Red Dead Redemption 2

 Xbox One
Metascore
97

Universal acclaim - based on 33 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 33 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 33
  3. Negative: 0 out of 33
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  1. Polygon
    Oct 25, 2018
    At its best, the story breaks away from the Western genre and plays like a cross between a heist movie, a domestic drama and a political thriller. At its worst, it’s a buddy action comedy. Mercifully, it manages to be more of the former than the latter. [Polygon Recommends]

Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Best Xbox One Game of 2018
1
#1 Most Discussed Xbox One Game of 2018
2
#2 Most Shared Xbox One Game of 2018

User Reviews

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User Score
8.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 5168 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4,181 out of 5168
  2. Mixed: 305 out of 5168
  3. Negative: 682 out of 5168
  1. warmakern
    Oct 26, 2018
    10
    Red Dead Redemption 2 isn't a game that should be taken lightly. This is true in most of Rockstar's long list of games, which often overwhelmRed Dead Redemption 2 isn't a game that should be taken lightly. This is true in most of Rockstar's long list of games, which often overwhelm the player with their sheer size and mechanical depth. Red Dead Redemption 2, however, stands out as a pinnacle among masterpieces. You may, understandably, assume that I'm simply riding the "Red Dead hype wagon" but, unless the game drastically changes after the first 10 hours or so, this is certainly not the case.

    From what I've experienced so far, Red Dead Redemption 2 offers the player an unprecedented amount of options in what to do and how to tackle the, both optional and integral parts of the game. Fortunately these options do not overwhelm the player, but are instead revealed progressively, allowing you to first master what is already there. After several hours spent with the game I was still constantly being surprised by a steady stream of new features and added complexity to pre-existing mechanics.

    All this depth, however, wouldn't be worth 2 cents if it wasn't for the incredibly high degree of fine tuning and polishment that went into the game. The frame rate stays smooth and constant throughout the whole experience and, incredibly enough, so far I haven't encountered a single bug during my 14 hours of playing the game. Rockstar have certainly nailed the shooting mechanics, but there are also more discreet options for those who aren't completely certain that lead is the be-all end-all problem solver.

    To summarize: Red Dead Redemption 2 is a must buy for anyone looking for a deep and fleshed out experience, that gradually unfolds during many hours of game time. It's not a game that you can rush through over the weekend (though, admittedly, I myself might in retrospect have been a bit too hasteful in order to experience as much as possible in a short time window). If you're willing to put in the time however, Red Dead Redemption 2 is guaranteed to offer you a complete and thrilling experience, brimming with possibilities for the player to discover. If I have one complaint regarding the game it's that it didn't come out sooner.    … Full Review »
  2. Stinky_Winky
    Oct 26, 2018
    4
    The star of the show here is the open world itself. Everything else is just so mundane, tedious and boring. The game world itself is anotherThe star of the show here is the open world itself. Everything else is just so mundane, tedious and boring. The game world itself is another technical marvel from Rockstar. The world is packed full of neat attention to detail. But that's pretty much all it has going for it. Every game has a tutorial level. Tutorial levels usually last 5 to 10 minutes and then you get stuck into the actual game. Well, in Red Dead 2 the tutorial level is 2 and a half to 3 hours long. So it takes forever to get going. And when you do finally get going its pretty boring stuff. Travel from point A to point B do something like kill some baddies, repeat. But when you go from playing Grand Theft Auto V and having thousands of vehicles to travel across the map in, to all of a sudden being given a horse, and only a horse, it is very tedious. You spend most of the time tapping the sprint button zoning out waiting to get to the next objective. The objectives are the same as always. And get this, if you don't build up a relationship with your horse it won't run as good as it can, it will slow down and won't be as loyal. You have to care for your horse by brushing and cleaning it and feeding it etc. It's a Tamagochi! You even have to take care of your character by having a candle lit bubble bath and shaving. I can't even be bothered to shave in real life let alone worry about shaving a virtual pixelated character. Outside of the slow burning story of running from point A to point B shooting some baddies and repeat. They have tried to pack the world out with filler items like mini games. You can play cards, a knife game where you put your hand on the table and try stab between your fingers with a knife, go hunting and hunt animals and skin them, or go see and show etc. These filler mini games are the equivalent or arm wrestling, tennis, golf and going to the cinema in Grand Theft Auto V. And let's be honest, how many times did we do those things? Options are nice to have don't get me wrong, but Rockstar's mini games aren't what keep us playing their games is it. Graphics wise it isn't much better than Grand Theft Auto V. It has HDR support but the only thing that really stands out is things like street lamps in the night. I'm playing on a 65" 4K HDR Premium TV btw. I've played the game on Xbox One X and the standard Xbox One. The Xbox One X is native 4K and looks like quite good. Not the sharpest 4K game i've ever seen, but not the worst. It looks pretty dreadful on the standard Xbox One. Very blurry and fuzzy. Both version suffer poor performance. Both versions stutter slow down and drop down to as low as 22fps, even the Xbox One X. So both versions can get pretty choppy. The story is also pretty boring. It's just so slow and takes hours to get going. Then when it does get going its nothing special and nothing we haven't seen before in movies.… Full Review »
  3. Sipuli69
    Oct 26, 2018
    4
    Stable 21 fps for that true cinematic experience. GTA V with horses, so nothing new, basically played this game for few hundred hours fewStable 21 fps for that true cinematic experience. GTA V with horses, so nothing new, basically played this game for few hundred hours few years ago, but hey, at least horse testicles got a lot of attention in the studios, so that's what matters.… Full Review »
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