Red Dead Redemption 2 is a big game, so big that reviewing it is going to take a fairly long time. To coincide with my playthrough, I am going to be writing my findings and thoughts in this Red Dead Diary mini-series, sans any major spoilers.
– What a strange but interesting way to open the game. The first fifteen minutes are a little on the understated side and don’t exactly set the pulse quickening. It might just be this way to very gently introduce the players to the mechanics, but the pace is sluggish to say the least.
– Arthur Morgan’s voice acting is great, really great. Such a unique depth and tone. Meanwhile, it’s hard to take Dutch seriously at this point with his voice breaking so often. Get that man a cup of hot chocolate.
– I’m surprised they’ve kept mashing X to speed up, which I never particularly loved before to begin with. Arthur does seem to control more responsively than recent Rockstar protagonists, however, so it’s not nearly as bad.
– These snow physics are absolutely bloody bonkers. After killing a wolf, they fell into a hole made of their shape in the snow. The blood is also detailed as hell — I walked over it a few times and noticed it changing and even managed to push some snow to cover some of it up. Wild.
– I immediately regretted going first-person to watch as Arthur skinned a deer, the same one that I had just nearly had a crisis of conscience over after it screamed for its life.
– The first-person in general seems really well implemented. Third-person will always be the way, but first-person during conversations shows the insane details in character reactions and facial expressions.
– Shaving is deeper than it has any logical right to be. You can choose basically all facets of Arthur’s facial hair to customise, but you can’t magically grow a full beard and have to wait if you want to choose different styles. You can trim Arthur’s beard down by seven different lengths if you have it at its fullest.
– I appreciate the mechanics of the camp so far, though I am yet to see how donating changes things in the long run, as well as see any benefits from giving Pearson all my bits of animals. I do like chopping wood, though, especially as there seem to be many different animations for it.
– Hiding from the law in the bushes does not work.
– I’ve accidentally found myself with a wanted level three times now. The first because I climbed on the wrong horse, the second time because a guy randomly started shooting at me when I stopped in front of him, and the third time because I picked up the body of someone I killed in a duel. The murder itself is apparently fine, but don’t touch the corpse afterwards.
– The melee combat really is great. It all feels meaty and simple but also challenging, asking you to punch with circle and use square at the right moment to block. One fight felt very much like a brawl in an old cowboy movie.
– As for the gunplay, I actually haven’t had that many chances to test it just yet but it feels comfortingly familiar. You can snap to enemies with L2 and then aim upwards for a headshot with R2. I was pretty impressed with your location affecting the noise of your gunshot; blasting my shotgun in a ravine caused the sound to boom and echo.
– The dogs are very good boys.
– After about five hours with the game, it’s only just starting to unfurl. There’s plenty that the game hasn’t introduced me to yet and I feel like I’ve already taken on so much. It’s a little daunting but also very exciting.
Check back tomorrow for the second entry of Red Dead Diary.
Some of the coverage you find on Cultured Vultures contains affiliate links, which provide us with small commissions based on purchases made from visiting our site. We cover gaming news, movie reviews, wrestling and much more.
