Team Talk | Red Dead Reactions

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Team Talk is our shiny new regular feature, in which Pass the Controller staff come together and voice their opinions on different topics throughout the world of gaming.

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by Sam Sant

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by Team
​PTC

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@pass_controller

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What better place to start than with Red Dead Redemption 2, the game that’s dominating industry chatter a whole three weeks ahead of its release. Rockstar Games recently shared their second gameplay trailer, detailing many new and familiar features geared towards creating the most immersive open-world yet, but are we buying into the hype?

Sam

Having just played Red Dead Revolver for the first time, I was likely more struck than most by the insane level of detail in the trailer. Both games share very similar motifs, helping to highlight just how far we’ve come in the 13 years separating the series’ first and third instalments.

Rockstar were keen to emphasise a focus on crafting a “seamless” open-world experience, one that intertwines sandbox activities and storytelling, which is what has me the most excited. I’m pretty much over the modern definition of an open-world, which ultimately boils down to clearing a map of markers through repetitive busywork. Redemption 2 does look densely packed with things to do, but I’d hang my hat on those tasks being more rewarding than laborious.

​It looks evolutionary, much like Cyberpunk 2077, only Red Dead is a game that we can all get out hands on later this month. That almost seems surreal.

If the campaign is the main course, I’ve already booked my reservation. Whether I'll be convinced to stay for dessert when Red Dead Online launches in November, however, remains to be seen.

Give the trailer a watch if you haven't already.

James

Heists! Sure it's pushing on an open door given how effective they've been in GTA Online and how salivating the fanbase has been for more, but there's something altogether more authentic about a bank robbery in the Old West.

This trailer specifically emphasises player choice, so it'll be interesting to see if different interactions with NPCs cause significant change or simply prompt transparent alterations to dialogue. Everything Rockstar does is taken to the nth degree in terms of visual fidelity and thinking things through of course, so if any development team can be relied on to give us the real deal, it's them.

Snippets of activities like fishing and playing cards, amongst a few other bits and pieces, don’t do anything for me personally, but it's nice that they’re there for anybody interested.

Dead Eye, arguably the series’ signature party piece, looks absolutely as you might expect. Gunslinging and the associated cool factor will quite possibly be the game’s bread and butter, but references to eating suggest there may be some survival elements, not just RPG-lite aspects as we've often see from Rockstar in the past. If that is the case, might shootouts become slower and more considered affairs?

Redemption 2 is clearly vast and deep, and it feels like there's a lot of scope to make of it what you want, but a wide open map of possibilities can be daunting and overwhelming at the same time. While it could cut down the number of players who make it to the end credits, the lucrative online mode is no doubt the real endgame for Rockstar, so does that even matter?

Chris

I'm impressed. Combat looks meaty, as if there's real weight to each blow. Shooting, which I'm sure we'll be doing a lot of, appears to be similarly satisfying. If it plays as good as it looks, it'll be a strong Game of the Year contender.

There's always a plethora of side activities in Rockstar's open-world titles and, for the most part, they’re done the right way. I can, and will, happily ignore the likes of collectibles in any and all games - unless they’re directly on my path or offer some type of gameplay advantage - but I'll no doubt while away hours robbing houses and playing poker.

Cinematic camera angles will be great for taking screenshots, which is now a popular pastime for many gamers, plus I can see myself at least trying out the new first-person mode.

One thing putting me off, which is admittedly unrelated to the trailer, is the game’s massive 105 GB file size. I'm pretty sure I could design and create my own game in the time it’d take me to download that. I'm struggling to think of a decent title though, so that idea’s on hold for now.

Liam

I think the thing that impressed me most from the new footage was first-person mode; it didn’t even cross my mind that we might be getting it in RDR2, despite its appearance in GTA V. For some reason, experiencing the Wild West this way just appeals more.

On the other hand, I can definitely see myself taking advantage of the ‘new’ cinematic camera – another feature borrowed from Rockstar’s flagship franchise - for some stunning rides through the rather gorgeous-looking vistas.

The seamless transitions between gameplay and cutscenes look cool, but seemed quite prevalent. Hopefully it’s not something that constantly crops up with every encounter, so as to not keep interrupting dynamic gameplay with scripted moments.

As always, I'll end up skipping most extracurricular activities like poker and eating (if possible), but I did enjoy hunting down bounties in the first game so I’m glad they’re back.

For the sake of balance, I definitely don’t like the idea of the whole bathing malarkey. In a game about robbing trains, bank heists and awesome shootouts, I don’t want to waste time on such mundane tasks. At least in first-person mode I won’t see how filthy I've gotten...

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What did you think of the trailer? Let us know in the comments below.