Roundtable: Our Favorite Games of This Generation

Josh Miller – The Family Man

Red Dead Redemption 2

I want to go back to it. I don’t say that to many games, but with Red Dead Redemption 2, it’s absolutely the case. I fell in love with the world. Where some found boredom, I found a relaxing trot through a beautiful landscape. Where some found long-winded, I found (mostly) a story where I didn’t want to see the end. I find Red Dead Redemption 2 is not only my favorite game of the generation but in my top 10 for all time.

For one, the world had me hook, line, and sinker. The random events that would crop up from time to time, although repeated, brought the world to life in ways most open-world games don’t. I also loved running across scenes that people may never see whether it the weird couple who invite Arthur to dinner or the home of The Strange Man. The story of Arthur Morgan was also well-paced and helped set the scene for the game that preceded it. Even Arthur’s conclusion, as heartbreaking and inevitable as it was, felt like it was well deserved and couldn’t have ended any other way.

I’m not naive enough to think it was flawless though. I do wish the camp mechanics were more rewarding. I really wish Guarma never made it into the game. Nothing about the online mode has won me over. Despite all of this, Red Dead Redemption 2 surpassed my lofty goals. I dreaded playing the game at times. Not because I hated the game, but because I didn’t want my experience to end. And quite frankly, I’m saddened that it did.

Before anyone goes back to my 2018 GOTY list to judge its placement of #2 on my list…time has passed and I had just finished the game. Now, almost two years later…I think I’m willing to move it up one. It may have its flaws. But not many games this generation left such a lasting impression in my thoughts, as great as many have been. But Red Dead Redemption 2? It left the best ones.