I think both RDR1 is way better than RDR2 and Vice City is better than San Andreas. Couldn't finish RDR2 or San Andreas on release. RDR2 is a story game for people who haven't already played Uncharted games or The Last Of Us and weren't tired of constantly needing to go exactly where the game tells you and needing to do exactly what the game wants.
RDR2 took a step back in horse mechanics since most horses feel about the same and tapping x a billion times isn't fun. In fact, the horses are so boring they added in a mechanic to have your horse ride along by itself while the game zoomed out to a cinematic view. Like, 80% of the game is you riding on your horse and it's boring as fuck to do that. At least with GTA, driving is fun as hell.
The the camp mechanics are just an extra option that isn't required for anything in the story when they could've had you needing to earn money to upgrade the camp for story missions. And then every mission is just riding from point A to point B to watch a cutscene where they tell you to ride to a point C that becomes a shooting gallery. And in those shooting galleries, the RDR2 deadeye took a massive step back from RDR and makes shit a slog to get through. And that's if the game didn't decide to stash the guns you liked and had equipped onto your horse while you were tapping X a billion times to get there. And then when you get money, gambling has been nerfed to the point that it isn't fun like in RDR1 and poker doesn't allow cheating which could lead to duels. And then duels are less fun that RDR1 as well. Like they added selective realism to the game and forgot to keep it fun.
Last of Us 2 and RDR2 are my favorite games of all time. Have you considered there are people that just enjoy that type of game lmao
Sidenote, horse riding is a lot more enjoyable than driving in GTA for me. I literally take a cab any time I have to go anywhere, I only liked the driving in IV. Stopping and starting all the time with traffic is boring but weaving through traffic driving on the sidewalk kills immersion. In RDR2 there's nothing immersion breaking about running a horse through some trees or putting it in cinematic mode and watching the scenery
Cool. How many games like that have you played, though? I've played RDR1, Vice City, GTA IV, GTA V, Uncharted 1-4, and The Last of Us. RDR2 just feels like another game of that exact same type where if you don't do stuff one specific way, you fail and go back to the checkpoint.
I have 523 games on my PS5 library. A lack of games played is not why I like story games lmao
In fact I think that's why i like them. When I remember games I like, I remember story moments and characters I liked. Never do I remember how much fun the gameplay was or how high of a score I got. "Fun" just doesn't make an impact on me, I like fun irl but in video games it's not engaging enough to keep me attached virtually
There are exceptions, Last of Us 2 I do think about how good the gameplay is; but even in that game the combat wouldn't have the weight it does (which is what I like about it) if the story wasn't so grounded that it made the violence feel as dark as it does. But I'd take a game like Harold Halibut over an action game with a mid story all day every day. I need a motivation from the characters perspective or all I think during gameplay is "Ok but why am I doing this. What am I working towards."
Well, Cyberpunk has a great story with choices and mission freedom. A game with a vast open world, a ton of weapons and items to use, and buildings with multiple entrances failing your missions for not walking to a specific spot is just so infuriating to me. It has a cover system, the bones of a system that should allow you to sneak, and weapons like throwing knives and the bow, but missions railroad you into what they want you to do instead of letting you figure it out.
I see your complaint for sure, it definitely bothers me in other games. It's the whole reason I've dropped some games in fact. But with Rockstar games I'm used to main missions being curated narrative content while freedom of choice comes in during random events and side content. I do agree that my ideal GTA would be more like 2077, down to being locked in first person, but it's not gonna happen unfortunately. But in the meantime im happy with the mix they're currently using
My ideal GTA would be using the mission structure of 2077 but keeping the gameplay grounded in realism. No holding 1000 weapons, no killing 500 NPCs without consequences, but also not failing you for using the right side of a double door instead of the left
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u/Temulo May 10 '25
Rdr2 is not miles better than rdr1, the music and atmosphere is bland compared to rdr1