Red Dead Redemption II (2018, Playstation 4) Review

(4 / 4)

Also on: Xbox One

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AN AMERICAN TALE

There are superlatives aplenty to summarize Rockstar's latest western adventure. The one I prefer above all would be the original meaning of the term "epic". It captures the time of legendary gunslingers to an extent we've never before seen. Experiencing Red Dead Redemption II feels like living a western legend, rather than watching or playing one.  It's the game to finally bring the full potential of the ancient storytelling tradition into the new medium. One would hope it becomes the shining beacon for other studios to follow, but I doubt many will have the resources to even make the attempt.

It generates stories like no other work of fiction I can think of, both through written content and emergent gameplay. Moreover, it adds nitty-gritty realism and an attention to detail that would hardly translate well into movies or even books. It overflows with content, yet I would remove absolutely nothing. It was in production for seven years. Rockstar apparently spent that time well.

It all revolves not only around certain characters, but also about the time and place they inhabit. This means everything evolves over time. As I was playing the last chapter of the game, I tried to find a logging site I'd discovered early on, but my search was in vain. By watching a YouTube-video, I learned that the location over the course of the game turns into a settlement called the Appleseed Timber Co. Now that place was familiar. The day before I had robbed a stagecoach that was heading there with supplies.

A DEVELOPING WORLD

That's right - not only the characters have their story arcs, but the world changes around them as well. The railroad expands, bringing new settlers to uninhabited places. Stations and houses form new settlements where there was only wildlife and woods. Different ecosystems interact with each other without the player even participating, all of them following a detailed daily schedule. Never have I witnessed such a lively open world.

The world map only points out the essentials to get through the story. To get the full experience you need to explore and look things up for yourself. You'll come across strangers at different times, who are in dire need of assistance. Random events will occur, some of them inconsequential, some of them eventually resulting in regular quests of their own. If you look through abandoned cabins you might discover secrets that'll lead you on to full-blown treasure hunts. There are stories and mysteries hidden in the world, not covered by any mission structure.

And it's all in service of a greater narrative. These sort of games are so often power fantasies about a hubristic protagonist who tries to save the world from doom, and then shape it according to his or her desire. Here the roles are reversed. No one, not even you, can halt the advance of civilization. You might rather say that the world is trying to shape you.

THE SETUP

Taking place in 1899, in a fictional part of the old U.S., Red Dead Redemption II chronicles the hardships of a gang of freedom-seeking outlaws as they struggle to maintain their way of life. They are undesirables who for one obscure reason or another were cast out of civilized life. And now, with the encroaching civilization on their heels, they're running out of places to hide. Their wilderness is dying. People crowd in industrialized cities where the factories pollute everything, making the surroundings all but uninhabitable.

The story begins in medias res, as the gang escapes the repercussions of a botched steamboat heist in the city of Blackwater, which ended in the deaths of numerous people. You take on the role of Arthur Morgan - the video game character of the century - as his caravan plows through the snows of some God forsaken mountain range. He is the right hand man of their charismatic, idealist leader Dutch van der Linde.

The gang finds shelter in an abandoned farm, and begin hunting for food and an idea of what to do next. All of them look expectantly to Dutch, who stands firm amidst the chaos and utters his catchphrase: "I have a plan!" The end goal is to reach some sort of tropical Paradise - that would be Tahiti in the mind's eye of Dutch - and all they need is the cash to get there.

But let's leave it at that - the less you know about the story, the better (beware the online spoilers). Suffice to say that it will drag you across the land, it will likely amuse and haunt you with its twists and turns, and might in the end change your life. This is not hyperbole. Since its release, people online have proclaimed their strive to improve their way of life after playing Red Dead Redemption II. Whether they will stick to that is at best uncertain, but if they do it would be sensational.

REALISM IS THE NAME OF THE GAME

Gameplay mainly consists of two parts: a slow-paced, realistic free roaming mode, and an action-packed, cinematic mission mode. The former means you're interacting with the game's intricate systems, and the latter means you get to witness the amazing writing. You control Arthur either through a stalking camera or a first person perspective. The choice is yours and you can change it on the fly. I personally never dabbled much with the first person view, except when I wanted to take a closer look at something.

The systems make up a sort of survival game, where you have to help both Arthur and his diverse crowd of gangmates stay alive. You'll have to hunt for food, explore the land and talk to people to learn of different ways to get the money they need. The more you delve into these systems, the more advanced they get.

To hunt, for instance, you need to first and foremost find the animal's habitat, and then track it down. You'll need to study it to find out its weaknesses. You might wanna place some bait and hide your own scent to avoid detection. Using the correct weapon is as essential as killing it with a single shot. Failing the last part will spoil some of the meat and reduce the quality of the hide.

The money issue is even more complex. You might be interested in taking on bounty hunts, gamble, take on the odd job, steal horses and sell them, or sell the hides of legendary animals, rob stagecoaches or trains, or perform a complex bank heist. This is entirely up to you and how savage you feel the need to become. Just mind the honor meter that impacts how the story plays out.

Much have been said about the controls, but one can objectively say they are sluggish and not entirely intuitive. They can take a while to get used to. It is a matter of taste. I would claim the slow part of them match the realism and pace of the rest of the game. The gunslinging mechanics are aided by a customisable auto-aim and a Dead-Eye system which slows down time to a crawl, in the style of Max Payne. Of course, Dead Eye is a resource. You need to use it sparingly or find resources that restores it.

A CINEMATIC STORY MODE

Story mode takes you out of the free roaming and into the framework of a highly directed mission. Here we get to witness both the peak of the game and one of the its very few flaws. If you, in any way, deviate too much from the mission requirements, you get an instant game over screen, interrupting the narrative flow. Luckily, the liberal checkpoint system spares you from having to replay very much. But there were times when I just couldn't understand what I possibly could have done wrong. And I plain sucked at the dueling mini-game.

But then again, the story is also the peak of the Red Dead Redemption II experience. It is the best one I've ever seen in a video game, and - since it takes place before the events of the first Red Dead Redemption - the best prequel I've seen all-in-all. It is also the only prequel that manages to outshine the original. It even pays it service by adding gravitas to certain recurring characters. The jury is still out on whether Red Dead Redemption II is my favorite western, but the possibility that it is speaks volumes of the quality of writing.

And the staging adds some rare nuances. The acting - particularly from leading men Roger Clark (as Arthur) and Benjamin Byron Davis (as Dutch) with their deep, hoarse voices - is phenomenal. As they deliver their lines flawlessly, they also add the occasional sigh, cough, exasperated grunt or whatever matches their character's action. This sounds trivial, but it helps ground the voices in the characters we see, making us relate to them as human beings. We are truly leaving behind the days when dialogue occured between two characters standing fixed in place, staring blankly into each other's tired faces.

The rest of the excellent cast of characters truly comes alive in the gang's camp. This is the heart and soul of the entire game. Here you go to rest up between adventures, stock up on supplies, help with the daily chores, catch up with recent events, or just socialize with your mates. I strongly recommend that you spend time here, as it brings forth the personality of the individuals, strengthening your bond with them. You also have the possibility to pay your resources to the camp supply box, keeping spirits high.

As for the visuals, well, you have already seen the marvellous vistas that makes every screenshot into a painting. The importance of such production values are easy to take for granted. The technology also allows for highly nuanced facial expressions that underplay a lot of the emotions inside a character. These lay the foundations for some of the most touching scenes I have seen in a video game. There are a lot insecurities hidden behind tough guy facades in Red Dead Redemption II.

Rockstar daringly puts a lot of faith in its audience to pick up on such subtleties, giving them space to resonate more strongly within us. This just goes to show how games are reaching a level of maturity that elevates them to art. When I think about Red Dead Redemption II, I think in no different terms than I would a book or a movie. I mourn for the older generations, and people in general who still scorn this medium with superficial prejudice, and will miss out on this story. But it's their loss.

I'm not running out of ways to praise and describe this game, not by a longshot. But I am running out of time and reasonable space. Rest assured I will return to it in future posts.

Let it hence be known that I have a new favorite game, dethroning The Witcher III: Wild Hunt. Red Dead II hits every step right of its long journey towards Redemption, and seems made just for me and my ilk. I cannot recommend it strongly enough, and if you lack the means to play it, by all means go ahead and procure them. Rob a stagecoach if you must - just find a way to play the game of the decade.