Red Dead Redemption 2

What a huge outlaw opera! We don't even remember the last time we got lost in a similar adventure. In no game in recent years have we felt this at home in a landscape. All senses are addressed as light, flora and fauna seem so incredibly tangible. Rockstar captures the picturesque beauty, the raw ferocity and the situational unpredictability of the Wild West in the best way. One finds oneself in pleasantly dynamic situations that can escalate, or be defused - feeling the consequences of one's actions for better or for worse. Although the gun battles are more spectacular than demanding, some missions feel thin, and many shops carry identical goods, there are so much more praiseworthy little things the game offers. From treasure hunts, the personal diary, and, above all, the dry humour and explicit violence to the grandiose quiet moments when you listen to people from a safe distance. The developers raise the bar in terms of interaction to a completely new level with the player's lively camp and the multitude of relevant characters. The directors do a remarkable job by telling all these biographies and views in little travel episodes. You feel like part of a family that develops with inner and outer conflicts. In addition, you can even feel the historical moments of the 19th century, both the Code of the West and the dark sides of Indian extermination, slavery, and the consequences of a brutal civil war. Red Dead Redemption 2 is an excellent adventure that we will talk about for many years to come.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is a groundbreaking milestone in the Open World genre. Instead of using mass-market gameplay techniques, the player is chased through a drama that a Western fan must have played at one point or another. Morgan jumps from one gun battle to the next and finds himself between the fronts of slave trade, robberies and taking on corrupt politicians - this is the American nightmare, which erodes the magnificent scenery of the game with every additional coup. A drug-addicted preacher, a revenge-addicted widow, a gunslinger with child and wife, a dishonourably dismissed soldier and many more - almost all of them tell rousing stories, grow on your heart or get on your nerves and let you slide deeper and deeper into hopelessness.

Those who liked the quiet, adult, and sometimes even convention-breaking narrative style of the predecessor, but feared that Rockstar would be influenced badly by other open-world games, can breathe a sigh of relief. RDR2 is not a Wild West version of GTA and certainly not an off-the-shelf action game. The focus is on story, the characters and the atmosphere, which is created by the outstandingly designed game world and wonderfully subtle background music. In direct comparison to GTA or other Open World games, Red Dead Redemption 2 has a quiet, sometimes even leisurely pace. Although the Open World Western certainly does not reinvent the wheel in terms of mission design and certain repetitive game elements, the missions are so varied and greatly staged, that the gameplay never gets boring. You get emotionally gripped and intensely experience the game.