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Is Red Dead Redemption One of the Best Open-world Games Ever?

Is Red Dead Redemption One of the Best Open-world Games Ever?

Red Dead Redemption is a classic. In the six years since its release, the game has left people wanting more. It has the perfect amount of just about every element you could want in a game. There’s action, adventure, humor, multiplayer encounters, realism, and even a touch of absurdity. But there’s also something else that may be keeping it alive in people’s minds. Perhaps Red Dead Redemption has the best story in the history of open world games.

Open world games don’t have to have good stories, after all. They don’t need a captivating narrative to be the best. Think about The Elder Scrolls . Are you really in it for the primary questline or after the opportunities to do everything other than stick to the story? You know, like collect every cheese wheel in the world. Xenoblade Chronicles X was huge, but I remember spending more time running to reach locations to place markers or defeat monsters and gather items to meet quotas. I didn’t care too much for its fantastical tale. Grand Theft Auto and Fallout games are interesting enough, but you’re easily distracted from what you have to do. Aside from The Witcher , Red Dead Redemption is the only story that sticks in my head.

Perhaps its because Rockstar did something that is otherwise so difficult in an open world game – make its story feel important. Red Dead Redemption gives us every opportunity to go run after cougars or alter Marston’s morality. But, it feels far more important to go out there and actually rescue his wife and son, Abigail and Jack. There’s a sense of duty present in Red Dead Redemption that isn’t present in other games. Familial stories aren’t uncommon in open world games. Both Fallout 3 and Fallout 4 have those ties that bind. Red Dead Redemption just does it better.

Especially since there’s that oh so satisfying payoff. Considering this is a six year old game, I’m going to go ahead and say spoiler warnings are moot by this point. Marston doesn’t always mean John Marston, the man with which you begin the game. Red Dead Redemption does something many forms of media are too cowardly to do. It kills its main character. It has the confidence and determination to know how well this will serve the plot and compel us to keep playing. Once he’s gone, Jack Marston becomes our “Marston.” He avenges his father and, aside from one quest called “I Know You,” can seamlessly step into his father’s shoes to complete any quests left undone.

Is Red Dead Redemption One of the Best Open-world Games Ever?

It continues the real theme of the game – revenge and redemption. The Witcher relies on a sense of honor to get things through. Fallout 4 on a sense of family. Xenoblade Chronicles X … well… we all want to grab as many shiny things and chart as much area as possible so we can survive! Red Dead Redemption taps into something a bit bigger and more ornate. It relies on a feeling that can bind us. We all want to act when we feel we’ve been wronged, to try and set things right for ourselves. And, for those of us who feel we have acted erroneously, there can be a drive to set things to right. Knowing that so many actions can help us in Red Dead Redemption makes the narrative strong and game more appealing.

Red Dead Redemption is an exemplary experience in so many ways. There’s a lot to love about the quests, controls, characters, and activities. But, maybe the story is what really makes it stand out among other open world games. There’s a sense of tightness and cohesion here. It’s as if everything you’re doing really contributes to the overall plot, which is so compelling that you can’t help but go back to it and see that exceptional payoff. It’s simply the best.

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