Red Dead Redemption 2 is a Masterpiece

By: Cole Negen

     Red Dead Redemption 2 came out October 26, 2018. It was highly anticipated by players everywhere and blew those expectations out of the water. Starting with the story, Red Dead Redemption 2 acts as a prelude to the events of Red Dead Redemption. It follows the Van der Linde gang, a group of bandits in 1890s. You play as Arthur Morgan, a bank robber and bandit who joined the gang as a young boy and was raised by Dutch Van der Linde and Hosea Matthews. As Arthur, you run around doing missions and easter eggs and slowly progress the story along. Throughout the story, you make interactions with the other gang members (of which there are 21). Each member brings something unique in terms of personality and attitude, some you love, some you hate. While the gang runs around, robbing banks, homes, and trains, they are tracked by the Pinkerton Detective Agency. The Van der Linde gang is one of the few remaining groups from the Wild West era, which is seemingly dying throughout the game, as large cities can be found in some places while total western villages can be found other places. All of this mixes in for a heart-wrenching conclusion that you have to play to play for yourself to find out.
     The game has a plethora of missions to do around an extremely large map. The entire playing area once unlocked could take you up to 30 minutes to walk from one side to the other… on a horse! The game also includes easter eggs and side missions that range from historical, to weird, to even a bit mystical. You can become a bounty hunter and make money hunting criminals. You can get your fortune told by wandering gypsys, or you can go hunt legendary animals.
     The game also has a ton of customization features to play around with, making everyone’s experience truly unique. You can customize weapons, clothing, horses, and Arthur’s facial hair.
     Red Dead Redemption is a total immersion into a world of criminals and killers, but also into a world of family and loyalty. The game doesn’t take long to grab your interest and will have you wanting to play more and more of it as if you were binge watching a series on Netflix. The game has something everyone can truly appreciate about it and I would very, very, very, very strongly recommend this game to just about anyone.