Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of the most critically-praised games of all time, but it's not without detractors as well. The chief complaint of most players who didn't enjoy the game, and even some who did, is the incredibly slow, methodical pace RDR2 sets. This is not exclusive to the story itself, as even the game mechanics function slowly, and that is by design.
The cultural phenomenon of Red Dead Redemption 2 shouldn't come as much surprise given Rockstar's track record of stellar performances. The company's flagship franchise Grand Theft Auto is still breaking records seven years after launching GTA V, after all. This high level of performance has become expected of Rockstar due to their craftmanship and in-depth game design. What makes the success of Red Dead Redemption 2 so unique is also a product of the biggest complaints lodged against it - at it's core, RDR2 is a in-depth role-playing game.
When most fans think of role-playing games they immediately think of RPG pioneers like slow down and embrace RDR2's narrative. Simple mechanics such as opening each individual drawer in a chest of drawers and having to look through each one for loot may seem monotonous, but if a real-life person were to search a chest of drawers that's exactly how they would have to do it.
RDR2 Makes You Take Your Time On Purpose
This attention to detail can be seen all throughout RDR2, from looting houses to the dialogue with characters, and no place is it more prevalent than in travel. From the onset of the game travel is meant to be slow and arduous. Players have to travel everywhere by foot or horseback, and on horse it can still take some time to traverse the landscape. Even getting on and off the horse has intricacies that slow the game with differing animations if players are carrying pelts or holstering and removing RDR2's firearms in an effort to draw players deeper into the frontier.
Rockstar intentionally included the cinematic mode camera so players could put Arthur on auto-pilot while traveling and take in the stunning world around them. So, before players even unlock it there is already a quasi fast-travel system in place that works into the game's immersive intentions. Players have to progress through Chapter 2 until they unlock the ledger before being able to purchase the camp upgrades for fast-travel, but even then they can only travel to settlements they've already visited. This feature ensures players will still have to travel the old fashioned way quite regularly.
Rockstar intentionally built the fast-travel system to their immersive role-playing element. They even developed other travel methods, such as the stagecoach system, in a manner that would only moderately circumvent the travel barriers. Every detail about the world of Red Dead Redemption 2, from the fast-travel to the looting animations to keeping Blackwater and beyond blocked off until the Epilogue, makes players take their time, and with each increasingly intricate stroke Rockstar brings players deeper into their immersive alternate reality of the Wild West.