Red Dead Redemption 2 review: A real cowboy life

How to extend the deep process of "immersion" to over 100 hours, I think "Red Dead Redemption: Redemption 2" is the textbook answer. R Star spent 8 years to create this rich content, the details of the horror of the open world masterpiece, all parts of the game are indispensable, each of their roles and fit.

On the one hand, the game up to more than 60 hours of the main line process provides an unparalleled story experience, even if only to write reviews to rush through the main line, recalling those experienced times, whether it is the most rare daily, or ups and downs of the turbulence, are amazing and endless aftertaste. Red Dead Redemption 2, on the other hand, finds the perfect balance between the main story and the freedom to explore. Do you want to watch the story prepared by the developers or create it yourself? All choices are up to you.

I think this game has reached the ceiling of the current open world, remember a very interesting saying: "If Breath of the Zelda Wilderness is called a 'super' open world god, then Cousin 2 is a 'real' open world God," R Star has put all the framework, content, and details that can build the real world into the game, and a more fascinating game world than reality is born.

Video review:

Westworld comes to life

It is said that the R star is not satisfied with the current console performance, and can not play the perfect effect of this game, but they mercilessly squeeze the performance of this generation of consoles, or create the amazing world of Red Dead Redemption 2. We can feel this all the time during our visit: snow-capped mountain tops, fog-shrouded forests, wide-open hills... The extreme light and shadow make the world so real, without losing the beautiful texture of the movie, every inch of land that the player walks through, like the scenery in the lens of the master photographer, is worth stopping to appreciate.

The hooves of the horses galloping across the plains, the breeze sweeping through the grass leaves, the sound of the horses panting, the soothing background music, the birds soaring overhead, and the small animals jumping on the ground, all these elements together constitute a vivid side of the Westworld, but this world is more than that. With the advancement of exploration, more terrain scenes, more diverse immersive atmosphere shaping, the whole picture of the game will gradually show in front of the player, then you will feel that the game gives you not a side, but a lifelike complete world.

The world runs smoothly whether you are involved or not. In addition to players, NPCS and even wild animals have a set of internal logic that is close to reality. People rise and go, and animals react differently to human actions. The same is true of the player's behavior, like a stone thrown into the water, will create an ever-expanding circle of ripples, and R Star is not stingy to add every interactive event imaginable to the game, trying to make the player feel more involved.

For example, I once encountered such a funny situation: I rushed into the pub, but accidentally bumped into a customer as I entered the door, the drunk made provocative remarks to me, in order not to be laughed at by other customers present, I chose to verbally fight back, and the argument eventually escalated into a street duel. The two sides squared off in the midday sun, ready for a passionate exchange of fire. As a result, the drunk suddenly fainted on the ground without drawing his gun. Walking over to check, it seems that he may be unable to drink, but also like because regret the duel and timid pretend to die, witnessing the moment I can only smile and turn away.

One of the classic Western scenes: a duel outside a bar

Classic West part two: Gridlock

The game is full of all kinds of interesting western style scenes, players can participate in these small pieces, enter the world, what you do or don't do, you get feedback from all aspects of the action, so that you really feel that you are a part of the world.

And the rich details are an important support point for the reality of this game, we have understood one or two of them through the release of the wind before the game was released, but when the real start, or can not help but exclaim. R Star tries to restore the real west, and integrates many characteristic details of the West into the work, so that the process of players interacting with the world becomes a process of discovery and enjoyment. I won't say much more about this part, not wanting to take away the small, secretly accumulated pleasure of discovering new details and surprises.

Peeling the skin, you can clearly see the process of separating the skin from the muscle of the prey.

Up: Game down: Reality

The shop guide in the game is exactly the same as the real version, even in English, which can be read in larger quantities.

Integrate "interaction" naturally into the world

As in the previous game, players are free to explore this vast land outside the main line. The interaction has achieved a new height after the previous game and the same door brother GTA5, lonely riding in the field is an important part of the game, but each lonely journey is for the next better encounter. R-star adds a more sophisticated "random narrative" system to the game, which was also present in the original and GTA5, presenting random events as you pass through them. Along the way, you may encounter a photographer, a woman trying to get home, a farmer poisoned by an unknown herb, etc., and you may even encounter other gangs and wild animals in ambush, all of which are irregular, and the purpose is to keep the player's immersion level at all times, so that the pace of the game does not become too volatile.

When an incident occurs, we will inevitably react differently, and the game's "honor" system will be activated to measure your behavior. Because the first time I went through customs, I chose a decent route, mainly to do good deeds, so the store will give me discounts on goods, and I will receive cordial greetings from other people on the way. This moral standard is set by the R Star, and even many unexpected actions are incorporated into the honor value system, and you can feel the different after-effects of good deeds and bad deeds from time to time.

For example, I single-handedly killed a team of bounty hunters, and after a fierce gunfight, I found one of the bounty hunters' hounds still alive, struggling in a pool of blood and screaming miserably. I went over to make up a shot, completely ending its pain, when the right side of the screen jumped out of the honor value of the decline of small tips; In addition, like the unfortunate man who was kicked to death by a horse in the picture below, I chose to dismount and raid his belongings, and the honor value was also decreased. Maybe in a foreign country, people will choose not to shoot or not to search, but in any case, these very small actions of mine do create feedback in the game, I can feel the interaction is always there, and naturally I will adjust my behavior, which in turn has an impact on the process of the game.

I was on my way, and I saw this poor bastard get kicked to death by his own horse...

What you have done, more or less will have an impact on the subsequent game content, saved people may meet you in the city two days later, and give you a free prop; The gang you robbed, they could ambush you on the side of a road in the wild in two days; If you don't do a step in the main line, after some time in the game, the gang members will help you complete it and tease you for being too slow. Every cause has its effect, and this chain reaction builds the dynamic, natural world of Red Dead Redemption 2.

Every day the player spends in it is both calm and exciting, fulfilling. In the morning, ready to collect a debt or blow up a bridge. Brush your horse, feed him an apple, ride him down a country river, help a person or two, shop for vegetables, step into a bar and drink a couple of whiskeys, or sit down and play a few games of Texas Hold 'em. When the gang work is done, ride back to camp slowly, eat the delicious stew that your friends have prepared, sit by the campfire and listen to their cheerful singing (if you are in town, you can also buy tickets to see a good show). Finally, I went back to my bed, lit a cigarette, thought about my life, and got ready for bed. During the course of the day, the game always maintains a moderate amount of interaction with you, of course, these are not forced to complete, the only influence it, only your actions and choices.

Cosy gang

The interaction with the love horse is also a regular thing to do during the play

Highly mature gameplay system

The play and the huge open world to achieve a highly mature fit, which is another big advantage of this work, it sounds not easy, can be made to show the terror of the R star.

The combat system of this game has made great progress on the basis of the previous game, although the performance of the old era weapons is not as good as now, but the realistic pulling bolt sound and gunfire are still very powerful and powerful. The more detailed level of the Eye of death, a wealth of weapons and props, these make the battle part to give enough excitement to make people pulsating.

It's noon. Four kills a second

Based on resources that can be collected from around the world, the game extends a number of gameplay systems around the three numerical slots of life, strength, Death Eye, and weapons. Players need to eat, drink and dress to maintain basic physical condition, as well as tobacco and tonic to restore the Eye of Death, which we can obtain through hunting, fishing, gathering, treasure hunting, post-battle searching, or store purchase, each of which can be separated into its own gameplay. The progress that can be completed in the game is also based on these natural resources, and even the progress of riding a horse to kill a small animal on the road is recorded.

As an outlaw, the protagonist will also encounter a wanted system similar to the GTA series of police stars when committing a crime, you can and law enforcement officers hard hard, death to attract more powerful police, you can also ride quickly away. As mentioned earlier, the actions you choose to take affect what happens next. If you are offered a reward in a certain area, or pay the money to eliminate the reward, or you may encounter a bounty hunter on the road at any time, if you do something bad in the face of civilians, you will be reported, then you need to "solve" the eyewitness, as to how to solve, the game also provides a choice, basically your head is thinking "can you do it?" When the R star has helped you think ahead.

The heart of the R star is reflected in the main line and side tasks at the same time, none of the tasks make people feel that it is to fill the number of them, each task will bring you a novel adventure, but follow the task can only let you understand a part of the world, there are a lot of fun, in fact, hidden in the unknown zone waiting for you to find.

The movie perspective in the game is very interesting, and the original movie-like images are restored.

All kinds of systems in the game are complementary to each other, but there is no abrupt "junction" in the middle, everything is naturally integrated into the whole game world, you will find the proper function in the right place, which reduces the interference to the player as much as possible, thus greatly improving the immersion of the game.

Finally, I have to mention a few small problems with the game: in the process of the game, there will be some key combinations from time to time, requiring players to use C-hand or more complex combination gestures to operate, which is awkward. Moreover, the Angle of view when searching for items is also some egg pain, and there will be no accurate situation. These parts lack some humanized design, but in front of the overall volume of the game, these are only minor points, and the impact on the overall game experience is not great.

Unforgettable western scenery

For the story told by the game, in order to avoid revealing the plot, we will not elaborate here. But with all due respect, both the main and side stories will never disappoint. After putting myself into this wild and real world, and into the cowboy Arthur Morgan, I gained the most precious memories with my partners and enemies, which were touched and sad, and there was no shortage of helplessness and emotion, and various emotions were interwoven in the process of playing, making the game more immersive. Before the original timeline, we can find out from the story the previous protagonist John Marston's mental journey, as well as the direct opportunity for him to leave the gang, and other questions in the world view are basically answered.

It was the most turbulent era of history, the alternation of the old and the new, bringing numerous contradictions, and the Van der Lin gang where the two generations of protagonists are is a symbol of the free spirit of the old era. In this work, you can feel the confusion and struggle of people, and the change of society's attitude towards old things and old people is more than the previous work. A more artistic description with a deeper sense of immersion makes people feel deeply touched and shocked.

Perhaps reality is not as charming as art creation, but Red Dead Redemption 2 still gives players the best of Westworld with a legendary story, which is exactly what we want to see in the eventful years.

Conclusion

The eight years of R Star are highly concentrated, and the essence of the concentrated became Red Dead Redemption 2, which once again achieved R Star with its mature system, meticulous interaction, rich content and profound story. In terms of open world attainments, R-Star is unquestionably at the top of the pyramid.

Whether you're interested in the Western genre or the open world, this game is worth a try. Just like the Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on NS, it is highly recommended that you start PS4/XBOX just for this game, this is no longer just a game, it is qualified to be one of the few shining marks in your long gaming career.