As Red Dead Redemption 2 has begun making its way into the hands of eager players around the world, here’s a selection of review impressions from press outlets.
"This is a story – a collection of stories, really – about the decline of a way of life, as a small gang of outlaws tries ever harder to outrun the inexorable advance of American modernity, as well as the enemies and lawmen they have antagonised along the way... There can be no doubt that this is a landmark game. It is a new high water-mark for lifelike video game worlds..." - 5/5 The Guardian
"It’s a gorgeous depiction of an ugly period that’s patient, polished, and a huge amount of fun to play, and it’s combined with Rockstar’s best storytelling to date. Even after finishing the lengthy story I can’t wait to go back and play more. This is a game of rare quality; a meticulously polished open world ode to the outlaw era. Looking for one of this generation’s very best single-player action experiences? Here’s your huckleberry." - 10/10 IGN
"Rockstar is the master of open-world building, of course, with nothing coming close to Grand Theft Auto V’s urban sprawl until now. Red Dead Redemption 2 feels more of an artistic challenge. You will not find a better facsimile of Los Angeles than GTAV’s Los Santos, but in a sense that world is already defined by artifice. Creating something as natural as Red Dead Redemption 2 is a seismic achievement..." - 5/5 The Telegraph
"Going back to other open-world games after playing Red Dead Redemption II won’t be easy; this is unequivocally the most well-crafted and fully realized open world in video games. The attention to detail Rockstar poured into creating this bloody interpretation of a historical period is remarkable. The wide expanses of wilderness feel alive thanks to an unrivaled dynamic weather system, ambient sound effects, and the most ambitious ecology of flora and fauna ever seen in games." - 10/10 Game Informer
"Red Dead Redemption 2 is Rockstar’s best game; a grand, magnificent adventure that’s vast yet intimate. It delivers a story full of drama and tragedy, not to mention levity and love, and it compacts it all into the most inventive and compelling missions and moments in Rockstar’s history... It's a landmark moment for the open world genre, and for the medium as a whole." - GQ
"Every nuance of the game, from plot to game design, elevates the entire medium of gaming to levels that have until this point only been made in empty pre-launch promises. What Rockstar has delivered in Red Dead Redemption 2 is not just the best game of the year, but the best game of the decade. It does not set a new bar, but rather signals a changing of the guard, a new future for video games, as everything that comes after will be launching in a post-Red Dead Redemption 2 world." - The Hollywood Reporter
"Red Dead Redemption 2 has undoubtedly raised the bar for narrative open-world games and will likely have a lasting impact on how they are made in the future. It pushes the envelope of what we understand is possible in a video game. It seems that every time we get something new from Rockstar, things inevitably change." - CNET
“Red Dead Redemption 2 is a watershed moment, an instant classic, it's both another high point for a studio which has constantly delivered them for decades, and yet it's also a culmination of a journey, a journey to not only create a world that's interesting and brimming with content but a world where you can get truly lost. As a result, we have no issue calling Red Dead Redemption 2 exactly what it is, and what it deserves to be - a masterpiece.” - 10/10 Gamereactor
“We’ll get straight to the point : Red Dead Redemption 2 is indeed the most beautiful open-world ever created so far. It buries its competitors...With the amazing experience we had with Red Dead Redemption 2, we can say that the face of the open world genre has changed once and for all.” - 21/20 JeuxActu
"RDR2 can be considered not only a milestone in gaming history, but also a lesson in creativity for the whole industry and, as a whole, a masterpiece." - Everyeye.it
“Not only is Red Dead Redemption 2 a complete and profound achievement, it completes a two-part drama that will remain relevant far longer than any of the other candidates this year has put forward.” - 10/10 Press Start Australia
