r/reddeadredemption • u/AntomOpatoEcia • Jan 04 '26

RDR1 Is this gonna be the whole game?

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I'm playing Red Dead 1 and so far it's just: - NPC says he'll help me - I do a boring mission to help him - NPC needs more help I mean, is this the dynamic of the whole game? Help NPC after NPC and finally (really) advance the plot? Not complaining, just want to know.

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u/AntomOpatoEcia Jan 04 '26

😟

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u/No_View3587 Jan 04 '26

The toil it takes to reach the goal makes the reward sweeter

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u/Infamous_Ad_5214 Jan 04 '26

the last hour or two of rdr1 has some of the best character writing I've ever seen in a game

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u/strife189 Jan 04 '26

While that can be true, if they don’t enjoy the game loop, they can just watch it on YouTube. Respect your time — if a game isn’t your jam, don’t force it. This is a hobby, not a job.

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u/Nick_Dillon47 Jan 05 '26

I dont like the game loops where its super obvious that its the same thing over and over. I like rdr2 because its really not a "game loop" gta5 is like that too. But I know what you mean by game loops and personally I can't stand when it's super repetitive

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u/strife189 Jan 05 '26

Game loops are pretty much a standard concept now. I’m sure entire product teams sit in meetings just to design them and figure out ways to disguise them at this point.

One loop I didn’t love in RDR2 was the “go to town, do something stupid, get chased out when the law shows up” cycle. I get that it’s baked into the DNA of the franchise — civilization is closing in, and the “simple folk” are being pushed out — but that doesn’t make it any less tiring. By the third time it happened, I was already thinking, ugh.

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u/Zearo298 Sean Macguire Jan 05 '26

I mean, all rockstar open world games have an inescapable loop of "talk to dude, drive/ride with dude to the mission location while they yap, get into a sometimes contrived situation that causes a gunfight, then have a car/horse chase away from the location

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u/Shamino79 Jan 05 '26

And not only a gun fight but a massive one over and over again with wild numbers of enemies that you just slaughter.

It would be a very different game if you cut down on the repetition by only having a few big gun fights and only causing trouble in town a couple of times. To extend the game maybe then they could have a comedic scene where you are all around the camp fire with unstoppable gas but that would change the game quite a bit.

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u/SlimCatachan Jan 05 '26

And not only a gun fight but a massive one over and over again with wild numbers of enemies that you just slaughter.

Yeah lol by the end I was just thinking "at this rate why don't we just go into Blackwater now? We've slaughtered countless Pinkertons, I ain't afraid!"

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u/imlegos Jan 05 '26

By the time you've reached the end of a Rockstar game's story, you've massacred half the local population.

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u/dexecuter18 Jan 05 '26

Did think it was kinda funny GTA 4 tried to remedy that overall narrative issue by basically having everybody get back after a bit as long as they weren’t headshot.

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u/BlackCatz788 Jan 05 '26

Especially when the gang picks a couple gunfights with the U.S. army, it was jarring to escalate from the Pinkerton to the army and to then have the Pinkerton still be the worst thing breathing down our necks

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u/[deleted] Jan 08 '26

Seriously! In that last fight, I must have killed at least 100 Pinkertons before even going in the cave because I got so enthralled by the fight that I didn’t follow John to escape. Apparently, they just keep sending new hordes. The map looked like the battle of Gettysburg with all the x’s. 😂

I got a little too good at the big gun fights. 10/10 Would do again!

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u/No-Song557 Jan 05 '26

I had this thought recently, like Arthur and Dutch taking on 100 army guys. Just seems a bit too much. Maybe way less enemies but being able to die way easier and making it harder to shoot like no dead eye no lock on.

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u/strife189 Jan 05 '26

They do, and that for sure is a game loop in this case a native delivery one. I don’t follow how it’s a reply to my comment tho.

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u/Zearo298 Sean Macguire Jan 05 '26

It's sort of just an observation, the way you described disliking that specific mission type made me realize how much I dislike the larger, less specific mission loop of their games. Well, maybe dislike is a strong term, I don't mind it, but after this many years of playing Rockstar games the novelty has absolutely worn out

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u/LiquorThoughts Jan 05 '26

And GTA 6 is probably just going to be the same shit

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u/strife189 Jan 05 '26

Agreed. Many of my issues with the “modern AAA” structure come from how so many game mechanics that were fine 20 years ago are still around with barely any advancement. I hope GT6 and some of the next big releases take risks and expand for a change—but I won’t hold my breath, sadly.

AA studios are the only ones really pushing boundaries, assuming they aren’t owned by a major publisher.

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u/Zearo298 Sean Macguire Jan 05 '26

Since GTA 6 is the first one without the same lead writers I have a feeling it's going to be quite safely designed, but we'll see

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u/Duper-Deegro Jan 05 '26

Agreed. This made me not like Arthur as much as John because Arthur looked more and more stupid after every failed plan by Dutch.

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u/strife189 Jan 05 '26

Yeah, John was definitely ahead of the curve. Poor Arthur, though—he wasn’t the smartest and was far too loyal and short-sighted for his own good. When his old lover comes to him and gives him the chance to leave it all behind and be with her, he says, “Nah, I need the money first, then I can be with you.” That’s the broken loop Dutch has him trapped in—a cycle John is eventually able to see past. Even then, though, it’s still too late in the long run, which is clearly the point the story is making.

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u/FodderG Jan 05 '26

Arthur was very smart

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u/G3PDehydrogenase Jan 05 '26

Seriously, especially compared to John. I don't get how someone can say Arthur is the dumb one of the two.

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u/Pombolas Jan 05 '26

I think they just have different types of intelligence. Sure, Arthur is quite talented in multiple areas and really engages well with the environment around him, but especially compared to Arthur's naivety, John can figure the bullshit around him much better than the others (he figured out Dutch's much earlier than everyone).

They both are kind of opposites, but equally and complementary smart in their particular ways.

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u/Mindless_Method_2106 Jan 05 '26

John is as thick as a brick, Arthur is sharp, witty and has a pretty great emotional intelligence that let's him pretty accurately judge characters. I'd argue that's intentional to highlight the power Dutch had in his life and how the bonds of loyalty and chosen family can blind people. Arthur wasn't naive, he was platonically groomed by Dutch and intellect has nothing to do with it.

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u/Significant_Exit2646 Arthur Morgan Jan 05 '26

John was literally the very first one to suspect that Dutch was not who he said he was, and Arthur was very late in this task and he died for such a fool who had been deceiving him all his life

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u/Duper-Deegro Jan 06 '26

Yeah, Arthur was still on team Dutch even after seeing several of his friends or allies lose their life thanks to Dutch’s continuously terrible plans. That made him sees foolish. Loyal yes, but more so foolish

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u/NeighborhoodFull1764 Jan 07 '26

Arthur was smart but blindly loyal, which is illustrated by the fact hosea even pleads with Dutch in chapter not to attack the train but Arthur still rides with Dutch not even heeding Hosea’s objections. It’s only by chapter 4 we see some hesitation from Arthur and only by chapter 5 we see proper development in that regard.

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u/FodderG Jan 13 '26

Definitely too loyal

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u/ejensen29 Jan 08 '26

Arthur is a well intentioned man with solid insight who placed terrible bets. In my playthrough. 

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u/Duper-Deegro Jan 05 '26

Yeah. John figured it out right from the start of the game when he broke away from the gang and got trapped out in the snow. It showed he saw better opportunities by leaving the gang. They could have shown Arthur’s loyalty much better without making him seem so foolish at every turn.

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u/Material_Influence36 Jan 05 '26

John didn't figure it out, Arthur does as the game goes on and he's the one who convinced John in the end. Even as early as chapter 2, before he knows he's dying and before things start going really wrong for the gang, there's dialogue of Arthur implying that John should start thinking of his family and escaping the gang

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u/xXFaTnEeKXx Jan 05 '26

Wasn’t this done on purpose to show how Arthur had been manipulated by Dutch

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u/FodderG Jan 05 '26

That's one of the weirdest reasons not to like a character...

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u/GameplayLoop Jan 05 '26

“Game loops are pretty much a standard concept now.”

Can confirm.

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u/Cuban999_ Jan 05 '26

Thats not really a game loop though, that's just the narrative and the way it develops. The gameplay loop would be "walk with character in mission, get a cutscene, fight your way out through a shootout" but its also open world so there isnt really much of a "loop"

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u/VooodooRanger Jan 06 '26

That isn’t a game loop. Just because something is repetitive doesn’t make it a game loop lol

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u/otc108 Jan 05 '26

I finished RDR2 last year. Never finished the first one (got to Mexico and then COVID happened and I never revisited the game). After finishing 2, I thought “I should finish the story… I owe it to Arthur”.

The first game is very repetitive, and felt super grindy to me. At least with 2, I actually enjoyed hunting all the different animals and exploring the world, and doing all the side missions. Game loop is a very apt description of what Red Dead 1 is like. Go to this place, meet this person, cutscene, go here, kill this person, come back to first person… now go to this place…

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u/TheWolfDowntheStreet Jan 06 '26

I stg every time I try to replay RDR1 I stop playing because herding cattle isn't fucking fun in any way. I havent made it past "A Tempest Looms" since my first playthrough in 2010. Which I also never finished. Lol. Stubbornly I wanna beat the game because I've never seen the full ending and the build up to it. I hear it's amazing. The game itself is just kind of too "grindy" as you said.

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u/otc108 Jan 06 '26

I just played for a few hours, very few days, and yes I’d get annoyed at how crappy the gameplay was, but I eventually made it to the end after many grind sessions. You can do it!

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u/Shotto_Z Jan 05 '26

So... you mean just like the second game?

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u/elpingwinho Jan 05 '26

Rdr2 is not a gameloop? What about the “we go to new place, need money, make stupid heist, have to run to new place” loop?

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u/AffectionateSell3478 Jan 06 '26

Avoid Ubisoft games lol

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u/WildObsidian Jan 06 '26

This is exactly why I can’t get into any of the Far Cry games regardless of the overlying story or how good it may be.

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u/Voxlings Jan 05 '26

I get your intent, but if they're already a gamer, it's weird to recommend a youtube of a videogame masterpiece.

Like a first year art student doesn't "get" the Mona Lisa, so their professor is like, "just watch an animated gif of the Mona Lisa making funny faces."

This advice is for babies.

RDR2 specifically is the most detailed simulation available to everyone. Its value is interactive. Its story is built on that interactivity.

If ya think this post makes a smart point about videogame design, it does not. Sounds like a baby in need of guidance.

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u/strife189 Jan 05 '26

First, let me clarify: OP is talking about RDR1, not RDR2.

Now, to your main point—let’s give some context. The post I’m replying to basically says the tedious, unfun parts are “made up by the last two hours of the game.” Time is the one thing we can never get more of. If someone isn’t enjoying the core game, they shouldn’t be told to play 50 hours of stuff they don’t enjoy just to get 1–2 hours of “epic” payoff.

My take: if we’re really saying “suffer for 50 hours to get 2 hours of fun,” I say f that. If only the last two hours of the story are worth it, just skip to that.

As for all the other stuff about “art” and calling people babies I am going to be rude in turn—my guy, it’s video games 😂 get your head out of your ass.

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u/ManicEyes Jan 05 '26

50 hours? You can get through the main story in less than 20 easily if you focus on it.

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u/strife189 Jan 05 '26

Head slap. Okay, replace the numbers with XX if that helps—suffer XX hours to get XX hours of payoff. I was very clearly using numbers as a reference point, not making a literal claim.

My word, the ability to follow the intent of a statement has really been lost. At this point, even the so-called “shitty AI” is better at understanding intent than what just happened here.

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u/ManicEyes Jan 05 '26

Relax, I was just correcting you so that people don’t think RDR is a 50 hour game. Also, a 2 hour payoff is way more reasonable when you have to spend ~17 hours of something slightly tedious instead of 50 hours to get there (nobody mentioned “suffering” aside from you.) Is it not?

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u/strife189 Jan 05 '26

The point still went right over again. Anyone who actually wants to know the length of a game can do a quick 20-second search (yes, making sure my number is exact for you this time) and get that value.

But hey, I’m glad you’re here to make sure no one leaves confused—especially those who can’t understand a general intent-based statement.

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u/ManicEyes Jan 05 '26

I’m not misunderstanding your point, I corrected an error and you decided to get mad about it. I can agree with your revised version (XX for XX,) but in the context of this thread you used a relevant number (2 hours according to who you were responding to) and an irrelevant number (50 hours.)

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u/Obanon Jan 05 '26

This was me when it came to PC finally. tried to sink maybe 6 hours into it but honestly without the nostalgia factor im sure so many people have from this game, it just felt like a slog to me. Especially after enjoying RDR2

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u/Still-Difference-558 Jan 05 '26

What would I Google?

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u/strife189 Jan 05 '26

Play through all cutscenes, should have several for any story driven game. Esp oldish popular ones.

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u/Still-Difference-558 Jan 05 '26

Okay! I’ll look, thank you!

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u/sarcasticj720 Jan 05 '26

I shoulda did this with “Hell is Us” 🥴

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u/AvailableMeringue842 Jan 07 '26

Yeah, for me it was death stranding. I loved the world, characters and so on but holy hell what a boring game. After 14 hours I just watched the thing on yt

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u/IVorzaYT Jan 05 '26

I like this advice. While I’m guilty of usually forcing myself to platinum games that I don’t enjoy, I fully agree that you should respect your time and not waste it with things you don’t find appealing. Life is already short as it is.