Red Dead Redemption 2 is the best reviewed PlayStation 4 game of all time, narrowly edging out the critical average of Grand Theft Auto V’s remaster, and toppling exclusives like The Last of Us Remastered, God of War, and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End. Here’s a round-up of some of the reviews so far.
Push Square - 10/10
Red Dead Redemption 2 is Rockstar's best game, and it's gripping from start to finish. It sets a new bar for open world interaction, providing an absurd level of detail across the board. It's an immaculately polished release that pulls no punches in its delivery, pushing both brutally mature themes and perfectly placed satire. While its clumsy controls and convoluted button layouts can ruin the fun on occasion, it's easy enough to look past these flaws when everything else is of such a high quality. Red Dead Redemption 2 is a modern masterpiece.
IGN - 10/10
Red Dead Redemption 2 stands shoulder-to-shoulder with Grand Theft Auto V as one of the greatest games of the modern age. 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.
Game Informer - 10/10
Rockstar Games has outdone itself again with Red Dead Redemption II. The up-close portrayal of the outlaw Van der Linde gang’s unraveling is a compelling companion story that blends seamlessly with the original game, and depth and breadth of the open world is a technical triumph that every gamer should experience.
GameSpot - 9/10
While Red Dead Redemption was mostly focused on John Marston's story, Red Dead 2 is about the entire Van der Linde gang -- as a community, as an idea, and as the death rattle of the Wild West. It is about Arthur, too, but as the lens through which you view the gang, his very personal, very messy story supports a larger tale. Some frustrating systems and a predictable mission structure end up serving that story well, though it does take patience to get through them and understand why. Red Dead Redemption 2 is an excellent prequel, but it's also an emotional, thought-provoking story in its own right, and it's a world that is hard to leave when it's done.
Did you spot the theme? Yeah, Red Dead Redemption 2's review scores are ridiculously high. At the time of writing there have been 87 critics on Metacritic and the lowest score is a very respectable 7/10, so that tells you everything you need to know. You're buying it, right?
Comments 48
I knew it was going to review well but geeeeeeez.
GOTY 😉
Everything about it is epic - even the review scores. Celebrate with an "epic" gaming session
I feel really sorry for God of War, though. Pipped at the post for Game of the Year just like Horizon last year.
@get2sammyb Same. God of War was something else...
Not surprised, honestly. Rockstar get 10s like Bill Russell won championships.
Also- this is the second week in a row where a game I want releases on my payday, yet I can't take advantage of it. My spirit animal must be a black cat. Or maybe that Spidey DLC gave me bad luck.
Well I like God of war alot better.....mostly because I haven't played RDR2 yet...
I'm not sure yet. I know the reviews are glowing, but I just dont know if I'll have time to play it. the realism aspects, like hunting and weapon maintenence just don't appeal to me. But the story does. I'm conflicted.
@get2sammyb I wouldn’t be so sure gta 5 scored higher and everyone though it was going to sweep goty and tlou blew it away
Most reviews I’ve read said the gameplay and controls are mediocre yet ten out of ten because of rockstar
@get2sammyb nah don't be sorry Sammy be better.i l💖ve rockstar.they are my second favorite publisher.playstation of course is number one.if God of war lose to red dead i will be happy.because I love rockstar.my favorite video games franchises is grand theft auto and God of war.if it loses im glad it loses to my favorite third party rockstar.butwe gonna have God of war 2.and it's going to be amazing as well.word life.word to your mother.word up son😀👍.
@jFug yeah God of war is a masterpiece.but kudos to rockstar for creating a legendary game.i l💖ve grand theft auto its my favorite franchises along with God of war.so even if it doesn't win im happy rockstar 's red dead redemption 2 win.because rockstar is my favorite third party publishers.word up son
I find it curious that many review outlets have said the game has clunky controls yet still give it top marks. In fact when's the last time a Red Dead or a GTA didn't get 9s and 10? So often I think hype plays an important part in how a game is judged in the media to the point where a game has to totally mess up for it to change the narrative on the Internet. And let's face it many developers get easy passes based on previous reputations. Bethesda are a classic example, Skyrim had no right to win any GOTY awards based on its PS3 performance alone. FromSoftware, Naughty Dog, Rockstar, Kojima Productions, CD Projekt Red and Nintendo are all studios I honestly feel get a (borderline) mandatory 9s from the media just for putting a game out.
I'm not belittling their achievements but it's become far more noticeable over recent years when hugely hyped games get away with high scores despite clear and obvious flaws in their games.
Personally I hope RDR2 doesn't win the majority of GOTY awards cos what is it really saying about us as an industry when we're happy for developers to be worked into the ground at the expense of their health.
@dark_knightmare2 That’s a good point. I guess the bottom line is that they’re both essential anyway.
@AdamNovice Neil Druckmann once said if you don’t want to crunch don’t make Game of the Year.
@get2sammyb Yeah and I don't agree with that way of thinking, the industry has a huge problem with crunch to the point where Dan Houser spoke about like it was the most normal thing.
Digitally pre ordered and foaming at the mouth for it!!!
Happy. single player games are alive
The GOTY debate will be awesome this year since most of the major players are on PlayStation. (No BotW this year) But before RDR2 is crowned or before it is dismissed as over-rated, we probably all need to actually play the game, people. 😂
Way too open-worldy of a game for me. Absolute non-play.
@get2sammyb exactly and the PS4 is the only place you can play both
I have been saying all year that RDR2 will be THE Game of the Year yet some seem to think that God of War and even Spider-Man were certainly going to be better and in contention. Some couldn't understand why RDR2 even had a chance - despite the fact that the previous was one of the best games of last gen and a Game of the Year winner...
Still I expect God of War to get nominated and that in itself is an honour and proof that their game is one of the top games released this year. I bet Guerilla Games were thrilled to be nominated and felt truly honoured to be named as one of the top games of 2017 - even if it didn't win the top prize. I would rather be nominated in that category and not win, than not be nominated at all!!
I wish we could not have the usual trolls who give games a terrible score just for the sake of "balance." What absurdity.
It will probably win most GOTY awards with this score. But God of War will win many awards too, I believe.
There is no official GOTY award, the most important thing is the aggregate of all awards like gotypicks.blogspot.
@AdamNovice CDProjeck Red has only released one game with that huge of a reaction though? I mean I see the point possibly with Cyberpunk, but I don’t think time happens yet.
@AdamNovice So what do you suggest... what's your point exactly. That the brilliance of these games should be overlooked and marked down in future just for a change because they're the Rockstars, Naughty Dogs and CDPRs ... What are you saying?! And if you expect a game to be marked down because of crunch then it's as ludicrous as the idiots who give 1star rating to a game on Amazon because it got delivered late.
You expect to perform full body actions as quick as your finger tapping on a button and expect it to be realistic same time... I'm playing it now and they aren't clunky, just extremely real.
Honestly never cared about Red Dead as a franchise and I never really liked the wild west era either but after all these review scores might just check it out.
@get2sammyb BotW had most awards, but Horizon still was the second game with most awards last year.
That’s a big achievement because the last year had many great games and Horizon is a brand new ip.
@beemo Well if they spent less time on rubbish details like horse testicles shrinking in the cold (which adds nothing to the game) then maybe it`ll have done in half the time. From every I've seen it looks like Rockstar was so hellbent on obsessive details even at the expense of player convenience.
@TheArt I'm saying if games get 10s then I shouldn't be reading things like "clunky gameplay" "slightly unresponsive on occasion" and "busy work feels a little too much like busy work" these are not issues that should be brushed over like the odd glitch or something. These are fundamental core gameplay ones that are been too easily overlooked probably because critics were more taken in by the game's world, story and the feeling that Red Dead 2 is finally here.
And I never said that a game should be marked down because of crunch, I said it wouldn't be a good look if we gleefully handed out awards to companies who are known to treat their employees like crap. If a game has to go into crunch to get done then that's a failure on the management part.
Going to wait for the remastered complete ps5 version
@oatmealwarrior92 The first one got rated pretty good and you avoided it, now that the 2nd one got rated pretty good you wanna jump in. 🤦♂️
Still not getting my cash til i can buy it preowned in a bargain bin. R* has annoyed me too much with gtao's direction to give them my cash anymore.
To all ppl getting this today tho, hope you have a ball with it. Enjoy
@AdamNovice I feel the same for GoW and Spiderman but hey, that's something you can't fix it. People said some gross stuff about slant magazine just because it gave a 7/10 to rdr2. SEVEN, not 3, 4, 5 but 7 and people still freaked out. Remember all those pictures for Sony exclusives with high scores where they put some obscure sites on them just because of high scores.
But it's really interesting how some games and companies get a pass for the very same thing others get scrutinized. Just look at ac odyssey and Spiderman reviews and you'll se my point. Spiderman had some of the most boring, repetitive and mundane side activities and most overlooked it while odyssey was criticized.
I disagree on one thing with you and that's including cd projekt red there because they aren't in that level yet. The Witcher 3 didn't get its scores because od cdpr because they weren't really popular prior to the Witcher 3.
Holy s*** these controls suck and are so friggin convoluted. But holy cow this game is so crazy good! Truly like controlling a movie so far! Cant wait fir the hand holding to end and be let loose!!!
Concerning the controls, im a 1st person kind of guy and so far i find these adjusted settings to work pretty well..
SETTINGS-CAMERA--- 1st person auto level OFF.
Field of view FULL TO RIGHT.
personally i like head bob but if its a bit too bumpy for you turn to reduced.
1st person cover OFF.
SETTINGS- CONTROLS---
1st pers controls STANDARD FPS.
look sensitivity 2 clicks away from fully right.
Aime sens 3 clicks away from fully right.
Aim/look acceleration 1 click away from fully right.
Aim/look deadzone off fully left.
As a fps fan i find these settings pretty close to confy. Not perfect but from playing for an hr this is what ive got.
Hope it helps you gals n guys.
@get2sammyb When you put up this article there was 76 Metacritic reviews, now there is 77 😉
I counted 45 perfect scores on Metacritic this morning. In comparison, Assassin's Creed Odyssey (which I consider to be the best game I've ever played ever, ever, really, EVER) got... 3.
Just waiting to bushwhack my postie and then I'll see what all the fuss is about. Feels like Christmas round here.
I'll echo the views of others in saying that The Witcher 3's awkward controls and combat never hindered it from being an outstanding game and one of the best I've played.
I can't wait to get my grubby little mitts on this in a few hours.
@beemo Ofcourse it would take so much longer but as long as they treat there staff good. And not like a gun to your head you do as we say or your fired.
@ApostateMage But with better controls it would have been even better or not? Thats why i think its not a 10 but a 9.5 but that is not the fault of Rockstar. Because people talk about bad games when it gets a 7 or 8.
@Badboyfx86 I did not like the first one either but maybe with these reviews i get the game on little lower price. 😁
Well, guess Open World game will continue to be the epitome & definition of perfect game for coming years... RIP linear games...
But what did it cost the people who made it? Eye opening article on Eurogamer on just how messed up the working conditions are for a lot of the staff there.
https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2018-10-25-the-human-cost-of-red-dead-redemption-2
@Badboyfx86 the first could have been a fluke , it seems red dead is the real deal 😂
@AdamNovice I do believe Rockstar get a pass to a degree on some aspects of their game designs. I've played this only for a couple of hours so can't judge the game as a whole but I can say my first couple of hours with both God of War and Spiderman were a lot more enjoyable purely because of the controls. I'm not saying it's not a great game because everything else about it seems amazing so far and once I get used to the controls I probably won't think about it anymore.
@LieutenantFatman grim reading if accurate
What does gamespot mean with predictable mission structure LOL what do you expect, Arthur flying a spaceship? My god...
Anyway, played the entire opening and boah, so good! The details are INSANE and I honestly don't see why people are not impressed with the graphics, they are the best of any open world PERIOD Spider-Man is very very good but this one is just insane.
I have to agree with all the "game of this generation" remarks. RDR was my all-time fave game until BOTW came along and just pipped it at the post. But after playing about 10 hours of this I can see this being my all-time fave. So much to do, see, and experience. I can see myself playing this for months and years to come. And that's just the single player.
@LieutenantFatman 40-60 hours overtime is boom time. Why are they moaning? They waived their rights themselves.
@themcnoisy
I doubt most of them knew what they were getting into.
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