i just picked up rdr on switch and was struck by how much the "lone cowboy" framing, marston's separation from his family and his mandate from the pinkertons to take in bill allows rdr to really just play with basically every western trope in a way that makes the game seem more lightweight. What's the driving force in the first …
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i just picked up rdr on switch and was struck by how much the "lone cowboy" framing, marston's separation from his family and his mandate from the pinkertons to take in bill allows rdr to really just play with basically every western trope in a way that makes the game seem more lightweight. What's the driving force in the first thirty minutes? establishing your cred, on your own terms, so that you can take bill in. everything you do is in service of establishing yourself within the confines of the game's mechanics so that you become the person that approached fort mercer by the time you get to that mission later on.
it's a nice twist because you sort of understand where you're supposed to end up but you don't know how you get there and if you're in the mood for some pretty straightforward missions, you eventually roleplay renegade long enough to know what you'd need to do to have accomplished the first cutscene successfuly.
my main takeaway here is how light this game feels. it's very open, has just a handful of missions and mechanics in the beginning, and doesn't feel burdened down by much. it's clear what's going on, it's clear what you're supposed to be doing. after twenty minutes or so you can already roam across the area and take in the sights and run into random challenge npcs. it's more arcade-ey and more role-play heavy in that sense, and less like an interactive fiction setpiece.
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