Despite winning numerous Game of the Year awards in 2018, Red Dead Redemption 2 has had its fair share of love and hate from the gaming community. In 2019 the game has finally made its way over to the PC platform, and it will likely be met with the same type of opposing energies from incoming players.
Many people will fall in love with Arthur Morgan and the world around him, while others will wish they had just stuck with Grand Theft Auto V. Let's look at 5 things PC players are going to love about Red Dead Redemption 2, and 5 things they'll likely hate.
10 Hate: It's Not GTA V
At the end of the day, Red Dead Redemption 2 isn't GTA V. It isn't going to offer the same type of chaotic and energized gameplay as its modern counterpart, and that may alienate new players.
The game is played at a slower pace, and the entire experience centers around embracing the beautiful land around you and making the most of it. Horses and new boots aren't going to bring the excitement that a new sports car or assault rifle is going to. Don't expect the same type of game because it's made by the same people.
9 Love: Horse Riding
The horses in Red Dead Redemption 2 can become frustrating at times, but the physics and animations of them are unrivaled in video games. The attention to detail Rockstar Games places in focusing on making sure these creatures you'll be using for a majority of the time in the game is impressive. They knew the horses had to feel incredible considering this game couldn't drop in new cars from month to month. Let's not even get started on how they implemented real horse biology when it comes to how their body reacts to the weather.
8 Hate: Dutch Van Der Linde
It isn't a spoiler to say that Dutch Van Der Linde is arguably the most annoying character in the entirety of the game. He made the type of person he is apparent in the first title in the franchise, and, considering this is a prequel, you get to see it all unfold once again.
The problem with Dutch is that he wasn't ever inherently and purposefully evil or malicious, but he lost his sense of responsibility for the people he brought into his gang. Take a minute to watch some theories about him in regards to the Saint Denis incident.
7 Love: Online
Red Dead Online isn't necessarily dead on consoles, but it wouldn't be shocking to hear that it's a pretty sparse player base. Not only are PC gamers going to have the advantage of a new release in terms of a player base, but it can be assumed that roleplay servers will also make their way to Red Dead Online.
This will immediately boost the interest in online and give it replay value outside of what the developers officially add to the game via post-release updates to the mode.
6 Hate: Shooting Mechanics
When it comes to Red Dead Redemption 2, the shooting mechanics in the game are both literally and figuratively hit or miss. When it comes to the PC port of the game, it's difficult to predict how that player base is going to react to the shooting in the game, as most of them will be using a mouse and keyboard as opposed to the controllers console gamers employed. The precision that's possible with mouse and keyboard could alleviate most of the issues, or could more clearly show the game's shortcomings.
5 Love: World Design
It's hard to argue that the world in Red Dead Redemption 2 is beautiful and fully realized. You may have issues with the controls or moment-to-moment gameplay, but, after taking 5 minutes to take in the environment around you, it's obvious how talented of a studio they are.
All of this is about the console versions of the games, which doesn't take into account that PC players can boost their settings to reveal a world console games could only dream of experiencing on their hardware.
4 Hate: Performance
The game recently released on PC and players quickly released that this game wouldn't come without its fair share of performance issues. Upon release, eager fans began to experience bugs and glitches that hindered their overall experience and in some cases halted their progress entirely.
This is not what Rockstar Games intended, but, when you don't prioritize a platform, you'll likely have issues do to your lack of familiarity in developing for said platform. Hopefully, these issues are fixed in upcoming patches.
3 Love: Arthur Morgan
Despite the game only being released in 2018, Arthur Morgan has a strong case to be included in the Mt. Rushmore of video game characters. He may not have the legacy or history of characters like Mario, Master Chief, or Nathan Drake, but he happens to be one of the best-written characters in video game history.
Over the last decade, video games have ramped up their storytelling, and the narratives in games are only getting better as the years go on. Arthur Morgan is a shining example of that.
2 Hate: Controls
For as successful and innovative as Rockstar Games has been with their releases, they've always managed to never quite nail controls in their games. It's not that they feel clunky or bad, but they also seem to just feel a fraction of a bit off from what you'd expect.
These frustrations with the controls in the game might be alleviated thanks to the use of a keyboard and mouse, but you never know. Time will tell how the PC audience feels about the controls in Rockstar's latest outing into the wild west.
1 Love: The Story
Arthur Morgan's journey in Red Dead Redemption 2 is single-handedly one of the best narratives in video game history. Whether you enjoy the moment-to-moment gameplay or not, it's hard to deny the emotional connection players build with Arthur.
Despite the game being a prequel, it manages to build on the legacy of the first game and features vastly superior writing. Sadly, most people on PC will likely be focused on the online mode. Yet, if they manage to dip their toes in the single-player, they'll quickly become hooked.