There is a linear story path to follow, but there are plenty of side opportunities to engage in. Each region has a few forts that need to be taken over, much like the same style as the battle at Fort Mercer. There are many characters that require assistance from John and these quests are usually entertaining. One quest involves a man with an undying love for his woman and another series of events from a quest giver involves a man who really gets under John's skin in the last quest he gives. Random events happen throughout the world such as highway robberies, hangings and other random encounters with strangers, making the game world feel alive. Rockstar games are known for their sense of humor and some of their dark humor naturally crept into Red Dead Redemption. One of my favorite achievements I ever unlocked happened in this game. A few years ago my girlfriend was hanging out at my apartment and I decided to show her this game (she may have bought it for me for a birthday present but I can't remember). I thought it would be funny to lasso a girl and leave her on the train tracks, like a mustache twirling silent film villain. As the locomotive turned the damsel in distress into a much gooier state of existence, an achievement popped up on screen. It's good to know that my sociopathic tendencies aren't so unusual that the developers weren't able to anticipate my behavior.
Let's be honest, life can be pretty boring at times. In fact, more often than not, what you do in a given week is lame. Sure, there are highlights and moments in everyone's life that you think back on frequently but most of the time, what you do in a day isn't exciting. Think about it: every morning you surely wake up, take a shower, go to work, eat some food, come home and go to bed.
What's worth noting though is that I don't think what Rockstar has done with these ideas is really all that revolutionary by any means. No: instead, they've just leaned into these things that other developers would certainly stray away from for the reasons that I've already heard many complain about this weekend -- it ends up being too slow and too boring. However, Rockstar knew before release that Red Dead Redemption 2 would sell millions of copies no matter what they did. This notion allowed them far more experimentation and more willingness to take chances compared to what other studios might attempt. For the most part, I think it's an experiment that has worked to Red Dead Redemption 2 's benefit so far.
Even having only played the game for a brief amount of time, seeing the level of interaction with the NPCs in Red Dead Redemption 2 already showed what I think will be one of its most fascinating elements. With so many options now opened up to engage with the characters throughout the world, it gave me a thrill that, by and large, any NPC in Red Dead Redemption 2 could potentially give players something new to draw from the world. As Rockstar noted, characters in the Exekiller Game have their own set schedules and paths, which could lead to players finding some NPCs at specific locations at certain times of the day. When the Van der Linde gang sets up camp, some of Arthur's gang members can even appear randomly at nearby towns or locations, such as when we heard Arthur got into a fist fight with some locals at the saloon, only for Bill and Javier to show up and lend a hand.
The year is 1911. John Marshton was once a dangerous outlaw but has left that life behind to pursue the simple pleasures of being a family man. John is enjoying his new life until the Bureau of Investigation visits him to work out a deal with him and take his wife and kid into custody for leverage. As a former outlaw, John is facing some serious penalties for his past but the FBI is willing to cut him a break if he brings his former gang members to justice. John agrees to these terms, not like he has much choice, and travels to Fort Mercer to confront his former rappy, Bill Williamson. Things go horribly wrong and instead of bringing anyone to justice, John is shot and left for dead, only to end up in the care of Bonnie MacFarlane.
Honestly, I agree with most of this. I do think that Red Dead Redemption 2 forces you to do far more menial tasks that I feel like most other developers would never think to include. Being forced to pick up your weapons from your horse and equip them to Arthur before heading out in the wild is a far cry compared the hundreds of other games in existence that allow you to carry near-infinite weapons on your person. In addition to having to physically pick up items off of the shelf in a general store, the lack of a fast travel system early on, and the need to do other small chores such eating food in order to keep up your Cores, these tasks do seem almost boring and their inclusion could be questionable.
The same can be said for Arthur Morgan. Are there moments of intense excitement in his life such as when he's robbing a train or watching the sunset over the plains? Absolutely. But even in the life of an outlaw on the run, you still have to make small decisions about whether or not you should take a bath or shave your face.