Red Dead Redemption 2: 9 Ways You're Playing It Wrong

2. Indulge In The Bizarrely Slow Pace Of Everything

You can't play Red Dead Redemption 2 the same way as any other game, especially open-world games. Hell, I went back to Assassin's Creed Odyssey after sinking 100+ hours and Ubisoft's formulaic approach feels stilted as hell.

It's not an abject negative, of course.

Having checklists of collectibles, reams of fetch quests and rewarding loot grinds is far more immediate and engaging; it's far more of a video game. But where Ubisoft are providing fast food for the masses, Red Dead are challenging your palette to try and accept something that has a more satisfying acquired taste.

After a total playtime of 126 hours (so far), I've boiled this down to pacing. The game has a deliberate pace it tries to infer through menial campfire tasks, slow-burn early missions, extended dialogue exchanges and impactful gunplay/hunting sequences. In that opening tutorial, RDR2 lays out EXACTLY how it's supposed to be played, and the overriding sentiment is "take your time".

Walk through towns, explore in directions that take you off the beaten path. Talk to civilians and tease out conversations with shopkeepers. You'll find hidden businesses, underbellies of crime and other notable script choices that all contribute to Rockstar's picture of the Old West, circa 1899.