Its been a whole 12 months of pain and suffering since I completed
Red Dead Redemption 2 for the first time on console. Ive been wanting to replay
it recently so I purchased it on steam, read reviews and impressions while generally
getting very excited about finally playing it on PC.
Since then I have begun playing and it’s a blast as ever
helping the Van de-generate gang flee from the law. When researching the game a few weeks earlier;
amidst a plethora of highly complementary reviews & impressions I found a
worrying undercurrent of apparent tedium being voiced by some of the gaming
community. It regards some aspects of gameplay that were less than ideal in the
eyes of these gamers and seen as a waste of time. Some of their complaints
included having to cock your weapon before shooting; as per real life. A fast travel
system that works to connect the world while simultaneously encouraging
exploring it and many other ‘menial’ but very believable tasks such as cleaning,
leading or hitching horses, bathing, purchasing items in real time, keeping your
weapons tied to your horse. I could go on.
Secretly I harbour a dislike for these people and I believe they
are wrong. They are those that Amazon Prime and online food shopping have destroyed.
Their attention spans unable to stretch beyond the length of a Tik Tok video; they
are left seemingly unable to enjoy any cultural phenomena at all.
That sounds like an extreme condemnation; and it is. But it is
unbelievable to me that a company as influential as Rockstar Games are not
being praised for their commitment to realism. Which in turn creates a palpable
sense of place, presence and identity in their games. Every iteration from Rockstar
pushes the world which the game inhabits to sell a place and frequently to
resounding success. I believe this is due to a reluctance to remove features unless
justified. Focusing instead building on what came before; it sounds obvious but
the lessons learned in prior games are always expanded on by Rockstar. Large
companies are much less willing to put this kind of effort into selling places
these days. It’s much easier selling haircuts, weapon skins and other shit.
For comparison Bethesda who are an equally successful company
have spent the last 12 years removing any semblance of identity from their
games; at a rate that would make any plastic surgeon blush. The Elder Scrolls
for example (a series I loved) under the watchful eye of Godd Howard is a
victim of their worrying commitment to streamlining experiences. One so strong
that pretty soon you’re Argonian mage will kill the final boss when he/she is
birthed by it.
Challenging Change
I challenge anyone to find a fun or immersive feature in the
first Red Dead game that isn’t present in Red Dead Redemption 2. Then go
download Elder Scrolls 2: Daggerfall and compare it to Skyrim in the same way; the
problem with the industry is very evident.
In my opinion Rockstar Games deserve great credit for how
they make games; they take on board what works and what doesn’t. They never
remove features without serious consideration. And their games are better for
it.
Ports to PC’s could use occasional work though 😉
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