Red Dead Redemption 2 Review: 7 Ups & 3 Downs

1. The Excessive Busywork

There's no denying that this is an absurdly detailed game, but there are certainly times where that meticulousness is to the game's detriment, at least as far as fun is concerned.

The prime culprit is the wildly unnecessary cores system which the player must maintain for Arthur's health, stamina and Dead Eye. Rather than simply have a single meter which can be upgraded over time and requires replenishing, there's that and also a core which must be refilled with separate consumables.

Though pickups are plentiful, it just adds a needless layer of bother and micro-management. That's not to forget the fact you need to also take care of your horse, which has its own health and stamina cores, and you'll also need to brush it frequently to keep it in tip-top shape.

One single bar for each of these elements is more than enough busy-work for one game, and while it never feels like a true nag on the level of, say, eating in GTA: San Andreas, it's the one aspect of the game that really feels too "game-y" for its own good.

And now that we've detailed why RDR2 isn't a flawless winner, here are the many, many things it gets so wonderfully right...