? No ofc I won't let you influence it - I tell it best as it is - I am in charge this experience not you!!"

    As for fishing and hunting and doing bounties plus experiencing random world events - as well as crafting - they've actually done a good job. But like it always is with these things they do get repetitive after a while and starts to feel grindy. It doesn't help either that the world is so littered with animals you can almost aim the rifle randomly and still hit something nor that you'll catch a fish pretty much every time you throw your line in. It would have been better if wilderness encounters reaped higher rewards but were less frequent I feel - but it's nothing gamebreaking.

    All in all Red Dead Redemption 2 has all the ingredients to be the epic experience most reviewers make it out to be - but doesn't really come close in terms of execution. Gameplay is outdated and user-unfriendly - it lacks both polish and innovation - balance is a bit off here and there and the game fails miserably all across the line in terms of player interaction. The story and the missions are pretty much set in stone - and it refuses you to equip the chisel.

    Most of the time you're not really playing a game - merely watching events unfold the way the developers intended them to - practically sidelined and incapable of influencing anything at all.

    This game treats you more like a spectator than a participant.    … Expand
  24. Satansibles
    Nov 9, 2018
    7
    Beautiful game. Beautiful world, wonderful story I would have no issue rating this 1010 if it wasn't for the lackluster gameplay and clunky controls. If gameplay is your highest priority in a game don't get your hopes up. However if story and visuals are the main priority in a game for you I highly recommend 10/10.
  25. alisongardner
    Nov 14, 2018
    7
    One of the best games I've ever played. BUT the Hype for it is too much, at some point a lot of "things" start being repetitive to the point that removes some realism.
  26. Hk_Phil
    Nov 17, 2018
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Firstly, the review score is overhyped at a 10. I think this is around a 7. It’s good but not great. Yes there is attention to detail but it should be a fun game, not a simulator. Everything is muddy and drab and wet and depressing, with all NPCs living miserable lives. When the main character got terminal TB and started coughing up blood I quit. This downbeat town and the constant chores just wasn’t enough fun to keep me going.… Expand
  27. NuttyNutNut666
    Nov 20, 2018
    7
    i think the user score for this game is pretty accurate, it should be around a 7.5 - 8.0, let me explain:
    -The games story is padded and drawn out to hell and the prologue is one of the worst introductory sequences I have seen in a while, its just so boring .
    -The combat is not fun, there is no human way to play without aim assist because its like you are trying to guide a blind person    i think the user score for this game is pretty accurate, it should be around a 7.5 - 8.0, let me explain:
    -The games story is padded and drawn out to hell and the prologue is one of the worst introductory sequences I have seen in a while, its just so boring .
    -The combat is not fun, there is no human way to play without aim assist because its like you are trying to guide a blind person on rollerskates and at a certain point you just get bored of even aiming for the head and shooting a corridor of enemies
    -Walking in interiors and camp gripes me to no end, its the biggest sin of taking control AWAY from the player and its indicitive of modern game design, LET ME RUN!
    -No fast travelling, well there is but its pretty poop and for a game world this large why didn't they use the RDR1 system? It was perfect and made sense
    -RNG random encounters, we all know how these go, they are fun the first time but when you see the same encounter with the same dialogue, it gets stale, fast. Luckily some encounters are scripted, which is all this game seems to really do best at.
    -The UI is the worst I've ever seen in a while, lots of flicking through and lots of needless work, they could easily let the player assign items/weapons themselves, we don't need everything jammed into one menu
    -The crafting is...ugh! Just try and sit to make split point bullets, its like they didn't take into account this was a videogame
    -The amount of freedom you have during missions is very limited, your just playing how they want you to, now Rockstar have never been good at this, but they at least tried with bank heist missions in GTA5
    -Animations for every little thing, remember the worst aspect of RDR1 when you hunted something and had to wait 20 seconds for the animation to play, its all over the place here, there's animations for picking up individual items and its so slow!
    -Weapon variety is very stale, most are the same weapons as in RDR1, but at least the game has some unique weapons
    -The weapon upgrading isn't as good as it looks on the surface, you have a lot of customization but very little tangible benefit, I bet they will monetize this for online
    -The economy system is completely broken, the game will throw money at you constantly, taking out a large portion of the motivation to keep playing
    -Hunting is tedious and imo broken, animals don't always spawn and you better hope to god its a 3 star. Another thing that bugs me is the fact you now have to use specfic weapons on specific animals, but it makes no sense, if I shoot any animal IN THE HEAD with an arrow, how does it damage the pelt? It makes no sense to me.
    -The crime system is completely sensitive and punishing, you bump into somebody and the law will murder you, the game doesn't take things like self defence into account so if you kill somebody in self defence, you will be killed. Not to mention there is no way to get rid of bounties than paying. Also, is nobody is gonna mention how the bandana does ****
    In a game about being an outlaw its the most unfun outlaw game I've ever played.
    -Too many busy work elements that aren't shown to the player properly other than vague tutorials, I can't for the life of me keep my weight consistent, it would help if there was a bar or something, c'mon! SanAndreas already nailed this aspect years ago.
    -The game world is actually devoid of content, outside stranger missions and maybe 3 encounters like the incest couple, there is nothing to really do in this game other than the stuff R* laid out for you, they even made bounties entirely scripted for some reason, this game might as well not even be open world, I think it would work better for how much walking and talking there is.
    -The horse not being able to be called at a distance is such a stupid thing, nobody cares about realism, we play videogames to escape it and it actually gets in the way of enjoying your games

    I had to actively stop playing after the second chapter, the game was bogging me down and the plot honestly felt like it was going nowhere but me doing tedious busywork like tailing missions, I WANT to finish this game but its such a chore to play. Its obvious the Professional "Critics" likely rushed the main story and took notice of the attention to detail but ignored everything, not realising this is supposed to be a videogame, not a movie. I still spent 30 hours on this game and i appreciate the attempts Rockstar made, but shamefully its ruined by bad game design.    … Expand
  28. JasonSthuart
    Nov 20, 2018
    7
    RDR2 has one of the worst shooting mechanics I've ever seen in a game. It's THAT BAD. As a Rockstar fan since GTA 1 on PS1, its hard for me to believe how bad the shooting in this game is (considering how popular Rockstar is as a developer these days).

    Rockstar has a reputation for making bad shooting mechanics in its open word games, but I think the shooting in GTA 5 was very good. I    RDR2 has one of the worst shooting mechanics I've ever seen in a game. It's THAT BAD. As a Rockstar fan since GTA 1 on PS1, its hard for me to believe how bad the shooting in this game is (considering how popular Rockstar is as a developer these days).

    Rockstar has a reputation for making bad shooting mechanics in its open word games, but I think the shooting in GTA 5 was very good. I did 100% in RDR2. I got used to the controls, and even tho its shocking how the bad shooting is.

    Let's starts about the guns. For a western game, the feeling of the sidearms are terrible, they don't feel satisfying at all. The aiming is all nonsense. Sometimes your screen starts shaking like crazy, making aiming difficult. Even with lock on the aiming has issues. Not to mention the weapon sway. Trying to make it more realistic? This is not realistic. Especially when you have something like dead eye (to which you basically become a slave during the game)

    The world of RDR2 is incredible. Its a very detailed world, with one of the most incredible story and characters in videogames. But its just sad, at least for me, how disapointted the shooting mechanics are. It plays an extremely important part of the game, and it's so battered this way.

    Also it makes me think: the gaming media (for $ome rea$on) basically ignored all this fundamental issues. And not only that, what the Rockstar testers are doing there?

    The good news is: if this game is coming to pc, all this issues are gonna disappear, because I dont think rockstar cares about it too much. It will be all about RDR online from now.    … Expand
  29. bencrvr
    Dec 10, 2018
    7
    Beautiful world, bad interface. Definitely an amazing technical achievement. I enjoy riding the horse around and bonding with it and looking at the world. Hunting is pretty fun, I don't mind the animations there. But the animations get excessive and bog things down a lot and the controls often suck. The input lag sucks and the slow movement speed sucks. Deserves game of the year for theBeautiful world, bad interface. Definitely an amazing technical achievement. I enjoy riding the horse around and bonding with it and looking at the world. Hunting is pretty fun, I don't mind the animations there. But the animations get excessive and bog things down a lot and the controls often suck. The input lag sucks and the slow movement speed sucks. Deserves game of the year for the sheer scope and beauty of the world but it's often not fun to play. The story is stupid, I would have killed that Micah guy right away. Stopped playing the story when you break him out of jail and instead of blwing his brains out when he goes psycho, the game forces you to go along with him and protect him, which means killing an entire town. There's no sense of choice in the narrative until the end, which I'll never get to because **** Dutch and that gang, I'm a lone wolf. Would've left those stupid ****s behind right at the beginning. The narrative was too small in scope, I really don't give a **** about some gang, I want something a little wider in scope. The grandeur of the world felt sharply contrasted by the strict narrative. A choose your own adventure in this world would be sweet. Maybe that's what online is like, I'd better check it out.… Expand
  30. d2203282
    Nov 22, 2018
    7
    this game's open-world is awesome and graphics&audio are great. But gameplay is repetitve and boring. Gta5 is much better. The whole stroy and bunch of cutscenes is not ineresting. The entire gameplay is not improved.
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Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best PS4 Game of 2018
2
#2 Most Discussed PS4 Game of 2018
2
#2 Most Shared PS4 Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
97

Universal acclaim - based on 99 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 98 out of 99
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 99
  3. Negative: 0 out of 99
  1. CD-Action
    Nov 14, 2019
    95
    It’s an huge, outstanding piece of art – worth the hard-earned cash as well as countless hours that are needed to get to know at least some of the attractions of Rockstar’s rendition of Wild West. For those who put story first – the biggest virtue of Red Dead Redemption 2 is that it sets the stage for RDR 1 and does it wonderfully. [13/2018, p.40]
  2. LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    Dec 31, 2018
    100
    Amazing not only for Western lovers. No other game has probably offered so many options to express yourself in the open world, and at the same time did not have such an interesting, rough and moving story. A magnificent experience, with a slightly slower start. [Issue#291]
  3. TrueGaming
    Nov 30, 2018
    95
    The first new game from Rockstar for this generation of consoles doesn't disappoint, it is as impressive as you hoped it to be.
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