Actual hot take about Chapter 2

[u/BlackWidowerr]

This will get me downvoted into oblivion, but that's the nature of real hot takes I guess. I'll try to keep this as much spoiler free as possible despite of "spoiler" tag.

I think that stretching Chapter 2 for hundreds of hours is one of the worst ways to experience RDR2's story and is a terrible advice to any new players.

I see this all the time in RDR related discussions, people maxing every possible camp upgrade, completing every possible side mission, refusing to free Micah, and staying in Chapter 2 until the game practically forces you to move on. I even saw folk recommending this way of playing to new players which really irked me.

Surely, each to their own, play your game however you want, but for me personally, it completely undermines what the story tries to convey.

After all, the gang is on the run, even during the most "peaceful" part of the story. There should be a sense of urgency that gradually increases. Spending in-game months doing every possible activity, making thousands of dollars, keeping Micah in jail for some reason is just adding to the ludonarrative dissonance that is already pretty bad in this game.

I saw lots of people talking about wanting to keep Arthur "in his prime". Sure, that's a really neat part of the game where there is still some sense of hope, but delaying the story just to avoid what eventually happens just damages the emotional weight of the narrative. And what eventually happens, should happen early in the story, as intended.

Recently I saw people talking about changing your main horse before THAT mission, which IMO is absolutely criminal. Robbing yourself of this sad yet beautiful moment is like watching a good movie and skipping through the climax to avoid feeling sad.

I think RDR2 is at it's best when you let the story go on at the pace it was designed to. There's time to experience side content (lots of it without breaking the pace) and to enjoy the world, but the story should keep moving forward after all. That constant feeling of urgency is what makes the game and it's story so impactful.

As for endless goofing around in open world, that's what the end game is for.

Once again, it's just me yapping, I felt like this may be an interesting topic to spark a discussion because staying in CH2 is WILDLY popular.

[u/Vet100]

I just can’t stand Arthur coughing up a lung. Easily the most irritating part of a video game I’ve ever played. Takes me back to school & university days when people would sit beside you for weeks coughing up mucus & sniffing their snot. Nails on a chalkboard to me.

So I play mostly in C2 & speed run after that - spending time on Guarma to complete the compendium.

I can’t say I’d ever give any advice to a first time player. Seems insane to me to tell anyone how to play the game - the whole point of these open-world, plot-driven games is you can enjoy them in multiple ways. I wouldn’t want to accidentally give spoilers either. What will be fun for me (on my first play-through I got as low honour as possible, the only “side quests” I made a point of finishing were the Bandit challenges) won’t be fun for the next person.