3/5 ★ – edwrdlee's review of Red Dead Redemption II.

I wanted to like this game more than I did. I started this game after beating RDR1. That game just did not do it for me so I was hoping this game would turn things around. Well RDR2 sorta does. The characters are amazing in this game. They all feel unique and 3 dimensional. RDR1 had one too many crackhead type characters for comparison. It was also fascinating interacting with pre-RDR1 John Marston. The ending is beautiful and the epilogue is such a nice send off for these characters. That being said, the rest of the game was not as good for me. The story just goes around in circles and it never amounts to anything until the 11th hour. Some parts felt as if they should be treated as a bigger deal but they aren't. Some parts had me saying "That's it?". It all feels like a series of events that just happens, nothing to connect it all together. If the game wanted me to slow down and vibe with the open world, it failed to entice me. I could not get invested into the story. I could not get invested into the open world. Not to mention how frustrating the game makes things. Even people who love this game can agree how frustrating it is. To put it simple and nice it's very "high maintenance". (WHO THE FUCK THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO HAVE TO PAY TAXES AND CLEAN YOUR GUN AND CLEAN YOUR HORSE AND #@($+__)$/#-@10) This game is way too long and way too anger-inducing, but I like the Van der Linde gang along with the ending and epilogue. So I can't hate it too much.