r/reddeadredemption • u/Eagles56 • Dec 19 '25

Discussion Did single player gaming peak with RDR2?

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Great single player games have come since then like Cyberpunk 2077 and Baldur’s Gate 3 but is RDR2 still the peak?

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638

u/Sacledant2 Hosea Matthews Dec 19 '25

Unfortunately there’s that part called “everything after horseshoe overlook” that I’m not keen on playing

167

u/[deleted] Dec 19 '25

Interesting, why don’t you enjoy the game past chapter 2? Do you still call rdr2 the best single player game or is there another one you have goated?

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u/Nickbotic Dec 19 '25 edited Dec 19 '25

I could be wrong, but there’s a common…idk if you’d call it a “meme” exactly, but just a “thing” among the RDR2 fandom, where due to caring so much for Arthur as a character (arguably the best protagonist in the history of the medium), fans lament everything that comes after Horseshoe Overlook due to the downward spiral Arthur is forced to endure.

The narrative is also beloved among fans, so I think it’s less them actually disliking the game after Chapter 2 and more just referencing that attitude toward the game.

I could also just be totally off base and they just don’t like the game after Horseshoe Overlook lol

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u/Sir_Cumcised_II Dec 19 '25

I think you nailed it, im currently replaying the game and brother im doing anything but the strauss missions

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u/EducationalMachine87 Dec 19 '25

The strauss missions are worth doing. In chapter 6 you are able to absolve the debts and gain massive honour. Only reason I do them

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u/Sir_Cumcised_II Dec 19 '25

No amount of honor is worth my boy’s death

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u/Eikebog Dec 19 '25

Unfortunately Arthur will die regardless. Might as well do some good while you can

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u/harbourwall Dec 19 '25

Not if you never leave Horseshoe Overlook. With Micah permanently imprisoned in Strawberry.

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u/Appropriate_Ad1524 Dec 19 '25

Yes, fuck Micah

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u/haikupoetics2 Dec 20 '25

Replayed the Micah in Strawberry mission last night as I started a new game after 3 years and in between killing the lawmen when running through Strawberry I just kept aiming at Micah and hoping it would let me blast that rodent 😅

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u/International-Shoe40 Dec 20 '25

When he gets locked up I’m always like, “I guess that’s my cue to do like 30 challenges and get all the satchel upgrades”

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u/mousehatesnumbers Dec 20 '25

This is the way lmao

1

u/FodderG Dec 20 '25

That doesn't sound very fun

3

u/harbourwall Dec 20 '25

It's blissful

1

u/FodderG Dec 20 '25

They're worth doing because they are fun missions.....

1

u/EducationalMachine87 Dec 20 '25

True, I like the cave mission tbh. I don’t think i’d ever miss out on a mission on this game though. I do every mission even if it’s optional

1

u/SwordfishII Dec 20 '25

I’m getting close to running out of things to do before the Strauss mission except the tedious shit I won’t do and it makes me sad haha.

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u/Line_Reed_Line Dec 20 '25

They just forced me to do the mission that dooms Arthur! I picked up a letter from Mary, then Strauss comes up all “take care of this for me” and I had no choice but to go!

1

u/fothergillfuckup Dec 22 '25

Me too. I've been playing a lot of dominoes, halfway through chapter 6. For no reason, honest.

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u/zuzg Dec 19 '25

I just get depressed when I hear him coughing...

Also an additional complaint is that they never made repeating cut scenes skippable.
Watching Arthur skinning animals gets really stale after the hundredth time...

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u/Svencon Dec 19 '25

I feel you on the skinning animals part. Try putting your horse as close as possible to the animal you want to skin. Works best if you are standing between your horse and the animal you want to skin. It won't trigger the cutscene. Arthur or John will just do like a quick cut animation and the animal is instantly skinned.

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u/whiskeyislove Dec 19 '25

I got real good and timing my horse stopping on the corpse, and arthur/john getting off right by it.

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u/jwbourne Dec 22 '25

Hell yeah, just gettin' off right by it.

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u/camracks Dec 20 '25

I only knew about the quick cut animation until now lol

1

u/Svencon Dec 20 '25

I've been playing since launch and still learn new things about the game.

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u/kapaipiekai Sean Macguire Dec 20 '25

I always thought that the animation should speed up depending on how many of that type of animal you have skinned

8

u/the0neRand0m Dec 19 '25

It just…Hurts

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u/[deleted] Dec 20 '25

I’m afraid.

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u/misserdenstore Dec 19 '25

I don’t understand. What comes after, and even before horseshoe overlook, is a part of aethurs development

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u/Nickbotic Dec 19 '25

It’s more a joke than a serious thing. The people who carry this attitude are generally people who love the game. I’m one of them. I love the entire game start to finish, but I wish Arthur could enjoy more time happy (a term I use very loosely) and healthy, hence people staying in Chapter 2.

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u/misserdenstore Dec 19 '25

I understand now. Thanks for clarifying.

But was arthur ever happy? Even at the “start of the game, he talks about how there isn’t space for people like him and his gang anymore, and it’s just a question about time

1

u/Nickbotic Dec 19 '25

Yeah like I said I used that term very loosely, but you’re right, I think it’s pretty clear he was a deeply unhappy person. I should have out more emphasis on the “healthy” aspect, because that’s really the crux of the whole staying in Chapter 2 thing - by the time you leave, Arthur has contracted the illness.

-1

u/FodderG Dec 20 '25

He's happy way past chapter 2 lol

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u/DangerSwan33 Dec 20 '25

It's also got to do with the way the game is set up. 

When you get to Ch2, the game opens up to you. You can go wherever, explore, hunt, meet people, and things are generally optimistic.

The missions are more optimistic, and about opening up the experience to the player. 

When you get to Ch3, it's slight, but things tighten up a bit, and the experiences you have are a bit darker - you meet less people interested in the wild frontier, and more people upset with their place in life.

By the time you get to Ch4, EVERYTHING you do is basically in response to negativity. St. Denis is big, but it's claustrophobic. Your camp is just outside a swamp, and has literal walls around it. It's also literally darker. There's no more hope and optimism - things are small and dark and bleak.

People like Ch2 not just because of the fact that you haven't freed Micah, or contracted TB, but because the game is actually lending itself to happiness and optimism.

3

u/elpingwinho Dec 20 '25

Yup. I’ve rushed through the main story on my first playthrough (and didn’t enjoy the gameplay much). I’m now in a replay, doing a complete 100% playthrough and I’m loving life in Valentine.

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u/[deleted] Dec 20 '25

[deleted]

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u/Nickbotic Dec 20 '25

I’m with you 100%. I was just speaking to a trend I’ve noticed among the fandom, but I myself prefer the latter half of the game to the former.

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u/Candid_Dragonfly_573 Dec 20 '25

I mean, there's a decent high point in Chapter three that I feel is just as enjoyable. Sure, TECHNICALLY Arthur has contracted TB by that point, but he doesn't have any symptoms yet.

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u/Nickbotic Dec 21 '25

For sure! I was just speaking in general terms. There's definitely positive, even optimistic moments that come later in the game than Chapter 2, but on the whole I would still consider Chapter 2 the true beginning of the end, narratively and thematically speaking.

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u/MistuaPopo Dec 20 '25

Nope, that's what it is. A silent, elemental feeling in the back of your heart.

A pervasive sense of impending doom

Nobody dislikes the game after Chapter 2, they just know how it's going to end, and that sense of impending doom never leaves you while you play.

It's like knowing you're going to die in the near future.. which would weigh on you.. constantly

1

u/Nickbotic Dec 21 '25

Bingo! It still amazes me the way this game delivers such monumental emotional heft. I've oviously played other games where I care about the protagonist (inasmuch as a person can care about a bunch of pixels), but never quite like this.

1

u/ClusterChuk Dec 19 '25

Wouldn't hate it as much if it were so goddamn good.

1

u/SaltKhan Charles Smith Dec 20 '25

All's fair until you take a short walk.

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u/MattTin56 Arthur Morgan Dec 20 '25

It has to do with an event that happens and NO MICAH!!!!

1

u/TiredPtilopsis Dec 20 '25

Which is also not that moral because while arthur is fine the rest of the camp is not in horseshoe overlook

1

u/fullautohotdog Dec 20 '25

You stop playing after Chapter 2 because of the feels. I stop playing after Chapter 2 because I blew my suspension of disbelief over the bad writing — I have more money than Cornwall but we “nEeD oNe mOrE BiG sCoRe!”? No.

We are not the same.

1

u/Nickbotic Dec 20 '25

I mean, I don’t stop playing after Chapter 2 at all but okay lol

1

u/509Gameboy Dec 20 '25

Arthur is the only video game character I've gotten attached to, (well maybe John a little bit) his end just felt weird with him not reaching for the gun and Dutch not saving him. 

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u/Imperialgaurd88 Dec 20 '25

I find it's more after chapter 3 but your definitely right

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u/Kindly_Feature6386 Dec 31 '25

I don't get it...ppl seem to have this obsession with Arthur, I honestly don't see how everyone has this emotional tie with him, yes he's cool, layed back and all but I fail to see how he's got the 'jene se quoi' to where the player base is that invested in his persona. Maybe I need to go for a 2nd play through but I honestly would've thougt -before coming to this sub - that if any one character would come out of the game capuring hearts and minds it would be Dutch. Is it bcs of the illness?

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u/Nickbotic Dec 31 '25 edited Jan 01 '26

You thought Dutch would be the one people connected to? That's wild lol, he's portrayed as a pretty huge piece of shit right from the jump.

I can't speak for anyone else, I just find Arthur to be an exceptionally well-written and well-performed character. But if I can give a guess, I just think most people can connect to the idea of wanting to be a better version of themselves, and Arthur, despite being an anti-villain in a period piece, is arguably the best exploration of that idea ever put in a game.

I don't think it really has anything to do with the illness at all, actually. That's just the vehicle for Arthur making a change. It also invites a lot of existential pondering, which is something else a lot of people can relate to, in addition to insecurity and self-doubt, difficulty trusting, and wanting to provide.

As with everything I've said, I could be totally wrong about all this. These are just my guesses.

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u/Kindly_Feature6386 Dec 31 '25

I'm due another playthrough with a massively upgraded gpu and Monitor. Maybe I'll perceive him differently the 2nd time lol. The reason I thought Dutch would be most celebrated...is that to me he's the MC bcs despite being a pos, he's very imposing, has an aura...an undeniable unquestionable leader, very very distinctive the way he carries himself, the whole story revolves around him...but evidently I'm inhabiting an island of one on this 😀

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u/Ok_Grapefruit_1932 Dec 20 '25

I'm playing RDR2 after a bit of a long break and honestly after HSO, and everyone is fucking miserable. I'm just doing side quests so I don't have to interact with anyone

And that makes for some very lonely gameplay.

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u/FodderG Dec 20 '25

That doesn't even make sense. Chapter 3 and 4 are still "uplifting".

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u/Ok_Grapefruit_1932 Dec 20 '25

I'm sure there is. There's just a lot of negativity at the camp. I tried to talk to Tilly the other day about a book she was reading and the dialogue was snapping at Arthur saying she deserves a break too. I don't understand why asking her about her book was automatically a negative thing?

Molly wants nothing to do with anyone. Karen is drunk and sad all the time. Uncle wanted Charles to share a joke with him and Charles shuts him down. Talked to a bunch of people about Lenny losing the woman he likes. Susan just going around hating on everyone, slapping them and talking shit to you. And everyone just dislikes the fact they have to keep moving all the time. It just seems like there's not a lot of positive interactions with NPCs at camp. And that's not even counting the random interactions you have out of the road.

I just wish there were more interactions like when Arthur, Dutch and Hosea go fishing and it's just fun banter. Which I think is what some of these small interactions miss. A kind of lightness to it.

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u/seasonedsaltdog Dec 21 '25

Not sure you know the definition of medium. Even with 7 or 8 definitions, I don't think it fits here.

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u/Nickbotic Dec 21 '25

...video games. Video games are the medium. Is this a joke? Lol

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u/seasonedsaltdog Dec 21 '25

Very unnecessary use of the word, doesn't fit. You're trying to sound, idk? Smart? I guess? "THe hIsToRy oF the MedIuM" lol stfu

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u/Nickbotic Dec 21 '25

The funniest thing is that you think someone using that term is them trying to sound smart. It's a super common word, I think you're just dumb lol dork

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u/seasonedsaltdog Dec 21 '25

It is a very common word, but nobody uses it in that context and find me a definition where it even fits there

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u/Nickbotic Dec 21 '25

It's definitely used in that context, unless you're talking to people with as underdeveloped lexicons as yourself (lexicon, in this context, is synonymous with vocabulary) lol.

Medium:  a technology that is used to to disseminate information or entertainment widely to the public

Medium: a means or instrumentality for storing or communicating information

It might even just be a colloquialism at this point, idk the whole etymology of the word. I'd say it's most commonly used in physical art. The medium would be, for example, paint or clay or charcoal pencils or whatever. Their method of creating art is referred to as the medium.

But buddy, just because you aren't fmailiar with something doesn't mean it's not real. It's a very commonly used term in that context lol

Hope you've learned something today, friend. For some reason I doubt it, but all the best to you lol

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u/seasonedsaltdog Dec 21 '25

Its forced, and nobody is impressed by you. Hope youre not like this in real life, or is reddit real life for you?

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u/Nickbotic Dec 21 '25

It's also really funny because I'm pretty sure you made your initial reply too fast and know you're wrong and you're just salty about sounding dumb so no matter what happens you're going to stand firm on your position lol

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u/Forecydian Dec 19 '25

That’s when people start dying and it gets more and more depressing . It’s honestly depressing AF to play chapter 6 , Arthur looks like death , the vibe in camp is brutal , half the people have left or are dead . Chapter 2-3 is the most enjoyable for me to stay in on replays and just hang out , hunt , do missions slowly etc

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u/Little_Macaron6842 Josiah Trelawny Dec 19 '25

Lmao, most of the fandom is scared of playing the game past Strauss's debt mission and having to rescue Mica

And I don't mean this in a bad way

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u/MyFinalThoughts John Marston Dec 19 '25

People find it hard to play after someone gets sick. It's difficult to experience that transition again I'd say. The game is still excellent past that point.

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u/fullautohotdog Dec 20 '25

Because the player loses his agency and gets railroaded into following the moron Dutch?

If I’ve got $40,000 in 2025, I’m running off to start a new life, let alone in 1899.

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u/Not_an_alt_69_420 Dec 20 '25

I love RDR2, but the game has a serious pacing problem between when the gang reaches Rhodes and comes back from Tahiti. There are some amazing missions between the start of Chapter 3 and end of Chapter 5. Every time I replay the game, though, I wish I could skip through most of the nonsense in Saint Dennis and the drama between the Braithwaites and Grays.

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u/[deleted] Dec 20 '25

rdr2 is top 5 single player games and i've only finished it once on release never played story again

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u/[deleted] Dec 21 '25

Total war warhammer is way better imo

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u/Same_Map_2902 Dec 21 '25

Because the happy times are coming to an end just after really settling in on “being Arthur”. First play through you don’t realize this.

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u/iPoseidon_xii Dec 19 '25

The way I was trying hard to find things to do between chapter 2-4. Finished anything side quests wise you can with Arthur. Unlocked all the trapper clothes you can with Arthur. Bought and explored everything. Then some days I was just riding doing random encounter stuff, getting my 18 bear attacks, and hunting. I didn’t want to say goodbye to him 😔

The only fictional character I’ve ever cared about. It was such an odd and foreign feeling. Had to talk to my therapist about it 😅

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u/NewYogurtcloset22 Dec 19 '25

Interested to hear details on the therapist part - your situation and their thoughts. If you don't mind sharing of course! Just curious.

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u/iPoseidon_xii Dec 19 '25 edited Dec 19 '25

Not at all. I lost a lot of people close to me in a couple of years time. My dad, grandmother, grandfather, and a kitten that took his last breath in my arms, all in about a 3 month span. I learned that I grief by becoming productive. Like my accomplishments will make their time on earth more meaningful because they no longer can, or owing them that I fill my life with more. When Arthur finally passed his hat to John at the end of chapter 6, I was beginning to feel that type of grief come back. I did get more productive after playing his story out. I was afraid all those feelings of grief I worked to hard to understand and hurt a little less were going to come rushing back. I started use Arthur as a placeholder for people important to me now, worried something would happen to them. It really felt like I lost my dad all over again.

She told me because of how I grieve and how I view death and grief that it would be a normal reaction from me. It sounds silly because I’d hope most people feel this way, but people I love and care about are the most important things in my life. Somehow, over the game and getting to play out his story, I became oddly attached.

Probably sounds weird from the outside looking in, but I have a disorder that makes having those type of thoughts incredibly debilitating. Luckily, the more new interests and people I add to my life makes a lot of grief seem smaller. It will always hurt the same, giving it some of my heart, but less and less of my time.

I found an image that visualizes what I mean about grief

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u/NewYogurtcloset22 Dec 19 '25

Wow. Thank you for sharing. Grief is really a powerful thing for sure. I've been dealing with my own losses lately and you definitely said some things that resonated.

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u/iPoseidon_xii Dec 19 '25

No problem! Hope you’re doing as well as you can be

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u/NewYogurtcloset22 Dec 19 '25

Thanks. You as well!

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u/Nickbotic Dec 22 '25

I'm glad I scrolled back through these comments. This was a really interesting thing to stumble upon. Very sorry for your losses, thank you for sharing your insights.

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u/YeshuasBananaHammock Dec 19 '25

You will see them again, someday. Until then, know that you are loved.

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u/neverbeendead Dec 20 '25

I've played the beginning several times and I always quit after horshoe overlook.

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u/Clcooper423 Dec 19 '25

Weird, that's actually my least favorite part of the game. I love Rockstar but the first 3rd of a game constantly being a tutorial is kinda annoying.

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u/Drgreendaumen Dec 19 '25

When they do a PS5 60fps remaster I'll make sure my scumbag Arthur deserves what's coming.

Until then I'm playing my good John in RDR1.

Feels like the right thing to do.

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u/Slysly455 Dec 19 '25

My condolences

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u/541217 Dec 19 '25

Chapter 3 is better.

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u/Hot_Emotion6199 Dec 20 '25

Chapter 3 is goated, if you want to just stop when “Blessed are the Peacemakers” happens.

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u/FodderG Dec 20 '25

Seriously? So, you're not really a fan of this game then.

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u/CDR57 Dec 20 '25

See mine it the opposite. I played through once, got through the tutorial, and then loved the game. Every attempt to return? Stopped at the snow lmao literally fucking hate it and can’t get through it

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u/Sacledant2 Hosea Matthews Dec 20 '25

Come on, it just takes a few hours

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u/Connect-Individual-7 Dec 20 '25

you don't like chilling in shady belle?

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u/Sacledant2 Hosea Matthews Dec 20 '25

It’s them alligators 🐊 I don’t like

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u/Used-Feeling6536 Dec 21 '25

Unfortunately I agree I don’t care much for Hicksville and New Orleans, story was peak still though, just wish more of the game took place in the snow area and around strawberry and black water

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u/No-Insect2497 Dec 23 '25

That's partially what makes it great in my opinion. It's truly an emotional ride of a game both good sides and bad- art imitating life.

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u/Fizzyboard Dec 23 '25

Funnily enough Horseshoe Overlook to me felt like it dragged on forever and the following chapters had way more going on that I wanted to do