Red Dead Redemption I+II

Finally able to play this through my new PC and PS Now, this GTA clone was critically and commercial acclaimed 8 years ago.

You play as John Marston, an outlaw who is chained by the government to hunt down his former friends across the border between Mexico and the USA.

All of the tropes, themes and mood of a Western story are present, such as herding animals, riding horses, playing poker, stealing trains and of course performing gun duals.

Red Dead Redemption is one of the best Western based video games out there, that is until it’s sequel comes out soon. It’s still very playable today, and the only thing that bugged me was when you were able to fast travel or do quests are certain times.

Rating: 8.1

8 years later, this prequel is bigger, better and prettier.

With a longer campaign taking at the minimum about 50 hours to beat, Red Dead Redemption II lets you play as Arthur Morgan, member of Dutch van der Linde's crew who survives by any means necessary during the closing period of a rogue era.

Optimized by it's 4K output, the world is a vast, authentic living Western world where NPC's, wildlife and nature galore around, and the interactions always seem to indicate that there is activity to be found.

Horse riding and pretty much all of the features from the previous one return, but this time, Red Dead Online is available, meaning that the replay value has increased. Although the controls and gameplay might be considered "slow" by some anno 2018, it fits the setting, the design and the plot.

The voice acting and the animations are highlights of this engrossing game, while slowing down time, mini games and side quests return, and you can shave your face here too, similar to The Witcher 3.

Red Dead Redemption II broke new records for Rockstar and the game industry, and it's a ridiculous big game to wander into. As if my december month wasn't busy enough already!  It's pretty much the quintessential Western based video game.

Rating: 8.4