![]() The world is vibrant enough to sustain long sections where every mission doesn’t devolve into gunfights. That’s not to say the combat isn’t fun (it is), but it feels refreshing whenever Rockstar lets a mission play out without resorting to violent encounters, and I wish there were more quiet moments sprinkled throughout the story. Violence is the only currency that applies across all the regions Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang traverse, so Red Dead Redemption II rarely leaves the comfort of wanton bloodshed, perhaps to a fault. Each gang member brings something unique to the table and most are likable, which gives the inevitable dissolution of their alliances a tragic weight. This includes getting to know Red Dead Redemption protagonist John Marston even better. ![]() Sometimes you ride with the entire gang, other times the action revolves around only a few key actors, giving Rockstar time to flesh out Morgan’s compatriots. By the time you hang up your spurs, you will have robbed small-town banks, hijacked trains, executed jailbreaks, clashed with organized crime outfits, and challenged titans of industry. As the gang is chased across the land by law, rival gangs, and the Pinkerton agency, Rockstar crafts a healthy diversity of settings. Surprisingly for a game of this length, Red Dead Redemption II only occasionally succumbs to repetition or boredom – primarily due to restrictions with when and where you can fast travel. The story missions alone will likely take you 80-plus hours to complete. Their interdependent nature makes it tough to talk at any length about each individual element without venturing into spoiler territory the fashion in which these elements mingle and coalesce over the course of the journey is interesting to witness. A rare harmony exists between the narrative, gameplay systems, open world, and mission design. This is the biggest and most cohesive adventure Rockstar Games has ever created. Using the word “epic” to describe Red Dead Redemption II feels understated. Player actions determine which of four ways Morgan’s character arc ends, but regardless of your decisions, his intimate struggle with the life he chose serves as the questioning heart of this epic Western experience. He still feels more at home among thieves, liars, and murderers than he does with honest civilians, but he increasingly contemplates the real cost of their heinous actions. His gruff exterior and icy stare paint the picture of the prototypical outlaw, but underneath this gunslinger veneer is a reflective man struggling with his own mortality and the wayward morality of the gang’s increasingly desperate actions. Standing in the center of this savage storm is Arthur Morgan, Dutch’s righthand man. Rival factions develop among the gang, and watching Dutch van der Linde transition from a relatively principled leader to an unhinged psychopath is one of the most vivid and raw portraits of villainy I’ve seen. Once-vibrant camp nights filled with campfire songs and revelry are slowly replaced by suffocating discontent. But watching the fabric that holds the gang together fray and unravel as the law chases them across the country over the course of Red Dead Redemption II is riveting nonetheless. If you’ve played Red Dead Redemption, you already know how this tragic story ends. But as power structures shift and the unrelenting progress of government and technology swallow the untamed West, their particular sort of violence is speeding toward extinction. They support each other, primarily rob from the greed-lined pockets of the rich, and share the pioneer goal of buying a remote piece of land and settling down together far from the freedom-crushing existence of society. Led by the charismatic and resourceful Dutch van der Linde, this gang doesn’t think of itself as part of the problem. In this primordial stew of fear and savagery, the outlaw Van der Linde gang feels right at home. ![]() Men of industry don’t blink twice stepping over the bodies of the sick and the dead to realize their economic ambitions. ![]() Predators mercilessly hunt and kill their prey in the unforgiving wilderness. Bandits roam the highways, pilfering from the wealthy and poor alike. The world of Red Dead Redemption II is defined by violence, both in its passive and active forms.
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