8 Reasons Red Dead Redemption 2 Still Feels Like the Most Immersive Open World Ever Made

Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of the all-time greats in the gaming world, and it did so by giving us a compelling story, an incredible world to explore, and one of the best-written characters of all time in Arthur Morgan.

But more than all that, it was immersive in a way that other games really weren't. There was a sense of "here" that other games in the genre often have struggled to convey. It was realistic and magical all at once, like a portal through time to a romanticized time that ends up being a lot darker and more terrifying than the old western movies may have had us believe.

We're going to explore what made Red Dead Redemption 2 one of the most immersive games of all time.

8 The Movement

Weighty and Real

The movement in Red Dead Redemption 2 has gotten a lot of flack over the years, with words like sluggish and stiff being thrown around. While I can understand that, the focus on realism here means that the people need to move like people as well. Arthur is a big guy, and he moves as such. Walking slowly through camp, having realistic momentum to start running and stopping and generally, being very deliberate with any movement he makes.

This carries over to horseback riding, carriage rides, running and hiding during shootouts and my favorite, the weight of the melee combat. Melee in this game is just tremendous, as the feeling of laying in a big punch has seldom felt better in a game, because it really feels like Arthur is putting his soul into these punches when he finds himself in a bar fight. The system itself isn't drowning in depth, but the impact makes you feel like you're really laying these hits in. That feeling is there in everything you do in the game.

7 The Sound

The Grit and Beauty in Simpler Times

While you might not focus on sound all the time in games, there are certain ones where the sound is incredibly important. Nailing the sound in Red Dead Redemption 2 was one of those cases, as it aimed to be a time portal to an important era in American history and everything had to be on point for that portal to work.

Luckily, Rockstar didn't slouch here. They understood the assignment and everything from the ambiance of a bustling city to the explosive gunfire or a bustling theater that sounds incredibly authentic here. At least, it certainly seems that way. Nobody can be certain what it sounded like back then, but it feels like Rockstar left no stone unturned to make sure the sounds weren't too over the top or too subtle. That air of authenticity bursts through the speakers, and it makes for one of the more impressive audio achievements of the modern generation.

6 The Towns

Big Cities, Small Towns

Red Dead Redemption 2 has towns and cities that put most open-world games to shame. From the old western trappings of Armadillo to the dawn of the new era brilliance of Saint-Denis, every town and city is bursting with personality. You can feel it when you enter some of the less advanced towns, with the townsfolk looking far more ragged than the upper-scale denizens of the big bustling cities.

The attractions you have access to also differ from place to place. You're not going to find a theater in every town, for example, and you're not going to find bar fights in every city either. Each place has a particular personality that makes you feel like either a small fish in a big lake or the big fish in a pond.

5 NPC Life

True Companions

Most games have NPCs dishing out quests to you that rarely matter again after the fact. Red Dead Redemption 2 is built differently in this regard. These people that require something of you, they're fully realized characters. They will let you do their mission for them, but they'll remember you, they'll greet you, they'll ask you about your day or how you're feeling.

The quest givers and side characters here are static throughout the game, they don't just disappear once you complete a deed for them. This may seem like a small thing, but it makes everything feel that much more real. It makes you want to learn their stories further and with some characters, you can return later for further missions that flesh out that story, while others, they'll be fine with a one-and-done favor you perform for them and go on the rest of the game doing their thing and acknowledging your presence whenever you come and say hi.

You don't get the perfect ending for each character you do a mission for and that's the point. This world isn't pretty, it's not perfect and every character doesn't get a happy ending, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

4 The Land of Stories

You Don't Need Dialogue to Tell a Tale

There are many forms of storytelling in the gaming world. The straightforward, which is show don't tell, exposition dumps, which is a more boring but also common method, and then there is environmental storytelling. That is the most important kind when it comes to immersion. And Red Dead Redemption 2 is an expert in this regard.

There are tons of situations in the game that might not have direct answers. You can find the crime scenes of a serial killer, and follow the trail if you so choose. You can enter a home and find evidence of a scuffle, but there are no quest markers telling you it's time for a sidequest. You might come across a skeleton, but there is nothing telling you where it came from except some surrounding items.

It's a brilliant way to craft a world and here, it makes you feel part of the danger and the wonder. It's immersive because it's mysterious. The answers aren't always there. Sometimes the quest that might've been there in other games, has long past here. You may be seeing the end of someone else's story. You can make up your own reason, and it puts you into the story in an ingenious way.

3 Gunplay

Shooting is an Art Form

The gunplay in Red Dead Redemption 2 is a bit divisive because some think it's perfect, and others think it's stiff and unresponsive. I sit somewhere in the middle, but one thing is for certain, is that it's immersive. Every gun has a weight to it when you fire, and the differences between the various guns mean you really need to consider which one to take when heading out on a mission.

Each weapon you can literally feel in your controller when you reload, and the kickback, handling, and even the condition of the gun all impact how effective it's going to be when you find yourself in a shootout. Sure, the Deadeye mechanic doesn't scream realism, but everything around it feels like a real-life shootout in the old days. Even the time to kill feels scarily realistic here, for both you and the enemies alike. Bullets tear through environments too, giving a terrifying feel to the action once the guns are drawn.

2 The Characters

Authentic As Can Be

Anytime I'm playing a game, there is usually one character that kind of takes me out of it. Someone with a strange voice actor, some dialogue that feels a bit too modern or out of place, just something that doesn't fit. In Red Dead Redemption 2, there is none of that. Every character is brilliantly crafted, totally of the time and the cast is incredibly diverse, with each character being carefully written to match the tone.

It's why when a character inevitably dies during the story it hurts. Minor or major, they all feel like real people. Whether you spend 10 minutes talking with them or 10 hours doing missions with them, you feel the relationship. The chemistry bursts off the screen, which is a testament to the voice-over talent and direction, because none of these people were likely in the same room when recording their lines, and yet they feel just as present as two actors sharing the screen. It's an amazing achievement and a white whale of sorts that the gaming industry has been chasing since 2018.

1 The Living World

Everything Feels Random

Whether it's a woman tied to the train tracks, animals approaching before friendly and aggressive alike or just bandits gathering round a campfire trying to catch some warmth and eat before hijacking a nearby train, the immersion of the world is just unparalleled. Walking out of a town in Red Dead Redemption 2 feels scary and wondrous at the same time.

It's because there is nothing on the map telling you what is going to happen. There are no exclamation points on the map to tell you, "go here!" It all happens whether you're there or not. Those bandits are going to keep on eating and drinking at the campfire if you don't intervene. That woman on the train tracks is going to die if you don't help her. The world continues without you and there is nothing that feels more immersive than that.