Hunt down your spurs and get yourself a glass of milk, because we’re getting closer and closer to the release of Red Dead Redemption 2, Rockstar Games’ open world western action adventure sequel. There’s still only the most fleeting of glimpses and snippets of info about the game, but we’re calling it none the less. It’s time to get excited and there’s going to be a lot more to come in the weeks and months in the run up to the launch of the game.
By the time the release date blows RDR2 into a dusty town near you it will have been a whopping seven years since the arrival of Red Dead Redemption back in 2007 on the Xbox 360 and PS3. However, with the recent revival of the game with the much-loved backwards comparability genius of the Xbox ONE, it’s still getting a lot of gaming attention and we’ll be very surprised if the next installment doesn’t go on to be the game of the year in 2017.
Release date
Okay, so while you can get jazzed about the prospect of the game, you might want to go for a cold shower or two, because you’ve still got a little while to go before it comes out on the Xbox ONE and PlayStation 4. The official UK release date hasn’t been confirmed as of yet, but Rockstar has announced that it will be in autumn 2017, so you can at least synchronize your seasons, if not your pocket watches.
Gameplay
While it has been a long time since the last game in the Red Dead series, the third entry will undoubtedly be a continuation of the open world action adventure gameplay concept that made its predecessor such a huge hit. Rockstar are promising a vast and atmospheric environment with both a sprawling single player game, as well as a brand new multiplayer online hoedown.
As with the previous entry, RDR2 will feature a whole lot of gunfights, so it will be interesting to see how the developers have tweaked the combat system for the 2017 release. We’re expecting the duck and fire system to be revamped a little, while still providing a similar approach to gunfights and the same can be said for the Dead Eye gunslinger gameplay mechanic and the Wanted status.
Trailblazing will also be another big part of the gameplay and having had the wonder of the D-Horse in Metal Gear Solid: The Phantom Pain, we’re looking forward to getting back in the saddle. With such a rich and stunning countryside to roam around in, which you can see in the trailer below, we’re pretty convinced that we’ll end up being as much an escapist tourist as a gun-fighting desperado.
There will undoubtedly by all manner of events to get involved in with many of the most popular from Red Dead Redemption having a big shout for inclusion. This includes ambushes, requests for help from strangers you meet on the road, ride-by shootings, wild animal attacks and a fair few bounty hunt challenges.
Rockstar are also promising a brand new online multiplayer experience, which will arrive on the back of everything that they’ve learned as a result of the success of Grand Theft Auto V. We’re expecting this to be a big selling feature for the game with the importance of online multiplayer action for modern gaming.
Graphics
Check out the cinematic trailer below and you’ll have all of your answers about the look and feel of Red Dead Redemption 2. It seems like it’s going to have the depth and space of Fallout 4, but with the graphical excellence of Watch Dogs 2 or Battlefield 1. We’ll have to wait for gameplay visuals to be released before we know for sure, but it’s looking very impressive at the moment.
First impressions
Red Dead Redemption 2 will be landing in a world post GTA V with the same development team firing it along. If there’s a snifter of the same immersive experience, but with a wild wild west setting then this should be unmissable. All eyes will be on the online multiplayer gameplay experience to see if it can deliver on the possibilities that the game concept provides, and if it does they we’ve got ourselves a future classic on our blood stained and hard weathered hands.
