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Red Dead Redemption 2 Game Review

A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this game.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Red Dead Redemption 2 is an open-world Western adventure for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. The game has lots of bloody gunfights, some very strong language, and mature narrative themes. Missions typically end in shoot-outs involving revolvers, rifles, shotguns, and other period weaponry. Slow-motion effects highlight head shots and critical wounds, with sprays of blood hovering in the air. Scenes of carnage and torture, including hanged and eviscerated people, can be stumbled upon in your journeys. The player's character, Arthur, is an anti-hero. He does terrible things, including murder and theft, but he feels a powerful sense of guilt over them. These deeds are counterbalanced, to a degree, by his clear and innate understanding of right and wrong. This often leads him to help random strangers, including coming to the defense of victims of racism and sexual assault, which helps Arthur become more honorable in the eyes of those he meets. But he continues to choose to be an outlaw out of a sense of duty and obligation to his fellow gang members. The game strives to accurately depict its setting and era, which means plenty of drinking and drunken behavior, as well as characters who regularly use tobacco and chew cocaine gum. Strong language -- including "f--k," "s--t," and the "N" word -- frequently appears in dialogue. Characters discuss sex frankly, and prostitution can be found in towns. One mission involves Arthur attempting to extract a sex worker from her perilous profession. Red Dead Online mode allows players to create their own avatars, selecting from two genders and altering skin tone. Online play also allows players to purchase gold bars using real-world money. These gold bars function as in-game currency for the purchase of cosmetic upgrades to characters, weapons, and gear.

Community Reviews

Iamrei Adult

November 7, 2021

age 10+

For mature 10 yr olds

Literally no nudity 2 mentions of s3x drinking and smoking are a part of the game tho the player can decide to or not really i dont get 18+ gta is 10x worse ( in terms of age restrictions) and is 18+ Barely swear words worse one so far is fuc but thats mention a couple times in the game has b tch and bastar d and sh it but your mature 10yr old. should be udes to it and not influenced by it

This title has:

Great messages

Great role models

Easy to play/use

4 people found this helpful.

JJJordan Adult

September 1, 2022

age 11+

Truly enjoyable game for ages 11+

As a 17 year old, I recently played through the game and I can say that PEGI's rating for this game is way too high. This game might have a little bit of blood, but this can be turned off in settings, as well as optional violence (meaning you don't have to do it). There is bad language but it is quite mild, and can, again, be turned off if you so wish. No sex, no drugs, nudity, profanity or anything like that, (except if you count it being quite obvious if your horse is male.) Overall the game is enjoyable and very immersive and expansive, hence it took 8 years to make. I am so confident in my age opinion that I allowed my younger brother, age 11 to play the game and he seemed completely fine with the content.

This title has:

Educational value

Great messages

Easy to play/use

3 people found this helpful.

What’s It About?

Set in 1899, a little over a decade prior to the events of the original, RED DEAD REDEMPTION 2 puts players in the spurs of Arthur Morgan, one of the main members of the van der Linde gang, at a time when the existence of outlaw gangs in the West is speedily coming to an end. Arthur is the crew's main muscle, a grizzled, conflicted man who bought into the gang leader's philosophy of stealing only from those who can afford it, helping those in need, and searching for a place where they can be truly free. But as the law closes in on them, the posse becomes desperate, forced to resort to riskier and more ruthless jobs that leave Arthur racked with guilt and seem likely to lead them all to tragedy. This epic story plays out over the course of a lengthy campaign that takes place on a massive map of several fictional U. S. states, which players can freely explore to find towns, homesteads, optional missions, and strangers in need. The game also functions as a detailed simulation of Western life, with players tasked not just with performing outlaw activities such as robbing stagecoaches and rustling cattle, but also with doing camp chores; looking after horses; oiling guns; hunting, skinning, and cooking animals; even shaving Arthur's facial hair. Many side missions explore key issues of the era, including the plight of Native Americans deprived of their land, lingering racism in the South, and women marching for the right to vote. Much of what Arthur gets up to eventually ends in cinematic gunfights, but players will also spend large chunks of the game simply galloping through forests, swamps, and meadows in search of whatever might be found over the next hill. Expect to spend upwards of 80 hours working through the campaign and side missions. Red Dead Online mode lets players invest even more time as they create their own outlaw avatars and either join up with with a posse to take on new missions or work against and foil others players.

Is It Any Good?

If you're looking for an enthralling interactive story, it doesn't get much better than this. Red Dead Redemption 2 feels like half a dozen seasons' worth of the best sort of adult-oriented TV Western you can think of rolled into one immensely ambitious game, with poignant, emotional writing and award-worthy performances to go with it. The tale of Arthur Morgan and the van der Linde gang is gripping from its first moments, which take place in the aftermath of a job gone awry as the crew escapes into a winter storm in the mountains. As we get to know the key players -- each with his or her own motivations and history -- the trials and fate of this motley crew only become more compelling. One thing this game gets right in a way few other open-world adventures can match is the sense of purpose invested in everything players do. Each mission has its own context and dialogue and feels like a unique event, meaning repetition is essentially nonexistent. Nothing exists simply to pad out the game; virtually every activity, no matter how short, is designed to tell a bit of story, grow the world, provide new insights into characters, or better familiarize us with what we can do in the game. It all combines to create an astonishingly cinematic and memorable Western yarn.

Lending a hand in creating an impeccable sense of time and place is incredible attention to detail that includes exquisitely re-created costumes, architecture, and objects from the era (you could spend half an evening just reading charmingly written product descriptions and ads in shop catalogs), random conversations about jobs and weather overheard from the people you pass on the street, and a gorgeously rendered landscape that conveys the ruggedness of the wilds and the sophistication of emerging cities. The focus on accurately simulating life in the West might go a smidgeon too far for some players -- galloping between objectives can take longer than you might like, and retrieving resources from slain game is a time-consuming process -- but it creates a pace that somehow perfectly fits the game's subject, and an experience unlike that of just about any other game out there, save, perhaps, the original Red Dead Redemption. Equal parts brutal and beautiful, with a hero both sinister and solemn, Red Dead Redemption 2 captures the Wild West in all its multifaceted and conflicted glory, and in doing so stands as one of the most captivating games yet made for older players.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about the use of alcohol, drugs, and smoking in Red Dead Redemption 2. The player's character drinks to excess, smokes to improve his shooting ability, and chews cocaine gum. How does his unhindered and frequent use of these addictive and potentially harmful substances look in a modern light?
What did you think of Sadie's desire to become one of the gang's main guns? How was the fight for women's right to vote comparable to the fight for gender equality today?

Game Details

Platforms: Google Stadia, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Pricing structure: Paid
Available online?: Available online
Publisher: Rockstar Games
Release date: October 26, 2018
Genre: Action/Adventure
Topics: History, Horses and Farm Animals, Wild Animals
ESRB rating: M for Intense Violence, Use of Drugs and Alcohol, Strong Language, Sexual Content, Blood and Gore, Nudity
Last updated: April 13, 2020

Parent reviews for Red Dead Redemption 2

Iamrei Adult

November 7, 2021

age 10+

For mature 10 yr olds

This title has:

Great messages

Great role models

Easy to play/use

4 people found this helpful.

JJJordan Adult

September 1, 2022

age 11+

Truly enjoyable game for ages 11+

This title has:

Educational value

Great messages

Easy to play/use

3 people found this helpful.

james_smith2971 Adult

April 22, 2022

age 12+

pretty much fine

it is pretty much fine if your child is not to sensitive to blood or violence it is not to over the top it is lots of fun there is also a little bit of swearing

3 people found this helpful.

John S. Adult

October 17, 2022

age 12+

Great game I’m in awe of the talent it takes to make a game this good but it’s not at all as bad as people say it is

Recently my son asked for this game initially I said no because it was rated m but after doing more research I found out it’s not as bad as they say it is. When you shoot someone there is a blood splatter but nothing major and any 12 year old could handle as for gore, when you hunt (which you need to do to survive in the game) you skin an animal so you see all the meat under the fur but even 10 year olds could handle it. One thing I was worried about was how my son would react to the “sexual content” but it turns out there’s hardly any, Sure there’s some prostitute‘s in the game but you wouldn’t even notice it except for some of the things they say but don't worry you can’t interact with them, Characters discuss sex sometimes but it’s nothing major. There is no nudity in this game at all. The only part that’s “nudity” is when your character takes a bath but it’s a bubble bath so you don’t see anything. As for the language there’s not that much language sure there’s sh*t and b*stard and a couple of f bombs and nowadays kids hear these things everywhere so it doesn’t really matter. One thing I like about this game is that it’s open world so you could be out in the swamps hunting for alligators or you could be in the towns socializing, or you could go to the saloon and grab a drink. Another thing I like is the ability to interact with the npc’s ( non playable characters) You could just be riding your horse around and you can come across a beggar and you have the ability to give him money which I think is cool. So really any kid 12 or up could handle this game. And it’s not as bad as they say it is, This game is just absolutely beautiful and I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of this game.

This title has:

Great messages

Easy to play/use

2 people found this helpful.

Howard J. Adult

April 5, 2022

age 12+

Great game

I found the story very engaging and the gameplay very immersive. It isn't particularly violent when compared to Witcher 3 or Fallout 4.

This title has:

Educational value

Great messages

Great role models

Easy to play/use

2 people found this helpful.

Oooooooooo Adult

April 3, 2022

age 13+

Not too bad

Good game, some blood effects can be turned off.

This title has:

Educational value

Great messages

Great role models

2 people found this helpful.

Greg hefley Adult

December 19, 2020

age 12+

It is fun and age apriority

You can have a fun time playing this game.it makes you fell like a cowboy and the story is just like a movie i could go on about the story but I wont waste your time. In general your child thing should play this game

This title has:

Great messages

Great role models

Too much consumerism

2 people found this helpful.

TobiasTobiasTobias Adult

November 26, 2022

age 11+

A story I could play again and again

One of the best games I have ever played. It is so enticing and you truly love or hate the characters. It makes you feel emotion and good or bad that is what is important with this game. No sexual element. It is violent but believe me a kid can handle it if your looking at this for your kids. Honestly, gore not half as bad as some other games. I find that some characters swear but it isn’t that much and in my opinion adds to the historical element of the game. If you download this you will be taken on a journey and have fun along the way, please give your kids this gift.

This title has:

Great messages

Easy to play/use

1 person found this helpful.

Clairv0yance Adult

July 14, 2022

age 16+

Game for Adults, not children.

My favourite singleplayer game by far. The story is very intriguing and the gameplay is second to none. This is not a kids game though. The crime and intricate story lines between the different gang members are unsuitable for younger audiences. You can hogtie an innocent person walking down the street, place them on a train track and watch them get ran over, if that's what your heart desires. Large amount of violence, both with and without weapons.

This title has:

Too much violence

1 person found this helpful.

IplayGames Adult

May 15, 2022

age 18+

Don't buy it for kids

Not for kids. A lot of violence, drugs, alcohol not a lot sex scenes but there are noises that you can hear in camp that portray it I guess. The graphic violence is really common to other people and animals . There is a mission where you have to find a serial killer and the riddles are map pieces next to butchered bodies.

This title has:

Educational value

Great messages

Great role models

Easy to play/use

Too much violence

Too much sex

Too much swearing

Too much drinking/drugs/smoking

1 person found this helpful.

Red Dead Redemption 2: Games: Science and technology: Lenta.ru

A new game from Rockstar has been waiting for five years. The company, which once released a new product every year, took a long break and riveted only re-releases and additions to old games. The new game was Red Dead Redemption 2, which was made for eight years and involved all the studios of the company in its creation. Lenta.ru tells what so much time was spent on and why RDR 2 is the best game of the year.

"Things could have gone more smoothly"

Red Dead Redemption 2 takes place 12 years before the events of the first part. Unlike GTA, Rockstar's other series of games, the key focus here is on the story, rather than the crazy shooting of everything that moves. GTA also has a powerful story, but there is always room for madness. In Red Dead Redemption, this is not the case, and the game has clearly defined boundaries that either cannot be crossed or it is fraught with serious consequences.

1899, sunset of the Wild West. Almost the entire territory of the United States is already lined with power lines, active construction of large cities is underway, private property is replacing tents and nomadism, and instead of robberies and cattle rustling, their own legal business. The last bands of itinerant robbers are living out their days. Red Dead Redemption 2 is about one such group, the Dutch van der Linde gang, who are trying to survive, save money and escape from law enforcement in the wasteland. However, they do not know how to do anything but kill innocent people and rob trains, and they do not believe that it is possible to live in any other way. nine0003

Those who played the first Red Dead Redemption (or at least watched the retelling on YouTube) will be left with mixed feelings about the prequel. On the one hand, they already guess how everything will end, and when you get to know the members of the gang, you understand who will live to the end and who will not. On the other hand, in the first game, Dutch van der Linde, Bill Williamson and other heroes were extremely superficially described, while in the second game each of them is given several hours. That's why it becomes even sadder when, after a sincere dialogue with one of them, you remember what will happen in the final. This is a very strange feeling when you carefully follow the plot, empathize with the characters, but understand the hopelessness of their attempts to escape. Therefore, for those who did not play the first part, advice: study the original after passing the prequel. nine0003

Everything rests on the ideology of Dutch, who never stops dreaming even in the most difficult conditions (although this already looks more like a mania). He is sure that his gang is not a group of thugs who kill and rob for fun and enrichment, but a family that commits crimes out of necessity. His charisma and convictions helped attract a lot of interesting people: here is a crazy maniac, who sometimes has common thoughts, and an Austrian financier, and a former marine who became a cook, and two dozen more interesting characters. nine0003

But the main character here is not Dutch van der Linde, but Arthur Morgan, the gang's most loyal shooter. He, like John Marston, got into a gang as a child and was raised by Dutch, so he is devoted to him and believes his every word. The story begins with how the heroes are trying to hide from the Pinkertons after an unsuccessful robbery in the city of Blackwater. Arthur himself was not there, and he does not know what happened in the city, and no one tells him about that shootout. Having lost everything, the gang decides to start over and, paradoxically, head east instead of west. nine0003

The slowest hand in the Wild West

Red Dead Redemption 2, like any Western, is extremely slow. Not tight, just slow. The idea of the developers was that such long episodes of Red Dead Redemption put pressure on the player with its realistic and oppressive atmosphere, plunging him into the world of nomadic thugs. At the same time, where the first part forced to shoot crows, drive cattle and save horses, the second part immediately throws the player into the thick of things.

The main thing here is to feel the pace of the game. Forget about all those lightning-fast Assassin’s Creed and GTA (which still takes 60-100 hours to complete, but RDR is bigger and slower) and start meditatively exploring the local spaces, listening to every dialogue, hunting and playing poker, at worst. There is no point in trying to quickly go through everything and close the plot in a few tens of hours, because then all the work done by Rockstar and the millions of dollars and tens of thousands of man-hours invested in it will pass by. Therefore, here you can’t quickly search boxes and rob enemies, you can’t run around the camp, you can’t skip animations that you have seen hundreds of times already, there is no normal fast movement and much more that could somehow speed up the passage. Everything for the player to stop, see, appreciate and be surprised at the detail of everything around. nine0003

And with this understanding, you begin to enjoy even the monotonous horse ride to the other end of the map. Undoubtedly, some of this pace will scare away, and in this case, you do not need to break yourself in order to feel something there. It's just that Red Dead Redemption is different from most projects, and its slow paced storytelling is one of its hallmarks.

Yes, almost all story missions are trips from point A to point B, followed by the killing of all living things. The only entertainment is talking with the gang members, because Arthur never goes on a mission alone. Only after 20-30 hours the plot begins to twist, everything that happens makes sense, and then you understand why the characters absolutely do not fit into the new world and they have no future. Moreover, this happens quite unexpectedly, because here you are with a gang of robbing stagecoaches and banks of small towns with laughter, but now you are getting involved in a war between two influential families, while pinkertons are breathing in your back. nine0003

Endless Expanse

Red Dead Redemption 2 tells a story not so much about specific characters, but about the entire gang. Therefore, the relationship within this "family" is given special attention. The gang camp is the central hub where Arthur can change clothes, shave (after all, the beard grows in real time), eat, sleep, chat with "colleagues" and, of course, take on tasks. Here you can also replenish the common fund, with the money from which you can develop the camp, but more on that later. nine0003

Rockstar decided not to invent new mechanics, but instead focused on filling their world. Shooting, hand-to-hand combat and many other elements here are exactly the same as in the first Red Dead Redemption and GTA V. But when walking through the forest, you will not find two identical trees or shacks, and each house will have a unique interior and furniture. Each of the elements is handmade, which brings the Rockstar project closer to Naughty Dog games in terms of attention to detail. But in Red Dead Redemption there is an open world with a huge map, and in Uncharted everything is put on rails without the ability to go left or right. nine0003

Although in terms of directing story missions, Red Dead Redemption is not far from the games mentioned above. The player does not have the freedom to decide how to solve this or that problem, and if it is told, for example, to look at enemies through a sniper scope, then you cannot take a carbine with optics or binoculars. Such restrictions are discouraging, because for tens of hours they tried to prove to you that Arthur has complete freedom of action, and then they hit him on the hands with the words “stick to the script and don’t twitch.” nine0003

But outside of story missions, you can literally do anything. It is very difficult to list all the activities of Red Dead Redemption 2, because even with the most careful playthrough, you can miss a lot. In addition to the standard Rockstar game opportunities to dress up and comb the hero, as well as play poker and other games of chance, there is hunting, fishing, robbing houses, trains and wagons, working as a collector and collecting some unthinkable number of collectibles. There are also secondary missions from random passers-by, for which they can give money, raise their reputation, and even give a tip on a treasure or a house that can be robbed. nine0003

The fauna in Red Dead Redemption 2 is Rockstar's own pride. In total, there are 178 types of animals in the game, from cats and dogs to alligators and cougars. All of them are recreated in detail, and each has its own habits, which depend on the time of day (for example, it is better to fish in the early morning or in the rain). It comes to the point that the player can mow down the entire population of animals. The animations of each animal are also worked out, because of which any desire to hunt actually disappears, because even the death of the animal is shown in detail. First, if you do not kill him with the first hit, he will start to run away, bleeding, and then collapse in convulsions and die in agony. Secondly, if it nevertheless died, then it can be skinned (otherwise, why just kill them like that). And, unlike the first part, this process is shown without censorship, and you can see from the first person how Arthur slowly cuts the skin from a goat or butchers a rabbit with one sharp movement. nine0003

Related materials:

The main animals in the game are horses. This is evidenced at least by the fact that a whole department was founded to create them, which, together with specialists, drew every muscle and hair of horses. They need to be looked after, they need to be fed, washed, pumped up with stimulants and generally treated not as a vehicle, but as a partner.

It would seem that these are all fairly simple things, just a set of scripts that any other studio could implement if they had the money and time. But no one does this, because, apparently, only Rockstar can spend eight years drawing the world, filling it with life. Yes, this world is exactly living, like a simulation from the Westworld series. It's just that the player is not initiated into what is happening at the other end of the map, but something is definitely happening there. nine0003

Spent

Red Dead Redemption 2 is rightfully getting its A's and accolades from game journalists. This is the best open world game of all time and one of the most compelling storylines in recent years. But this is not at all an ideal game without flaws, and there are enough objective minuses here. But they do not spoil the game so much that it becomes unplayable. In fairness, it should be noted that criticism of the linearity of missions and outdated mechanics is for the most part the author's desire to show everyone what a smart nonconformist he is, who goes against the grain and attempts to belittle the work Rockstar has done. nine0003

Economy. One example is enough to understand the essence of the Red Dead Redemption 2 economy. Arthur gathered with other members of the gang to rob a train, during which several dozen people were killed, including lawmen. After that, a reward of $ 150 is put on Arthur's head, and he took out only $ 100 from the robbery. And where to get the remaining $ 50 if you want to buy off the authorities in the absence of money? From hunting, trading, playing poker, you can’t raise much (if you don’t give it a few hours). And you need to pay off the authorities, because every 5-10 minutes a group of bounty hunters will appear on the horizon, who will not let you roam the forests in peace. nine0003

You end up doing another heist, hoping to raise enough money to cover both fines (like taking out a loan to pay off another loan). But after a couple of missions, when you have already returned the debt to your homeland, you again go on a robbery - but now it’s a bank, and there you earn two thousand dollars. Because of this, the question arises: why on earth do you get 50-100 dollars as a result of some story missions, and 1000-2000 as a result of others? There is no logic here, because when you receive large amounts for one mission, this does not mean that in the future the revenue will be the same. nine0003

Interface and control. Rockstar ignores all UI development and doesn't even try to make it cleaner. A bunch of obscure icons are constantly displayed on the screen, tips appear in the upper left corner of a huge sheet of text (yes, just like in GTA 3), and it takes a huge amount of time to search for items from the inventory. It’s especially good when hints appear during an important dialogue, because of which you just skip them, because it’s quite difficult to simultaneously lead a horse, read subtitles (there is no Russian voice acting) and also look in the upper left corner. nine0003

This also includes the developers' attempts to assign the maximum number of actions to the same buttons. Depending on the context, one button can be responsible for reloading a weapon, for a punch, for a kick, and for a rude response in dialogue. And the abundance of actions on the arrows is amazing: you can open the mission log, Arthur's diary, enlarge the map and change its size, summon a horse, shoot in the air and open the backpack. And since most of the hints were skipped, you can go through the whole game without knowing, for example, that Arthur has a diary. nine0003

Unexpected consequences and reputation. When you start a quest, you never know how it will end. This, of course, is good, because even a banal trip to the store can turn into an ambush with a shootout. But the same effect of surprise works when interacting with secondary characters. This is reflected in Arthur's reputation, which primarily affects whether he will be sold the best weapons and whether they will give him a discount in the store. From this also depends on the appearance of some additional missions. nine0003

Materials on the topic:

And now the whole reputation can be lowered to the very bottom by a series of stupid actions, the consequences of which you simply did not know. And, as with money, no one will tell you about ways to improve Arthur's reputation: you can greet everyone in a row, donate money, help strangers, but this changes the situation slightly. Or you can shoot a former slave owner who misses the old days, and immediately increase Arthur's "kindness" by a third. You never know what will follow from one decision to another. nine0003

Camp and community fund. When the first camp appears, Dutch announces that each member of the gang must contribute money for the development of the dwelling. And everyone really starts to invest in a common cause, but they put into the common fund, for example, open bottles of bourbon worth 50 cents or salted offal. And serious improvements cost from $ 300, and at such a pace, none of them can raise money. Therefore, Arthur himself has to inject huge sums in order, for example, to “raise the mood in the camp” or build a chicken coop. With the improvement of Dutch's tent, gang members begin to invest more in the common future, but their contributions still rarely exceed $ 5-10. nine0003

***

Red Dead Redemption 2 is so much more than just a GTA in the Wild West. Strictly speaking, it has little in common with GTA at all. In some episodes, you can find elements from a wide variety of projects, ranging from Sony exclusives to hunter and fisherman simulators. But much more important is that this is a cross-section of an era, an attempt to capture the last years of the Wild West in its original form, not vulgarized by excessive romanticism.

Usually a new Rockstar game changes the established rules of the industry by reinventing open world games, but not now, because in terms of gameplay and mechanics, little has changed. This time the studio set new standards for world detail. No other studio, claiming the authenticity of their projects with the involvement of historians and other specialists, can (and most likely will never be able to) convey the spirit of the era to the same extent as Rockstar did. Just because only they can create a whole department for the development of horses, record 300 thousand animations and 500 thousand lines of dialogue, use 1200 actors and work 100 hours a week. And more importantly, the hard work pays off. nine0003

Why the Red Dead Redemption franchise died. Causes and effects

In early July, Rockstar officially dropped support for Red Dead Online in favor of GTA Online and GTA 6. According to insiders, the studio canceled the re-release of Red Dead Redemption 2 for next-generation consoles. Why did the series die, even though the community is in dire need of its development? Let's figure it out.

nine0002 Red Dead Redemption is the brand that brought in over $3 billion to Rockstar and Take-Two Interactive. As of September 2021, the first and second parts have sold a total circulation of 62 million copies.

This allowed both games to enter the list of the "50 best-selling games in history."

But at the beginning of July the brand fell into oblivion. It all started with Red Dead Redemption 2's online mode.0093 "It is not our goal that new releases repeat the success of the old ones" . Remember this saying.

Support "like GTA Online" senior producer Josh Needleman said in an interview with IGN: "We think Red Dead Online will create its own audience, ready for something completely new. However, we ourselves are not sure what form Red Dead Online will take when it gets on its feet. […] And we will work on this together with our incredible community to turn this online experience into something amazing.” nine0094

Red Dead Redemption 2 and Red Dead Online were supported by updates. But on July 14, 2020, the first glaring incident happened. Red Dead Online players dressed up characters as clowns and marched. The demonstration procession was timed to the fact that Rockstar had not released any updates for seven months. "Since we are clowns who believe in future updates, we must look like clowns" - stated one player.

After that, of course, actions from the company followed. Rockstar launched an add-on that was not ready for release with a lot of bugs - NPCs, animals began to disappear in network mode, and weapons stopped firing. The patch was hastily rolled back, but the community was made clear about what attitude the studio has towards Red Dead Online. nine0003
In an attempt to make Red Dead Redemption 2's multiplayer more successful, it was even separated from the single player campaign to sell for $20 and thus grow online. Alas, Rockstar's plan didn't work. The Red Dead Online servers were not empty, the game had a strong community, but this was not enough for the Take-Two Interactive conglomerate - the exhaust was not the same.

In February 2021, Super Data released sales statistics for December 2020 and January 2021. Based on the numbers in the report, the influx of new players in Red Dead Redemption 2 during the winter break was 1.8 million people on PC alone! On consoles, the figure was more modest - 611,000 new players. These are incredible numbers for a game that first came out in 2018. nine0003

After the release of the next expansion for Red Dead Online in the summer of 2021, the last event in the game world was the celebration of Christmas. After that, communication with the players, from Rockstar, ceased until the summer of 2022.

In July of this year, the players gathered to bury the network mode of their favorite western. This was announced on July 5 in the RedDeadRDC community and everyone was invited to the ceremony. And Rockstar reacted again, but not in the way the players wanted. nine0003
On July 7, the developers released a statement - support for Red Dead Online has ended. No content updates are planned. All due to the fact that the company needs more people to develop Grand Theft Auto 6. In the same statement, the developers talked about the upcoming major addition to GTA Online.

Following Rockstar's announcement, a Red Dead Online mourning procession took place on the game's servers on July 13th. The players dressed up in black clothes, took pictures in cemeteries, and the inscription “R.I.P. Red Dead Online 2018-2022. Even I visited the game that day, spending a couple of wonderful hours in it with friends. And already on August 1, the game world was empty - all NPCs and animals disappeared in the game, as if marking the death of the project. This is how the online mode of the original Red Dead Redemption died, because no one began to fix the tricks of hackers in the old game. nine0003
What's going on in Rockstar

But Red Dead Online was the first precedent. Immediately after the July 7 announcement, insiders began to reveal more information.

On July 7, user TezFunz2 reported the following: “According to a reliable source, remasters of GTA 4 and RDR1 were on the table a few years ago, but Rockstar decided to abandon these projects. Perhaps the reason for this decision was the poor reception of the trilogy [Grand Thef Auto Trilogy: The Definitive Edition]." nine0094

With the following message, the insider also pronounced a verdict on the non-xgen versions of Red Dead Redemption 2, answering a question from another user:

“Is it correct to say that we will never see the release of Red Dead Redemption 2 for PS5/Xbox Series?
- Yes. I've been hearing about the development for a long time, as well as improving the editor for the game. Everything has been canceled/frozen.”

Creating a remaster of disgusting quality with the help of an outsourcer studio and neural networks is a disgusting idea. But Take-Two and Rockstar released such a project, sold it for money and put their hopes on it, knowing the quality of the product. Moreover, it judges the desire of players to get a remaster of Red Dead Redemption by the “success” of the curve and oblique Grand Theft Auto Trilogy. The management team of both companies making such decisions is clearly out of his mind. nine0003
No one in the company began to refute the statements of insiders, which means that the conclusion suggests itself - Rockstar strangled the Red Dead Redemption series with their own hands. The studio no longer wants to be the "rock star" the industry knew it to be.

On July 27, 2022, well-known journalist Jason Schreier confirmed this by publishing a new investigation. It concerned the development of Grand Theft Auto 6, but this information sheds light on what happened to the Red Dead Redemption franchise.

The studio's original plan was to create the largest game in the series, spanning North and South America. Then the territory was reduced to the vicinity of Vice City, but the developers plan to expand the game after the release. The decision was made by Rockstar management so that studio staff would not overwork. nine0003
If no one wants to overhaul Grand Theft Auto 6, cutting out huge chunks of content from the game, then what kind of passion for the "unprofitable" Red Dead Redemption series can the community expect from the studio? Progressive developers are not interested in the result - they want to relax and have more fun, and not create masterpieces like in the old days.

Why Red Dead Redemption needs a remake (or at least a remaster)

In the era of remasters and remakes, Rockstar has already embarrassed itself with Grand Theft Auto Trilogy: The Definitive Edition. But not releasing a re-release of one of the most successful games in the industry (#44 on the "Best Selling Games" list) is nonsense. There were once rumors that the project code was lost, but Rockstar with its resources could easily remake Red Dead Redemption on the engine of the second part. nine0003
I've put together five reasons why the original game should not just be ported to new consoles, but redone on the engine of the second part.

Sequel to Red Dead Redemption 2. It's a paradox, but the first part of the series is a continuation of the sequel-prequel. Modern players, most likely, do not know that after the end of the second part there was a full-fledged continuation. And the fact that the modern audience misses it is unacceptable. The story of John Marston, who is chasing former colleagues in a dangerous business, touches to the core even today. nine0161

There are no Western games on this scale. Even Hideo Kojima praised Rockstar for popularizing the western genre in the gaming industry. Without modern technology, such games were impossible, but the detailed open world of the first Red Dead Redemption is still amazing.

Strong story. Colorful characters and dialogues immerse you in the atmosphere of the Wild West. John Marston's motivation is understandable to any person, and therefore you empathize with such a vile killer and thief. At the end, tears flow down your cheeks to the song Deadman's Gun performed by the musical group Ashtar Command - you become attached to the main character as strongly as you do to Arthur Morgan in the prequel sequel. nine0161

The project is almost complete thanks to Red Dead Redemption 2. Rockstar recreated the world of the first part as a side state for a couple of missions and exploration in Red Dead Online. Yes, some places in the second part are different from the first. But recreating them in their former glory, with the resources of the company and almost ready-made locations on the new engine, was once a trifle for the Rockstar studio.

The game was not released outside of the Xbox 360 and PS3 - this is the main problem of Red Dead Redemption. nine0160 A magnificent project is available to the modern gamer only on the Xbox One and Xbox Series consoles, where Microsoft raised the resolution to 4K on its own. Playing Red Dead Redemption today on PlayStation 3 or through an emulator on a PC is spoiling your impression of the project.

Analysis

The Red Dead Redemption brand is officially dead - it has been sentenced by Rockstar and Take-Two Interactive. The success of GTA Online has dazzled the studios and raised the "Wishlist" to unimaginable heights. Contrary to claims, companies began to measure products by the cash cow. The unwillingness to work and develop the series put an end to the franchise. The death of Red Dead Online, the cancellation of the next-generation versions of Red Dead Redemption 2, the cancellation of the Red Dead Redemption remaster - Take-Two and Rockstar put the brand to the wall and pulled the trigger in cold blood. nine0003
2022-08-03 18:16:17
Maxim Dragan
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