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.
– Finally starting to figure out Red Dead Redemption 2. Not necessarily its mechanics (which take some getting used to), but rather the kind of game it wants to be. I have had to unlearn basically everything ever other open world game has taught me. This is the video game equivalent of The Assassination of Jesse James: it’s unusually slow and mournful and it’s slowly beginning to really enchant me.
– Just dusted off Chapter 2. It seems like the game really opens up about halfway through it, meaning that it’s not quite a fully free yee-hawing time from the off. There’s a lot of stuff and gameplay facets that you really have to play the story for.
– I hate the way the game handles picking up items. Arthur isn’t that precise when over a dead body, so flicking the left stick usually means that he ends up picking something else or just walking away. It’s even worse when you’re just trying to pick up stuff in his tent; seems like a strange oversight to leave it as finicky.
– I’m not 100% keen on the way the game implements fast travel. It’s cool that you can speed up the journey to more far-flung areas, but only being able to do it from the gang’s camp is a bit of a pain. At least I’ve had the chance to sample plenty of emergent gameplay; Red Dead Redemption 2 really is a game that feels alive.
– This is the best outfit in the game. Arthur Blazkowicz, anyone?
– Really appreciate the ability to slick back your hair at any point with pomade, as well as it gradually getting messier the longer you wait.
– I think Rockstar have done really well with the cores and kept it as far away from feeling like a survival game as possible while still making them somewhat important. They’ve not really been overbearing for me at all so far and only seem to minimally change things. Those who want to obsess over the littlest details will probably enjoy keeping meters topped, however.
– Detail Porn #97: Arthur’s hands shows the effects of a snake bite.
– I killed some guys hiding a lockbox and wanted to see if they would burn if I threw their corpses on their own fire. They did.
– Maintaining your weapons is a neat gimmick but not one that has massively impacted gunplay for me yet. I’d like to see how massively they degrade if you use one weapon throughout the entire game without cleaning it once. I do enjoy quirks like these, so I have been polishing them all apart from one after every other mission. I’ve deliberately “mistreated” a cattleman revolver and have only cleaned it once to see how it holds up down the line.
– Found this guy out in the wilderness and he challenged me to a shooting contest. He won, but only because of bullshit. I had no other choice but to refuse to give him his money, kill him, and then take his jazzy hat.
– I enjoy spending time in the camp, though I do wish it was quicker to get around. Arthur walks around like he has furious constipation.
– Big fan of just walking around and talking to people, especially this guy who I’ve encountered a couple of times now.
– Detail Porn #667: the muddy street in Valentine reflecting your footsteps with boot imprints and the puddles changing in shape and depth when you step on them.
– Have already fallen completely in love with my horse. I might have completed the game by now if I wasn’t spending all my time feeding and cleaning them. Have fully bonded with Shadowfart III and couldn’t imagine swapping her for anyone other horse.
– RIP Shadowfart I, the unfortunate victim of me trying to leap off a cliff and then needing to be put down.
– Not quite feeling the same pull to poker as I did in the first game and I think that’s down to the lower stakes — at least from what I’ve played so far. Still fond of the random chit-chat between hands, though.
– Starting a mission seems pretty inconsistent. Sometimes to have to go up and greet someone, other times it just automatically starts if you’re in the vicinity. A little annoying if you’re just trying to buy some cocaine gum.
– My Arthur is a clean freak and bathes every time he enters a town. His face does seem to be getting more puckered and sun-bleached, however.
– I almost want to just quitting and re-entering the game to see re-introductory scenes like this one.
Check back tomorrow for Day 3’s findings, which include wet snakes, singing songs, and shovelling a whole load of poo.
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