The graphics, engine, performance, and production values are insane. As has been the norm since GTAIV, graphics are photorealistic, loading times are short, transitions from outdoors to indoors are seamless, set designs are impeccable, and the devs have simulated many key activities. The result is a gorgeous and rich virtual world. You experience a piece of the beauty of America, particularly the Rockies and the South. You also get to visit 1900 New Orleans - one of the great world cities of the 19th century.
Unlike Skyrim, where one can genuinely play for 50 hours while barely advancing the main quest (and which I beat in 35 hours and never looked at again), RDR2 is far more linear than it appears to be. With few side quests and side activities, RDR2 revolves around its main story, which has a good first half and a weak conclusion, further hampered by a contradictory protagonist and a choking fog of PC.
Between the opening and the midway climax in the game's major city, the story proceeds nicely, with new challenges, characters, vistas, and gameplay introduced along the way. You are a gunslinger in a struggling band of outlaws ran by a charismatic fellow by the name of Dutch. The second half of the game, though, drags horribly. It becomes clear that your leader is a psychotic loser, and your protagonist is his boss's pathetic obedient stooge. The gameplay stagnates, as does the character development. The PC thickens, suffocating the plot. Side characters blend into each other to form a gaggle of unwashed thugs and superhuman tokens. The game drags.
At its core RDR2 is mainly a shooter, and as such it is bland. For purposes of realism, the variety of weapons is extremely limited to what you would expect. Beyond that, you take cover and use your bullet time to score headshots - and that's it.
While worth the price of admission, RDR2 is not the megahit the fake news mainstream reviews make it out to be. It's a phenomenal technology showpiece, but a mediocre game. I enjoyed all of Witcher 3, KCD, GTAV, FC4, and even LA Noir better than this one. They had more variety, better vistas, better characters, and more fun than the preachy but strangely colorless RDR2.
8/10; not pre-ordering the next R* effort.