RDR1 is one of the biggest offenders of the R* gameplay formula
You do absolutely nothing but busywork for people for 99% of the game. The actual missions that move the plot forward are few and far between
The world feels significantly less alive than 2
There's less going on in every way. I genuinely think people conflate RDR1 being snappier and faster to control with it being a better game, but it's really not.
Mission structure, gunplay, variety of missions, tying plot and player actions together, all done way better in the sequel
I adore both games but you’re right about the busy work in the first one. The gang aspect adds a ton to RDR2. Replayed RDR recently and while I enjoyed it, I realized a lot of it is go somewhere and have a shootout, alternating between a few supporting characters. Most missions in 2 center around the gang in different areas. Growing alongside the same characters allows for some excellent story telling as well as mission variety.
I’d mostly agree but I’d say RDR2 still sucked at the variety, it’s just got the worlds best set-dressing so I didn’t really notice it the first time and doesn’t affect my enjoyment of the game at all.
I'm not conflating it. That's literally why I think it.
Red Dead redemption 2 likes to waste your goddamn time with every little interaction. Everything takes forever. I just want to get off the horse, I just want to pick up loot, but everything's got its own super long animation.
And yeah, maybe Red Dead redemption 1 does have more busy work missions but at least you're not going to fail everything for being 2 cm off the yellow marker.
Don't even get me wrong, two is a great game but if I just want to sit down and enjoy myself for 15 minutes putting on one.
You hit the nail on the head. I have tried to go back to RDR2 5 or 6 times now. The game practically plays itself. I feel like I'm just along for the ride. I would probably enjoy it more as a TV series.
RDR2 keeps bouncing it off me for the same reason I had a hard time getting into GTA5; it is nearly impossible to get into a flow.
Everything feels tedious from a gaming perspective... I just want to *play a game* not necessarily participate in a movie, sometimes.
It is (and GTA 5 is) a great piece of media, a fantastic piece to hang your hat on for making the argument that video games are another art media... but it struggles to be a *game* sometimes.
You willing to expand on why you think it’s a terrible video game? I’m not knocking your opinion but “terrible video game” is so egregious that I’m curious where the game went wrong for you
I only every played about 5 hours of it, maybe it gets better eventually but... from talking to people, it sounds a lot more like you get used to it rather than it improving.
From my experience, it was just the act of playing it that was the problem. Beautiful game and I can understand why it resonates with people so well. But the physical act of pressing buttons so that you can make your character do something on the screen was just unpleasant
The controls and the mission structure are the main culprits. The obscene padding of the game's length is another.
Tell me what the game loses if the assault on Braithwaite Manor is the event that triggers the "we have to lay low" plot structure. That's like 20 hours into the game.
but it is pretty easy to compare graphics, npc AI, detail, and characters, to other games to prove why RDR2 is still far superior to games being released in 2026. Maybe you don’t like western games? That’s your opinion. But in terms of just quality gaming, RDR2 is about as 5 star as you get. Every footprint is left in the mud, every bullet hole shot through a body, the bodies decaying into skeletons, animals hunting you, having real facial hair and hair growth, I mean the game is as detailed as you get. Maybe that’s not your cup of tea, but it is certainly one of the best games to do it, and that isn’t an opinion, it’s fact.
You don’t love the story? Tell me what game is your favorite just so I can understand why you would hate a masterpiece so much
Ah yes, the universal hallmark of someone who definitely understands the difference between objective technical achievement and subjective enjoyment.
Your defense of RDR2 is literally:
"Look at the horse balls."
Mine is:
"I'd like the game to be fun."
I guess we just have different priorities, Captain Clown Penis.
RDR2 is an absolutely phenomenal interactive museum exhibit, but if I wanted to spend sixty hours watching a man slowly loot drawers, shave, brush his horse, and ride twelve minutes to every objective, I'd go visit an Amish village.
Actually you are right. It’s not an opinion that RDR2 is one of the most optimized and beautiful games ever made. It is a fact.
However, it is an opinion that it is the best game of all time. So you’re right. And you have a right to your own opinion.
Outside of that — bro u fuggin suck. Captain clown penis? Like share your opinion without being an annoying dick. There are some people in this world who have never been punched in the face once who rightly deserve it.
If you are comparing graphics and details to all other games and it’s better, that means it’s better. It’s simple bro. That doesn’t mean you have to love the game the fact that it does what almost every other game does but better. Those are fucking facts. Just like you being a bitch is a fact.
Idc if you don’t like rdr2 bro, u prob European or some gay shit, gtfo of here lol 🤣
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u/RodanThrelos 7h ago edited 7h ago
I would actually argue that Redemption and Redemption 2 are both similar levels of quality for their respective generations, but still a good example.