6 Years Later, Red Dead Redemption 2’s Hyperrealism Still Keeps Gunplay Lackluster

Hyperrealism in video games may not be a good step forward in the gaming industry, or so it seems when I look at the likes of Red Dead Redemption 2. Coursing through the game and pouring hundreds of hours into it, I cannot help but notice an outright clunkiness in the gameplay, where my mind is constantly craving more freedom/flexibility/fluidity/smoothness.

This brings me to wonder: Every single soul has pretty much heard or played Red Dead Redemption 2 at this point — the sales can vouch for that — but did they, really, play this game?

Narrative-Driven Game Achieving Overwhelming Success Despite Its Underwhelming Combat

Let’s start off by saying that Arthur Morgan is one of the best-written characters in gaming history, on the pinnacle sitting alongside Geralt and Solid Snake. The narrative of the game shows Dutch Van Der Linde’s descent into madness and Arthur, his number one trustee losing faith in him gradually as you progress the game.

The parallels shown are what makes the game a piece of art. However when it comes to the gameplay of the game, the gunslinging of the Wild West, the game feels lackluster and takes the approach of making the game too real, you want to heal yourself in the midst of a heated battle?

Wait for Mr. Morgan to open a jar of beans and eat them like supper while the enemies gun you down, taking away the adrenaline-filled encounter to resetting all your approach to the faceoff.

Bewildering Visuals, But At What Cost?

The game is filled with beautiful landscapes to gaze at and trot around on your horse and feels almost ethereal at some points. The argument blockading this great work is the jank-filled gameplay and clunkiness provided by the game.

I love the game but damn, controls are clunky
byu/Gonzito3420 inreddeadredemption

Let us look at The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild just for the sake of the argument here. The game renders on a 720p resolution with 30 frames per second locked. Despite these numbers, the game feels MUCH more fun to play and gets you immersed in the game fully.

Compare Red Dead Redemption 2 to the newer open-world games like Elden Ring, the fidelity of the game may not be that high in comparison and the world feels less alive, in spite of that the gameplay of the game makes you forget everything else and absorbs you into its combat, submerging you into a state of gratification where it’s just you enjoying the game.

Dutch Van Der Linde’s Cult Following Channeling Through Red Dead Redemption 2’s Fanbase

Rockstar, known for their highly successful GTA series and part one of Red Dead Redemption amassed a lot of video game players into blindly accepting that everything bestowed upon them by Rockstar is a flawless masterpiece and it can not miss.

Red Dead Redemption 2: I’ve never failed so hard at trying to love a game, and it all comes down to the controls and the painfully slow gameplay.
by inpatientgamers

If you give into the Cult formation then the gaming community would rather go downhill and video games that feel more like movies will be reinforced, Perhaps the gamers need to go back to the roots of video games and realize that they were meant to be enjoyed and have fun.

The Linearity Of The Missions

Red Dead Redemption 2 follows the same old level design of the old games which is extremely linear, traverse from point A to point B, get the job done, and boom the mission is over which has another negative impact on the gameplay. There is nothing wrong with this but EVERY SINGLE MISSION in it has the same approach to it rendering the gameplay repetitive as well as boring for the player.

In comparison, if you look at other open-world games like The Witcher 3, it had a vast variety of missions and an even more vast variety of methods to complete the level. Red Dead Redemption 2 unfortunately fails to do that. Cyberpunk 2077 also provides you with multiple ways to get out of the mission and get it done in many ways you like. Red Dead 2 unfortunately fails to do that.