Rockstar Games is known for setting benchmarks when it comes to their open world titles. Red Dead Redemption 2 is their best work to date, without a doubt. Unquestionably beautiful, vast and detailed. It breathes life. From the tiniest toad to the scary Grizzly bear, everything feels alive and convincing. It's an environment so well crafted that it makes you wonder whether it isn't a real world within your own computer. Non-playable characters have their own lives, with a routine that they follow religiously just like we do. Some do hard work, some drink all day, some mourn their loss(es). It's hard to believe it's just a video game. I remember when Skyrim had something similar and people couldn't believe how insanely realistic it was. Imagine that, but twice as convincing. That's RDR 2 for you. They feel so alive that you feel bad for killing them with your plethora of period-accurate weaponry.
Evidently, a game is not solely made of environment and their inherent goodies. That's where the story mode comes in. And, as many of you may know by now, either from YouTube or any of the media portals you routinely visit for the daily dose of gaming news, it's a masterpiece. Storytelling is not an easy craft, but they have visibly dominated it after decades and decades of duly delivered benchmarks of how an open world game should be. They make it seem easy, almost as if anyone could do it. Memorable characters, insane character development just like we like it and then fantastic endings based on your own decisions. As linear as it may be, forcing you to do things their way rather than setting your imagination free and letting you decide how to approach a mission, it still allows you to take certain decisions that will shape the moral values of your character, therefore leading it to a specific outcome. Games don't often get the whole moral debate right, understandably so, because they are empty characters with a pre-recorded set of phrases and reactions that can't resonate with you. But Arthur Morgan is different. It's a rather captivating individual, that feels real. Real enough that you will often find yourself questioning whether to kill or spare someone, or if you should or not help that person in need. And inevitably feel the pain of uncertainty of the future - or the lack thereof - that lies ahead.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is a western beyond all westerns. An adventure you can dive in yourself, and watch your character grow through all the hardships of the outlaw life. A novel-like main character that is a criminal, killer, cruel and savage but also a human being like all of us. And humanity wins, in the end. Arthur learns what it is to be human, and there is no better teacher than life itself.
Would I recommend Red Dead Redemption 2? It would be a crime not to. As flawed as it may be in certain aspects like the slightly truncated gameplay, the typical Rockstar linearity and the underwhelming online mode, the story is something out of this world. It truly outstands. Goes above and beyond the average video game storytelling. It's something you've got to experience to understand. A must-play for every gamer out there.