[This text contains no spoilers regarding the story of Red Dead Redemption II. It's just that this blog has fallen silent, and I need to explain why.]
I got off to a great start with A Mouthful of Games, posting a prologue and seven reviews over the course of nine days. Another nine days passed, and I managed to finish and review the mediocre Beyond: Two Souls. I established a rhythm of posting I was satisfied with, and felt confident I was gonna be able to keep it up. Games were fun to play again, and the words to describe them were flowing. The future was looking bright.
Then Red Dead Redemption II happened. Everything came to a sudden halt. "For this, I am sorry", as Dutch Van Der Linde would have put it, but I am simply flabbergasted over the quality of this open world-western adventure. It's so grand in scope, yet so detailed that I leave every session astounded with something peculiar I never noticed before. I can't stop playing it. Even briefly stopping to write these words takes a heavy toll on my addiction. I dedicate RDR2 every hour I can spare, and every hour I cannot I spend thinking about it. I'd forgotten that games can be too much fun, or too brilliant, and I'd never before known video games to inspire philosophy.
But then again, I need to write something down. RDR2 is a huge, long-ass game, and although I started playing the day after release, and have played nothing else since, I'm still not quite finished. I believe I have reached 75 % completion. And what's worse - I haven't written down anything - no notes, nothing at all. How am I gonna be able to remember half of what I've experienced? I need to write something down, before it goes away.
So consider this an update to keep the blog afloat, as well as some notes to remind myself of what's been going through my mind. This is not my real review. These thoughts are not yet fully formed. I'll post a full review when I'm finished with the main story and have had time to process it all.
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- Simply put, this is the finest story I've experienced in a computer game. It's not only excellently penned - it's one that'll stay with me for a long time. To me it seems to be a truly American story, as seen through the eyes of a dying breed of outlaws. Our protagonist is someone who might be holding too tightly to the old dreams of freedom and equality. As the story begins in 1899, these dreams are running out of time, paving way for an uncertain future of industrialized cities, strong government and the dying of the wild west. It's about surviving in a world that wants you gone.
- Apart from all that, it manages to be the best prequel story I've experienced all-in-all - and the only one that surpasses its original. It succeeds in telling the same story the Star Wars-prequels so utterly failed. The comparison is relevant because important characters develop in much the same way across both story arcs. The difference is, RDR2 is leagues above in quality of writing. It might even be my favorite western story ever told.
- And it's taking place in the best open world. When you are not in story mode, you'll have a blast just exploring and filling in the blanks on the map. The sense of freedom is almost overwhelming. Events are everywhere, nothing is pointed out and whatever strange thing you see, it's worth investigating. The world is fuelled by impressive ecosystems - both in superficial city life and deep wilderness - that fits perfectly with the story's survivalist theme. There's a food chain here, and a morality system to balance the savagery.
- The world is inhabited by some of the best written characters I've seen in a video game. The player controlled character, Arthur Morgan (initials A.M. for America?), is, like John Marston from RDR1, not an empty shell. I can't begin to tell you what a relief this is. As a written character, he's fully developed, going through a brilliant character arc from beginning to end, never losing grip of his modest, charming masculinity. He seems fearful of letting people get too close. Just listen to the way he shrugs off every compliment. But by reading his journal, or listening to the guy talk to his mirror image, we get to know a different kind of Arthur. These moments are breaking my heart, but I won't spoil why.
- Overall, the Van Der Linde gang consists of a plethora of different personalities. They all seem like real people, almost like some versions of people I've met in real life. I quickly learnt to distinguish one from the other, as if I got to know them for real. The Rockstar writers have apparently figured out how to make compelling characters - by scarring them with personality flaws, and exposing and twisting the knife in that wound slowly to create character arcs. It's brilliant. As a man of great ideals, the Dutch Van Der Linde story is especially fascinating - and sad - to follow.
- The voice acting cannot be praised enough. Special mentions to Roger Clark (Arthur), Benjamin Byron Davis (Dutch) and Alex McKenna (Sadie). Not only do I love the way they carry their lines, but also the way they seem to react to what their characters are doing on the screen. The constant grunts, puffs, sighs, coughs and such sounds in everyday situations make their performances come alive. It helps the characters become relatable as human beings. It seems like the most trivial thing, but I have never before noticed this in a video game. (Maybe Naughty Dog did this as well?). Of course the directors should share in the praise.
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These are my major points as to why this might be the best game ever released, but there's much more as well. I hope I can recollect it all as I write the proper review.
I would want to say that Rockstar has probably paved the way for open world creators and storytellers in games moving forward, but that would be a blatant lie. The correct statement would probably be that they have set the bar at an unreachable height for most of them. They are one of the biggest studios out there. They spent
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Alright! That will have to suffice for now. Back to the game. Maybe in a few days time I'll finally be finished. RDR2 is a slow game - as slow as art. Stay tuned for review. God bless.
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