As a modern Western in the vein of recent classics like 3:10 to Yuma , The Proposition takes the essential elements of the Western genre and invigorates it with more contemporary filmmaking techniques and some particularly striking violence that pulls you into the experience. Aside from those similarities though, the mood and atmosphere that The Proposition captures feels very much in line with the way that Rockstar depicts its Western open-world in the Red Dead games, and that feeling will only be expanded with the ways that Red Dead Redemption 2 (so far) seems to be delivering an even more striking and dynamic world to explore.

Red Dead Redemption ’s Online component also set a new bar for sandbox multiplayer games. The ability to create and organize gangs as well as engage in intense shootouts with other skilled players set the framework for what would become GTA V ’s amazing multiplayer experience. And who could possibly forget the genre changing DLC expansion, Undead Nightmare , that turned to the American West into a zombie infested hell hole, complete with rideable demon hor

What makes the Wild West one of the best settings for a videogame is that there's constant danger around every corner. Cowboys and pioneers had to be prepared for whatever the frontier threw at them. Not only were bandits and predators a threat, but the very land and weather itself. The American West is home to some of the United State’s most intense natural disasters. Tornadoes, sandstorms, mudslides, wildfires, flash floods, and even earthquakes could cause devastating amounts of damage in moments. If Red Dead Redemption 2 captures even one of these phenomena as a random encounter, it would completely change the way players would think about the map, knowing full well the ground below and the sky above them could kill them. Players might think twice about crossing Tornado Al

Others, such as the variety of "Strangers" you meet along the way or Random Encounters with other characters, can be more involved side missions that let you engage with some interesting, colorful New Pals 2025 characters out in the world while completing activities like hunting, fishing, or collecting bounties and debts on wanted men. Even exploring the game's various shops and towns can deliver some unexpected secrets to find and possibilities to discover, such as uncovering "illicit businesses" that some of the shopkeepers find themselves involved with. Red Dead Redemption 2 's world always offers something worth finding, if you're willing to dig deep enough and go off the beaten path. In another instance during my travels, a trail of blood I found on the side of the road ended up leading me to a mangled, bloodied corpse; investigating further ended up putting me on the path to a whole side mission that I probably wouldn't have found otherwise if I hadn't strayed from my path a bit.

While Red Dead Redemption 2 is clearly a game that we think highly of here at DualShockers , it's not one that is infallible by any means. In fact, since its release this past Friday, the most common complaint that I have heard not only from some of my friends but fellow writers here at DualShockers is that Red Dead Redemption 2 is far too slow and plodding. Even after getting past the game's initial opening hours and having the world start to open up, traveling from one location to another takes far too long, animations are too slow, and there's not the typical intuitiveness that streamlines many of the systems and mechanics that you might find in other open-world games.

The Red Dead franchise succeeds because it's playing into the most American fantasies of what the Wild West was, while keeping it grounded. It was a time were America was still getting its footing as a new nation. Things were being discovered by a people who had largely still never seen most of what the land had to offer, thus appropriately titled, the Wild West. It seemed like a hellish dreamscape where those from the east coast talked of savages and wild beast, men who idealized the same sort of lawlessness discussed among certain circles. Yet, it was none of these things, for a people having just arrived to a nation, it was much tamer than one might imagine. Instead, it was a place not overly populated and begging for people to settle its lands (I hope we see Natives in this game). The west was a place of opportunity and discovery, somewhere one could make their mark in a relatively easy way (for the time).

Another spooky location can be found North of the Grizzlies, just above the "N" in Ambarino. Searching the woods around there reveals an apparently abandoned shelter that appears to have previously housed a witch. One that has not been abandoned for too long, either, because inside is a seemingly fresh cauldron full of some sort of bubbling liquid. If you're capable of mustering the courage required to take a swig, you'll black out and reawaken a distance away from the cauld

With Red Dead Redemption having had several clear references to the John Ford classic, there's no denying that The Searchers ' influences on the Western film genre have worked their way into Rockstar's work, and it will be interesting to see if Red Dead Redemption 2 continues on what Ford and John Wayne delivered with their seminal 1956 film.