I really tried to enjoy RDR2. It’s got some great qualities, and the acting, writing, and cutscenes are phenomenal. But… The gameplay… I’m all for slowburn walking simulator type games (e.g. I loved Detroit Become Human, among others).
But with RDR2, the world is so massive and yet there was no sense of excitement when finding stuff. You get just about all your upgrades fairly early in the game. There’s no sense of character gameplay progression. And after just a few hours of traveling around, it felt like I quickly had seen all the random event variations on the roads/trails (e.g. stop bandits hijacking a wagon, robberies, etc). I don’t know, it just felt like a hyper realistic GTA5: Western, but without all the plethora of goofy shenanigans that game has.
You make some very good points. I loved RDR2, but felt like two-thirds of the way through the game it became main story and nothing else. I thought the side quest content was really good, but there needed to be a lot more of it. The “random” events were awesome, but when they were eventually all completed, it made the world feel somewhat empty in comparison. That said, it’s still one of my favorite games. I’m on a playthrough right now where I mostly just mess around in the world. I like how slow-paced it is. You can just do whatever. Eat, drink, fish, sleep, fight, hunt, cook, ride, shoot… There’s no end to the number of personal side quests you can make up.
I to have tried getting into it without success. Maybe I will be able to return to it someday.
A similar thing happened with Cyberpunk. I revisited it after stopping just after the first act and had the most fun I have had with a game in a long time.
I dont know, I have heard valid complaints but the western setting doesnt allow for much other than bandit themed random encounters and favours. There are other more out there ones that hint to larger things like time travel etc.
I really tried to enjoy RDR2. It’s got some great qualities, and the acting, writing, and cutscenes are phenomenal. But… The gameplay… I’m all for slowburn walking simulator type games (e.g. I loved Detroit Become Human, among others).
But with RDR2, the world is so massive and yet there was no sense of excitement when finding stuff. You get just about all your upgrades fairly early in the game. There’s no sense of character gameplay progression. And after just a few hours of traveling around, it felt like I quickly had seen all the random event variations on the roads/trails (e.g. stop bandits hijacking a wagon, robberies, etc). I don’t know, it just felt like a hyper realistic GTA5: Western, but without all the plethora of goofy shenanigans that game has.
You make some very good points. I loved RDR2, but felt like two-thirds of the way through the game it became main story and nothing else. I thought the side quest content was really good, but there needed to be a lot more of it. The “random” events were awesome, but when they were eventually all completed, it made the world feel somewhat empty in comparison. That said, it’s still one of my favorite games. I’m on a playthrough right now where I mostly just mess around in the world. I like how slow-paced it is. You can just do whatever. Eat, drink, fish, sleep, fight, hunt, cook, ride, shoot… There’s no end to the number of personal side quests you can make up.
I to have tried getting into it without success. Maybe I will be able to return to it someday.
A similar thing happened with Cyberpunk. I revisited it after stopping just after the first act and had the most fun I have had with a game in a long time.
I dont know, I have heard valid complaints but the western setting doesnt allow for much other than bandit themed random encounters and favours. There are other more out there ones that hint to larger things like time travel etc.