I assume this will be a controversial statement, given the odd hate for Red Dead Redemption 2 on this website, but I stand by it.
I legitimately cannot bring myself to enjoy GTA5. It has all of the same flaws that RDR2 has been mauled for – such as shitty controls and restrictive mission design – but none of RDR2's considerable strengths.
Red Dead Redemption 2 has a very clear and defined vision for what it wants to be, and it achieves that really well. It's focused on great storytelling and strong characterization, and there is an argument to be made that it's the best at those two things of any game ever made. It has a far more interesting world, far more variety to the kinds of things it lets players do, and even its annoyances (such as the controls or the pacing) at least make contextual sense – unlike in GTA5, where the controls or mission design are absolutely antithetical to the kind of game GTA5 is trying to be.
The big thing that really cinches this for me, given that both games are rather terrible at the actual gameplay side of things, is the writing. GTA5 is gross, juvenile, and crass. I'm not the kind of person who takes umbrage at the smallest thing and looks to be outraged, and I think clever satire that invokes dark humor can be a great mirror to society, while being genuinely funny. GTA5 is not that. It goes for the low hanging fruit, a broadly written script with obvious "laughs" written explicitly to appeal to the base common denominator, and characters that would barely pass for caricatures. And all of this, without talking about the inane story and narrative arc. This is in sharp contrast to the surprisingly nuanced and measured characterization and writing in RDR2, something I had legitimately given up hope on ever happening with a new Rockstar game. RDR2 deals a measured hand to its characters, story, themes, and topics alike, and it does so while addressing some sensitive topics.
Basically: both games suck at the the playing part, but GTA5 also sucks in writing and storytelling, while RDR2 excels there. Overall, RDR2 is a far better and more cohesive product than GTA5 can hope to be, and I have lost any hope or excitement I may once have had for GTA6, or any future non-RDR Rockstar game at this point, since RDR seems to be the only time the writers are willing to actually temper their excesses and engage in meaningful writing.
I legitimately cannot bring myself to enjoy GTA5. It has all of the same flaws that RDR2 has been mauled for – such as shitty controls and restrictive mission design – but none of RDR2's considerable strengths.
Red Dead Redemption 2 has a very clear and defined vision for what it wants to be, and it achieves that really well. It's focused on great storytelling and strong characterization, and there is an argument to be made that it's the best at those two things of any game ever made. It has a far more interesting world, far more variety to the kinds of things it lets players do, and even its annoyances (such as the controls or the pacing) at least make contextual sense – unlike in GTA5, where the controls or mission design are absolutely antithetical to the kind of game GTA5 is trying to be.
The big thing that really cinches this for me, given that both games are rather terrible at the actual gameplay side of things, is the writing. GTA5 is gross, juvenile, and crass. I'm not the kind of person who takes umbrage at the smallest thing and looks to be outraged, and I think clever satire that invokes dark humor can be a great mirror to society, while being genuinely funny. GTA5 is not that. It goes for the low hanging fruit, a broadly written script with obvious "laughs" written explicitly to appeal to the base common denominator, and characters that would barely pass for caricatures. And all of this, without talking about the inane story and narrative arc. This is in sharp contrast to the surprisingly nuanced and measured characterization and writing in RDR2, something I had legitimately given up hope on ever happening with a new Rockstar game. RDR2 deals a measured hand to its characters, story, themes, and topics alike, and it does so while addressing some sensitive topics.
Basically: both games suck at the the playing part, but GTA5 also sucks in writing and storytelling, while RDR2 excels there. Overall, RDR2 is a far better and more cohesive product than GTA5 can hope to be, and I have lost any hope or excitement I may once have had for GTA6, or any future non-RDR Rockstar game at this point, since RDR seems to be the only time the writers are willing to actually temper their excesses and engage in meaningful writing.
