Throughout all 2016 I had first really started getting into watching movies. A big mix of getting Netflix and the majority of Quentin Tarantino’s filmography set me on such a blazing path where I genuinely didn’t go even one week without seeing at least something. During this wonderful time, a genre that always captivated me was Westerns. My dad had always loved Westerns but I didn’t really like watching them as a kid. I loved cowboys, I loved horses, revolvers and the sort but the movies really seemed much too old to me. I loved bounty hunter characters and the cowboy aesthetic was probably my favorite thing growing up, whether I knew it or not. So keeping all this in mind, I had Red Dead in mind for a while as something that I wanted to play but never really got the chance too. Now as the year had ended , my passion for Westerns was at all time high and thanks to Black Friday, I was able to get Red dead for $10 and I was ecstatic! Rockstar is my favorite developer, the story is always praised, and it’s probably my favorite setting, what could go wrong?! To this day, I am not sure what had me burned out on Red dead but it was something that never clicked. Now contrary to my log dates, I did beat it about 5 days before Red Dead 2 but I only now just beat the epilogue during a morning of being hungover. I’m frankly surprised I even beat the game but I can’t remember the characters, my favorite memories of John and Dutch are mostly from the sequel nowadays, and the setting just seemed so boring. It’s such a stark contrast to what I would expect me to say. It saddens me so much but I just saw this game as a disappointment. The game felt a bit too clunky compared to GTA 5, the story dragged on with quests that felt meaningless and tedious. I remember feeling aggravated as I thought this was gonna be THE cowboy game and it just never clicked. In my head, this game came and went and registered as just a appetizer for the sequel and that was that for many years. Yet, on that drunken evening I decided to just finish that epilogue and yet I had the time of my life that entire morning just taking down camps and taming the West with these bandits. Instead of just boring dry deserts, I saw new life and vast landscapes that I wanted to ride to. The game finally clicked, 7 years later and an entire play-through later. I have picked up the new remaster and I’ll share my thoughts once I’m finish with the second play through but for now, I will leave my score to reflect my experience I had the first go around.