Red Dead Redemption II for Windows

A paid western adventure game

Red Dead Redemption II is a western RPG that can be played both online and offline. The game is resource-intensive due to all the mechanics and the high graphics quality. RDR2 has an open world that responds to your action and changes the environment to reflect this.

The wild west

Red Dead Redemption 2 is a beautiful game that sets the standard for what a living environment should be for any open-world game. The game does require purchasing before you can play it, but for the experience you receive, it’s worth the money.

The recent updates to the game have added the Moonshiners content which includes a new frontier pursuit and story missions to play. The moonshiner path has its own progression system which unlocks apparel and accessories.

The game is a resource-heavy software that requires at least a 2-gigabyte graphics card, 8Gb RAM, and 150Gb storage space. The recommended requirements list a 6Gb GPU and 12Gb of RAM to allow the game to run at the max setting, displaying the graphics flawlessly.

Living world

The world of Red Dead Redemption 2 feels alive as every action you take reflects itself in the world, whether it’s a corpse from an animal you killed rotting away or the responses from characters based on your actions towards their friends. You can have interactions with every person you encounter throughout the game as well, building up the feeling of a living world

when you enter a bar fight you may soon find yourself being yelled at by random strangers as you pass by the next day, reminding you of your honorless deeds. You can respond in various ways, each which later affects how others will see you. Using the online collectors' map, you can quickly navigate around and find all the in-game collectibles.

Historical accuracy

As you venture along in the story of the fictional Arthur Morgan, you’ll encounter a number of events. Some of these are based on events that truly happened during the historical period. One example of this is the rarity of cars which was common during the late 1890s when the game takes place. However, this game is classed as historical fiction. A lot of the events in the game occurred, but there’s no real Arthur Morgan story, at least not that’s been confirmed.

This continues further with examples including the most common cause for death from that period, Tuberculosis.

The story

The story takes place in America during the year 1899 and follows Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang who are outlaws on the run from federal agents and bounty hunters. The gang has to rob and complete various jobs as they make their way across the country.

Deepening issues threaten to turn the gang apart, you’ll need to make a choice between the gang that raised Arthur and his own ideals and morality. You do not have to play the first game to enjoy this story.

Beautiful graphics

The graphics for Red Dead Redemption 2 are astounding. The enhancements made for PC take advantage of the way computers work to deliver a detailed, living environment. This gives you further view distances, higher-quality lighting, and improved shadows and reflections.

The computer version of this game comes with HDR support, multi-monitor configurations, 4K resolution, and widescreen options. You’ll also be able to experience higher frame rates than the console version of the game.

Heavy requirements

Due to all the enhancements made for the game on computers, the graphics and in-game mechanics are extremely detailed. However, this has caused the game to become extremely resource-heavy and will require a powerful computer to play it. This leaves you with detailed terrain and trees that look stunning and feel real as you walk through the landscape, but a possibly overheating computer.

Online play

If you don’t want to play offline, alone, you can join the online community and explore Blackwater as you undertake a role within the world and interact with other players. You can choose to be a bounty hunter, trader, or any other role on this frontier from committing crimes to unearthing treasures or brewing moonshine. You can play with friends online, however, there is no local-co op available.

Mods

There are mods available for Red Dead 2 that can enhance or change the way you play the game entirely. Some of the available downloads can improve the graphics even further with subtle color correction or add in a variety of cheats that make you immortal or a dead-eyed shot with your gun.

Alternatives

If Red Dead Redemption 2 is not your preferred game or requires a computer with specifications you don’t have, you may enjoy these alternatives.

God of War is a singleplayer role-playing game that follows Kratos, a former Greek God, and his son in a mythological universe. The game is only available for the PS4

Red Dead Redemption 1 is the start of the series and is just as great a game as its sequel. However, the game is unavailable for PC unless you use an emulator.

Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is another role-playing game that takes place in a medieval fantasy setting, where monsters roam. The world is vast and filled with quests to complete.

Call Of Juarez: Gunslinger takes place in the wild west but lacks the open world that RDR2 offers. There are gunfighting skills to learn and the graphics are appealing.

Conquer the frontier

Red Dead Redemption 2 is a masterpiece of graphics and world creation, even though this brings in a need for an above-average computer. The entire world feels alive, with every character being someone you can interact with as well as seeing your actions reflect later on in the world.

Recent changes have added new story missions and another frontier path for you to follow. The game has a few points of historical accuracy and a compelling story that follows the Van der Linde gang.