With an incoming release date of October 26, Rockstar Games have allowed various world-renowned publications to release their previews of their latest game within the Red Dead series, following an invitation to a pre-release gaming session. Here, we round them up to provide a complete Red Dead Redemption 2 review.
What is Red Dead Redemption 2 about?
The game is a prequel to the award-winning 2010 title Red Dead Redemption and is the third instalment of the Red Dead series by Rockstar Games.
It is set in a vast, Western-themed open world, and revolves around the gun-slinging outlaw, Arthur Morgan. Morgan is a member of the Van der Linde gang, which also comprises of the protagonist (John Marston) and antagonist (Dutch Van der Linde) from the previous game.
Set in 1899 – the latter years of America’s “Wild West” – the game is premised with a botched robbery attempt in the town of Blackwater, after which members of the Van der Linde gang are forced to flee. With the nation’s bounty hunters and authorities hot on his heels, Morgan is forced to traverse America via a life of crime, leading to internal conflict and testing his loyalty to the gang. Morgan will also have to make moral judgements throughout the game, too, and this honor system – which is carried over from the previous instalment – means that the decisions you make will have consequences down the line and lead to different pathways of opportunities.
How is the gameplay in Red Dead Redemption 2?
A big feature of the game is the nomadic lifestyle that you must live. Camps will act as the base for your roaming adventures, and here you can interact and build relationships with other members of the group. It is also possible to pick up extra missions and contribute wealth and provisions for the benefit of the camp.
Outside of camp life, Morgan will be able to interact with all of the other non-playable characters (NPCs) in the game. This is where the honor system will come into play, as these NPCs will start to react to you based on your previous actions in the game – it’s probably worth considering this before riding rampantly through the Old West towns all guns blazing (this message is more aimed at myself than anyone else…).
One thing that all of the pre-launch reviews agree on is the wonderment and awe of the map. Within this vast open world, the player will encounter various beasts – bison, bears, foxes, deer, just to name a few of the hundreds (yes, hundreds!) of species in the game. Some are available to hunt for food, others will provide trading items, and some are just out there watching the world go by as they please. The main animal is, of course, your horse, and you must look after it
Character customization
One of the most exciting aspects of the game is the character customization and maintenance, and Rockstar have tried to make the game as immersive and lifelike as possible in this respect. Morgan will experience real-time hair growth, and players will have to visit the barber to have a cut and style, based solely on the amount of hair available on his head (no GTA-style afros being fashioned out of hairless heads, unfortunately). Items of clothing will also be able to be individually put on and taken off, enabling unique character outfit choices – keep an eye on your hat, too, it can fall off in combat if you’re not careful.
Players will have to look out for Morgan’s health, as his energy will diminish as time passes and he becomes drained from all of his gun-slinging, horse-riding shenanigans. For this, he must sleep to stay alert, and feed to maintain energy, with weight being another dynamic feature of the game. His cleanliness – or lack of – will be noted by other NPCs in the game, too, and Morgan needs to take baths in order to avoid snide comments from passers-by on the street.
Red Dead Redemption 2 graphics
The visuals in this game are truly stunning. In our opinion, this game will look good no matter what console you play on, and the gameplay trailers show that it runs solidly at 30ps. The attention to detail is simply breath-taking in this game – from the snow melting on the character in the mountainous regions, to the mud splattering on Morgan’s clothes whilst riding through the outback. The impressive graphics and the diverse environments of this huge open world map will certainly serve to enhance the games level of immersion.
When will Red Dead Redemption 2 be released?
The game will be released on October 26, 2018, and Rockstar have made special, ultimate, and collector’s editions available for pre-order. The game will also feature online multiplayer capabilities, with Red Dead Online planned for release in November 2018 as a public beta. This multiplayer mode looks incredible and if it is anything like GTA Online, players will be able to expect something spectacular.
If it isn’t obvious already, Blog of Games is stupidly excited for the release of this game. We believe it will surpass the heights of the previous instalment and could, potentially, go down as one of the greatest games to ever be released. It seems Rockstar Games have produced another classic here, and one which we certainly recommend you try. Are you excited for the game? Let us know in the comments below.
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Richard, Blog of Games
There are over 200 animal species in Red Dead Redemption 2