Red Dead Redemption 2 is an absolute triumph, and is definitely up there among the best games ever made. This is one of the best-looking games I've ever seen, and every area is just rife with atmosphere and realism. Towns and cities feel like real places with people going about their lives. The story is excellent, with some of the most compelling characters I've ever seen, even outside of just video games. The acting from this ensemble cast was just spot-on throughout. The facial animation work especially makes everything come to life, and every little movement and action the characters make was animated with incredible care. The music is also just perfect, and really captures a certain mood while you play. The gun fights can get frantic at times, but it never gets overwhelming, and the checkpoints are generous. Guns feel great to use, especially the long rifles.

I loved settling in to life as Arthur, and found it very rewarding to play as the helpful outlaw with the heart of gold. Of course you can go full-on psycho if you wish, but it seemed to me that it came with more drawbacks than perks. There is a ton of stuff to do and see out in the world, but for me I mainly focused on upgrading my gear and then doing all the main and side quests. Even without spending a lot of time hunting, fishing, gaming, etc. I still racked up nearly 75 hours in completing the game up to the credits. If you're the type of person who likes to just take your time and drink a game in, this is an absolute must-play.

I've heard people complain about the pacing, and it being too slow and boring, but this really isn't the type of game you play in a rush. You have to take some time to appreciate the craft that went into it. Admittedly I wished for things like looting bodies a little faster, or automatically chambering another round on my gun, but small annoyances like that can't tarnish this gem. I did have 2 lock-ups in my playtime, easily resolved with Task Manager. A couple times the camera spazzed out on me and just swung around in all directions for a little while. With my specs (GTX 1080, i5-9600k, 16GB RAM, SSD) the game performed pretty steadily, holding mostly right around 60fps, sometimes a bit higher or lower. That was at 1440p with Ultra textures and shadows, but with some other tweaking done to save frames without sacrificing much (use a guide). Also make sure to turn off Soft Shadows as they look like crap, the nice crisp regular shadows look amazing.

I tried a bit of the Online mode but since you're a silent "everyman", it didn't seem like there was much to the new story. The gameplay and look is similar to the solo game, but a bit worse, like having to wait to matchmake before each mission, or no longer getting a pause menu or deadeye time slowing. Some people go in for the ranked live service open worlds, but I guess it's just not really my thing.

If you're looking to live the life of a western outlaw for a good chunk of time, then this game is an absolute must-buy. I'd say everyone should play it, as long as your system can run it and you don't shy from a gunfight. Again, it's one of the best video games I've ever experienced, with a story that's rarely if ever matched for quality. Do yourself a favor and pony up!