After a full year of delays, Red Dead Redemption 2 has at last been released on Xbox One and PS4. Rockstar Games' long-awaited Western RPG sequel has been met with universal acclaim so far, and – on the day of its release – is already being touted as the best game of the year.
Now that the wait is finally over, there's nothing else to do but saddle up and settle into this gloriously immersive Wild West adventure. That's what the Expert Reviews team will be doing for the next month, at least.
Watch the launch trailer for Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption 2 below, and read on to find out the best place to buy the Red Dead sequel, a game that lives up to every expectation and much, much more.
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Red Dead Redemption 2: ALL editions explained
On top of the Standard Edition (£50), Rockstar has released three special editions of the game in the UK. The first two, the Special Edition (£75) and the Ultimate Edition (£90), include a vast amount of exclusive content that you won't have access to with the normal copy of the game. Both of these editions come with a special printed game world map that you can stick to your wall, but with the Ultimate Edition, you'll also get a collector's steelbook and additional ultra-exclusive online content.
Buy Red Dead Redemption 2 Special Edition and Ultimate Edition now from Game
For true outlaws, Rockstar has created the Collector's Box (exclusive to Game) which you can purchase either on its own or in combination with any edition of Red Dead Redemption 2 you'd like. This loot chest is packed full of collectable treasures, from metal pins, playing cards, and a treasure map to a double-sided Red Dead puzzle and a wearable six shooter bandana. This box of booty will set you back £90 – please note does that on its own the Collector's Box does not include a copy of the game.
Buy Red Dead Redemption 2 Collector's Box now from Game
Even if you end up buying the Ultimate Collector's Edition (the Ultimate Edition plus the Collector's Box) which costs a hideous £180, we have a funny feeling that Rockstar will stick you up for a few dollars more when the DLC wagon rolls around.
Buy Red Dead Redemption 2 Ultimate Collector's Edition now from Game
Of course, Red Dead Redemption 2 is available from a wide number of other retailers; Game just happens to be the only store which offers all editions of the game.
Amazon is selling Red Dead Redemption 2 Standard Edition (£50) and Special Edition (£75) for the same price as Game, but you can only buy Ultimate Edition (£90) on Xbox One, not PS4, and even then only as a download code rather than as a physical copy of the game.
Although there aren't as many editions available, you might prefer Amazon due to its speedy delivery service – especially if you have Amazon Prime or Prime Now .
Whichever way you end up buying Red Dead Redemption 2, one thing is for certain: you're going to have a damn good time!
Keep reading to find out everything you need to know about the Red Dead sequel/prequel and watch all of the pre-launch trailers while you're at it.
Red Dead Redemption 2: Everything you need to know
1. Red Dead Redemption 2 is OUT NOW
After eight long and lonely years of waiting, the sequel (but actually a prequel) to the original Red Dead Redemption has been released – and you can buy it right now !
Despite speculation of a late 2016 release date, Red Dead Redemption 2 was initially pencilled in for a Fall 2017 launch. Sadly, that 2017 release date was swiftly pushed back, with Red Dead Redemption 2 expected to grace our consoles by Spring 2018. We thought it was over, but again, Red Dead Redemption 2 was pushed back to 26 October 2018 . That date has now come, and we can wholeheartedly say that it was worth the wait.
Pushing back that initial launch window twice does make a lot of sense. Typically, Fall (aka Autumn) is a period filled with Triple-A game releases, with Call of Duty: WW2 and Star Wars Battlefront 2 making an appearance last year; this time around we've got Red Dead 2, Fallout 76 , and Battlefield V . Hopefully, the extra window should have given the devs more time to get acquainted with the Xbox One X and Sony PS4 Pro, which is a juicy bonus.
Prior to the confirmation of the October 26 release, there had even been speculation that Red Dead 2 would be one of the first titles to launch on the upcoming Xbox Two and PlayStation 5 . That was some bold talk, but we now know that those consoles are still far off in the horizon.
2. Red Dead Redemption 2's story is a PREQUEL
Since the first game was heavily reliant on industrial progress, what with the introduction of new-fangled cobbled streets and motor cars, it's obvious the next game should head further back in time. The Wild West was pretty much over by this point, and there wouldn't be much left to focus on in the sequel.
What we have instead is a prequel. You're cast into the boots of Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang. It seems as if Morgan is in the process of paying back a debt, and so is forced to join the Linde gang as they rampage across the rapidly disappearing Wild West, robbing and fighting their way to freedom.
Red Dead Redemption 2 (XBox One) £20.99 Buy now Red Dead Redemption 2 (PS4) £19.95 Buy now Red Dead Redemption 2 Xbox One $39.00 Buy now Red Dead Redemption 2 Playstation 4 $23.20 Buy now
3. Red Dead 2 has a download file size of almost 90GB
PS4 and Xbox One owners should brace themselves for a monumentally large download now that Read Dead 2 has finally hit the shelves.
Those with Microsoft's Xbox One, Xbox One S or Xbox One X will need to make sure they have a spare 88.57 GB on their HDD. Meanwhile, PS4 and PS4 Pro users will have to clear space for a slightly larger download file of 89.92 GB on their console's hard drive.
Needless to say, this is a humongous game. Rockstar's open-world titles are typically enormous, but Red Dead 2 has taken it to an all new level; in an in-depth interview with Vulture , Rockstar divulged that the campaign storyline will take a whopping 60 hours to complete.
On a less positive note, it was also revealed during the same interview that Rockstar Games employees were working 100-hour weeks in order to finish the game in time – a revelation that has caused widespread criticism of the developer in the press and on social media.
4. We STILL don't know if Red Dead 2 is coming to PC
Developer Rockstar Games and publisher Take Two Games have neither confirmed nor denied the rumours surrounding the release of Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC. All talk on the subject is speculation only, but it’s worth noting that Rockstar’s GTA V eventually graduated from console to PC about six months after the game’s initial release.
On the other hand, the first Red Dead Redemption never made the transition from consoles (unless you count the suspect RCPS3 emulator) so it’s really anyone’s guess – except for the people making the game who, we hope, actually know.
5. Watch EVERY trailer for Red Dead Redemption 2
The launch trailer is featured up at the top of this article – you've probably watched that by now – but perhaps you feel like viewing every single pre-launch trailer too, just to get in the Wild West mindset. Which is not to be confused with the Wild Wild West mindset .
Starting from newest to oldest, then, the first video here is the second gameplay trailer for Red Dead Redemption 2, which showcases the wide variety of activities you can pursue in RDR 2, as well as first-person mode.
Up next is the first gameplay reveal released by Rockstar Games – prior to this we'd only seen cinematics and stills.
The cinematic trailer below gives some insight into the story of Red Dead 2, and the kind of outlaw antics players will get up to with the Van Der Linde gang.
In official trailer #2, fans were treated to the first glimpse of the game since its announcement a full year before. It's short and sweet and doesn't give much away, but it still racked up nearly 9.5 million views.
Finally, the very first trailer; published in October 2016, the hype around this reveal cinematic was huge, especially as Rockstar promised that the game would be out within a year. As we now know, it actually ended up taking just over two years before Red Dead Redemption 2 launched. Was it worth the wait? Absolutely.
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