Red Dead Redemption 2 manages better than any other game to date to simulate a believable, living world whose enormous dimensions impress as well as the manifold facets. The last surviving natives have retreated to the icy peaks of the north. Farmers try their luck in the lush prairie. In the east, day laborers work in coal mines, and their families fear the cannibals of the forest. In the west, wealth is sprouting the first brick towns, and in the south, illegal distilleries are polluting the swamps and the chimneys of Saint Denis, the den of sin.
Morgan throws himself into one firefight after another for leader Dutch Van der Linde. Get caught between the fronts of former slave drivers, rob banks and train passengers, and take on corrupt politicians and oil tycoons. This is the heightened American nightmare, which erodes the magnificent setting with every further coup. With their backs to the wall, the gang members are welded together. A drug-addicted preacher, a vengeful widow, a gunslinger with a child and wife, a dishonorably discharged soldier and many more - almost all of them tell gripping stories, grow on you or get on your nerves and make you slide deeper and deeper into hopelessness.
Eyes, ears and curiosity are pampered - by a hand-carved landscape, heart-breaking interspersed country melodies and by the decelerating and dangerous beauty of the animal world in the form of grizzlies, alligators or wolves. Instead of cluttering the map with virtual tourist attractions, players are left to unravel the mysteries of this world. You can interact with almost every resident and not only get involved in nerve-wracking duels, but also in funny dialogues, or you can spend your evenings singing around the campfire, playing poker on a casino steamer or taking a full bath in the hotel. A tiny spark of eroticism in an otherwise blazing outlaw purgatory, in which animals are not spared as a source of food and because of their tradable fur. At the same time it is the pure homage to horses as means of transport, porters and philanthropists.
What is less successful?
The meticulously drawn decay is just as evident in Morgan's face as in the defeat of the player himself. An obsession with reality that will not please every playful mind. You spend countless hours on your horse and are soon looking for fast travel options in the wilderness in addition to stunning natural spectacles and are annoyed that you cannot switch between locations via the menu. While Morgan doesn't degenerate into a Tamagotchi, you still have to think about food and taking care of yourself, your animal companion and your weapons every few days. Killed foes should be searched for money, useful items, health potions, and snacks.
Because Red Dead Redemption 2 is an exhausting and material-consuming slaughter of thousands of opponents. The actual missions, which are well distributed in their variety, often become a hamster wheel of traditional mechanics, especially in the numerous larger showdowns, which bring the playful freedom to an abrupt end. Whether metaphorically intended or a technical compromise, some adversaries are so overwhelming that they are exalted into infinity. The probably also intended inertia of the animation system, which aims at movement realism, acts like gravity, which pushes Morgan down to earth despite the slow-motion mode and rapid-fire arts. Without automatic aiming, you can hardly cope with the crowd of enemies shooting from all directions, both in the saddle and from behind cover.
Conclusion
Red Dead Redemption 2 is a forward-thinking milestone in the open-world genre. In doing so, the usual mass-market softening was dispensed with, and instead the player is chased through a drama that western fans must have somehow acted out. Even if you realize afterwards that you would rather not have played it. For every ounce of hope in this alluring gunslinger's dream is balanced with heavy bitterness. (Zsolt Wilhelm, 7.11.2018)
stay fair. Hand back.
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