Red Dead Redemption 2 may just signal the dawn of a new era for open-world games, and it’s an experience that I have no doubt players will be investing tens (if not hundreds) of hours into its immense, deep world and completing its story full of action, suspense, and deeply investing character moments. Over the course of its journey, you can easily see the ways that Rockstar Games has not just focused on delivering a world that is massive in scope, but far richer in the ways that it builds on everything that the studio has done in its past games and enhances them for a new generation. Red Dead Redemption 2 aimed high in delivering players a living, breathing world, and it has surely hit its mark as Rockstar’s deepest, most immersive experience yet.
One of the spookier finds thus far has been the discovery of a woman chained inside of an outhouse. She’s been disfigured and continues, with apparent difficulty, chanting off numbers in a specific order. If you’d like to see or hear her for yourself, you can head to the Braithwaite Estate. On the outer edge is the outhouse with the inmate in question. What’s her story? What do the numbers lead to? Is she locked in there for good reason? Or is it simply because she’s differ
That interaction all starts with Arthur Morgan, the game’s main protagonist, and how players will decide to take on the role of the senior member of the Van der Linde gang, and Dutch’s right-hand man. Having been a part of the gang since childhood, the outlaw life is all that Arthur has known, and most of the trailers leading up to Red Dead Redemption 2 have shown that Arthur isn’t exactly much of a “pleasant” person to be around. However, as Rockstar pointed out to us during the demo, the reason behind this is that Arthur essentially owes his life to Dutch and the gang, and he’s fiercely protective of them as a result. How fiercely his loyalty lies, however, is left up to the player to decide throughout the course of the story.
While these relationships definitely had their use in these action-heavy segments of the demo, the interactions that Arthur has with the other members of the gang also play out in more narratively-driven ways. While trekking through the mountains with John and Bill in a later story section that we played, I had the option to talk to Bill along the way to learn more about the rival gang camp that we were about to ambush. Staying silent would have been a completely viable option as well, but having those type of options speaks to the ways that Red Dead Redemption 2 is aiming for a more dynamic and natural way for players to interact with its world and characters.
That’s all until Red Dead Redemption 2 , Rockstar Games’ long-awaited and highly-anticipated follow-up to the 2010 Western epic Red Dead Redemption , and a title that is aiming to take the next step when it comes to delivering a truly immersive open-world experience. Coming off the heels of the previous game — one which many look back on as one of the best games of the last generation — it’s an understatement to say that Red Dead Redemption 2 has been a long time coming, and even more so to point out the unbearably high expectations that have been placed on it.
Unfortunately, the last four major releases from Rockstar Games have all been delayed to some extent. No one really knows if this is simply unchecked hubris or rather that they’re so meticulous about the quality of their games that delaying isn’t only an option, but vital. Rockstar doesn’t simply create new iterations in their existing franchises, they create technical masterpieces that push forward the industry and take hardware to its absolute limits. Will this game be delayed into 2018? Maybe. Will Red Dead Redemption 2 be any worse because of it? Absolutely not. Having your most anticipated game get delayed is a serious bummer, but having it ship as an unpolished product that receives critical backlash would probably feel worse. Here’s hoping Red Dead Redemption 2 releases in 2
When you think of Rockstar Games, Grand Theft Auto is no doubt the first thing that pops into mind. They’ve built a multi-billionaire dollar franchise that has become a household name, but they’re a multi-studio company that has many properties in their catalogue. Midnight Club, Smuggler’s Run, Max Payne, State of Emergency, Bully and so many more, Rockstar is far more than just Grand Theft Auto. With that said, their third-person action adventure formula has worked for them in the past and so they’ve been implementing it into other titles, one for example would be Red Dead Redemption. Released over eight years ago, we dove into the Wild West like we’ve never done so before, with an Open World games vehicles world ripe for exploration, a compelling story with a loveable cast of characters and a cleverly-designed shooting mechanic. Here we are again, as Rockstar has created a more colossal and immersive game that puts it in a familiar territory, all while making feel like its own identity.