Developed and published by Rockstar Games and released back on October 26, 2018, Red Dead Redemption 2 has been the game that I was avoiding playing all this time – and I thought that 2025 was a great time to change that. Does the game hold up in this time and year? It sure does.
When I tried to play the first game, Red Dead Redemption 1, which was released back in 2010, I wasn’t even able to complete the game. I found it to be more boring than I thought it would, and although I do appreciate its storyline, something with the gameplay and graphics just didn’t cut it for me. So I decided to put it at rest and stop forcing myself to play it.
For the past few years, I’ve been watching lots of videos on YouTube about Red Dead Redemption 2, with people simply loving it. Many times I was skeptical if I should buy the game or not, but I was afraid the same would happen: I’d get bored pretty quick and spend my money on a game that will forever stay untouched in my gaming library. I’m not a money waster, so I didn’t proceed with the purchase – until 2025 came.
Apart from GTA 6 getting (hopefully) released in 2025, it’s only for gaming consoles such as PlayStation and Xbox. I’m a PC user, so I won’t be playing the most anticipated game the world has ever seen very soon. So I wanted to spend some of my time in a world that I had never seen before, especially now that we Throne and Liberty and we’re looking for other games.
Red Dead Redemption 2’s campaign and storyline
The more I grow up the more I tend to choose solo games with great campaigns and unique storylines, and anything that has a multiplayer mode comes as an extra bonus for me. I’m a lone wolf, and that’s fine by me, and as long as the game has a compelling storyline, I’m all in for it. Unlike the first title, Red Dead Redemption 2 had me hooked from the very first moment.
In Red Dead Redemption 2 you play as Arthur Morgan, and the game is set in the year of 1899. You’re a seasoned outlaw and a member of the notorious Van der Linde gang which is being led by the Dutch van der Linde, who dreams of a life of freedom and adventure. As you start the game, you quickly find out that the gang is on the run after a failed heist in a town called “Blackwater“, and you’ll have to survive by any means necessary.
It’s a harsh winter, and it’s cold outside, and the gang is forced to seek shelter in the snowy mountains to escape the law and survive the brutal conditions. Apart from other gangs and people in general, there are other enemies that you’ll have to face, and the game starts with one of the best predators: wolves. It starts by giving you an idea of how it actually is living in a world full of challenges and adventures, and it’s all during the tail end of the American Wild West era.
And that’s just in Chapter 1, while in the second one, you’ll be moving to a more suited place, close to a village. It’s a less-colder place field with people, where you’ll learn how to buy and upgrade your horses, complete side quests, buy things from the stores, and so much more.
It would be sad to spoil anything important from the game’s storyline, so I’ll keep things simple. It’s worth noting though that it should take you around 40 to 60 hours until you complete the whole thing, and that’s if you’re rushing it. If you decide to take your time and complete all the side quests, engage in various activities, and explore this great and harsh world, it can easily take you over 100 hours to fully enjoy everything that Rockstar Games has added to this game.
Everything you need to know about the graphics and overall gameplay
If you’re expecting to see highly detailed graphics that an AAA title has in 2025, you’ll be disappointed. If you’re expecting to play a game of high quality with a detailed and vast world that has nothing to envy from other games even at this time and year, then you’ll be thankful that you’ve given it a chance.
When it comes to the overall graphics, it has it all: From descriptive and immersive environments and snow-capped mountains to thick forests, desolate deserts, and mucky swamps. The dynamic lighting and the weather system give the title even more realism, and having a sunrise, sunset, lightning storms, and even blizzards? That makes it even greater.
I also love how the characters look like, with highly realistic models that feature incredibly detailed facial expressions and body movements, adding to the liveliness of the story and its vast world. The levels of detail in textures for clothing, weapons, and environmental objects are phenomenal. For example, Arthur’s clothing can show signs of wear and tear, while one can appreciate all the blotchy designs on his guns.
There are even smaller details that you can see through the game, including leaving footprints in the snow, seeing reflections in puddles, and many other interactions with other objects and characters – it feels like Rockstar Games took its time at creating this crazy and full of live title, and they arguably did a heck of a job.
There’s even more to it when it comes to the cinematic side of things: It’s more than playing a game or watching a movie, it feels like you’re living in the old Western world. I couldn’t stop thinking that every single scene was an art, carefully painted to its every detail. It’s one of those games in which each cinematic scene is so good that you’ll never skip it – and if all, you’ll want even more.
A game so vast you won’t even have to play the online mode
Unlike many other games that I’ve played, Red Dead Redemption 2 has such a vast world that you can simply keep playing and interacting with various NPCs without getting bored even a little. The atmosphere and environment are so good, that you can even go from place to place and travel the whole map with your horse and simply enjoy every place that you’re passing by.
You can camp in any place, and you can also hunt and eat animals, and believe it or not, hunting is crazy good in this game. I’ve seen many players also fishing, and you can also sell anything that you hunt and make some bucks.
But just wandering through this vast world is not easy, as many enemies may try to shoot and loot you, and sometimes while you’re enjoying your walks, the shooting starts and you either run for your life or face the enemies.
It’s also really fun that Rockstar Games has given its NPCs so many stories to tell, from people getting bitten by snakes, getting robed, killing others and asking you to hide their bodies to a random NCP somewhere in the middle of nowhere, you never get bored.
Red Dead Online is far from dead in 2025
Unfortunately, although Red Dead Redemption 2 is arguably one of the best games of the decade, Rockstar Games has almost almost abandoned it. The company has significantly reduced the frequency and scale of updates.
In a recent community update, Rockstar mentioned that they are shifting their focus toward the development of Grand Theft Auto 6, which means major updates for Red Dead Online are on hold. Instead, they will concentrate on smaller events and minor updates.
Microtransactions are, of course, a big thing in Red Dead Online. Players are still buying from Rockstar Games as the Red Dead Online is still well-active when it comes to online players, and something tells me it’s gonna keep holding up. Even if GTA 6 gets released, although many will leave Red Dead Online, there’ll still be lots of players and die-hard fans that will keep the vast world of this game alive.
And if you’re worrying about Rockstar Games closing its dedicated servers, you shouldn’t: For Read Dead Online, the company relies on peer-to-peer (P2P) networking, which means that instead of joining every time to a Rockstar Games server, you’ll either hosting your own or join to other’s consoles or PCs.
Although that’s positive, it has its downsides also, as it may sometimes result in issues like lagging, desynchronization, and other delayings.
Should you purchase Dead Redemption 2 in 2025?
When it comes to my personal opinion, yes! You should absolutely buy and enjoy this game and its well-crafted storyline and world. The game is full of “life”, and once you complete the campaign, you can either continue exploring Dead Redemption 2’s vast world or join the multiplayer mode and enjoy it even further with friends and random players.
In 2025, the game still has many new players that you’ll be seeing in most sessions, so you’re gonna be the only newbie in town.
When it comes to only getting the dedicated version of Read Dead Online, I’d say that the campaign is the main reason why you should play this game. But if you don’t really like solo playing and/or you only care about its multiplayer mode, then you can only purchase Read Dead Online without its campaign – it’s cheaper, too.
