First of all, the zombies in this game are fantastic. They're slow and clumsy, but manage to keep you on edge by being completely unpredictable and almost impossible to kill. Combine that with the cramped hallways and barely lit rooms, and you've got yourself a tense atmosphere that leaves you constantly thinking on your toes. While many games give you hordes of zombies, this game makes it worrying enough to see two of them.

The limited inventory space, items and save points that are scattered around the map, the cramped hallways, bullet-sponge zombies combined with limited ammo create this air of tension and keep you constantly making decisions. The maze-like structure of the map have you planning routes, and as you go through the game you start to familiarise yourself with the police station - the safest rooms, the hallways you dread. The map effectively becomes its own character as you uncover its secrets and history. And Mr X of course. Consistently hearing him, planning around him, dreading him.

Gameplay-wise, the only thing I don't like is the boss fights, and frankly, I wish this game had none of them (or far fewer) as they kind of go against the whole philosophy of the game. I would recommend sticking with them though because it's worth it.

The game's story isn't... great. It's got a lot of camp but I understand that it is trying to keep to the original game and there are plenty of genuinely good moments mixed in as well. The timelines of the two main characters are a bit confusing (you have to play both storylines to get the full experience), and I wish Leon and Claire interacted with each other more, but overall a really, really solid survival horror game. It's flawed in many ways, but I just have to give it 5 stars because its strengths really outshine its weaknesses.

By far the biggest strength of this game are the insanely fun traversal mechanics. The parkour is just addictive and while going from point A to B in other games can be a drag, it is the best part of this game. Having to quickly find the next jump or landing spot keeps you thinking on your toes. Pulling off a perfect escape when being chased by volatiles in the middle of the night is just really satisfying (and terrifying).

The campaign isn't anything particularly special but its plot is fun enough to keep you going. Gaining new skills and weapons as you advance is great and you really feel much more powerful, brushing off zombies like nothing by the end of the game compared to the beginning.

I will only comment on the singleplayer.

I think the biggest strength with this game by far is the writing. RDR2 has some of the best writing I have ever seen in a game. Every single character is deep, nuanced, believable and well-acted. It seems as though each of the gang members has their little established relationships and opinions of each other, including Arthur himself, and it's great to hear them banter or tell stories over the campfires. What's more, as the events of the story unfold many characters and their relationships change, for better or worse, and a lot of the gang members are completely different people by the end. Arthur goes under a lot of self-conflict that makes him more relatable and keeps you sympathetic as you get to know him. This game does a good job of making you feel invested and to actually care about the people involved in it and I can tell a lot of love was put into the writing for this game.

The world itself is also beautifully realised. I think games have this ability to take you into a world that you could never really experience in real life in a way nothing else can, and this game is a perfect example of that. There is no better way to really understand how the western United States felt at the turn of the century, as colonisation took a stronger foothold and cities exploded in growth, than to actually experience it in this game. And of course, the game looks absolutely gorgeous. I think the graphics speak for themselves, if you can run them.

However, I think RDR2's weakest point is the gameplay. Many times, the gameplay can be quite limiting, especially during story missions where it will force you to restart because you wanted to try something a bit different. Rockstar has a bad habit of making you play the game exactly as they want you to instead of letting people use the gameplay systems they have in front of them however they want. You have to do stealth at this part, and you can only take this route. There are constant instructions at the bottom of the screen telling you what you should do and where, instead of just letting people loose occasionally. I think everyone has seen that Nakey Jakey video, so I don't need to go further because it explains everything perfectly. The honour system is cool, but it's not unique and it doesn't seem to have any impact on the story or character's attitudes towards you.

The gameplay is also very slow in general. I personally don't mind it but I think many people could get impatient. My advice is to just go with it. Take things steadily, roleplay a little bit, and you will enjoy it much more instead of just going against the game's deliberately slow systems.

Overall, fantastic storytelling and world-class open-world design, but expect something very linear when it comes to story missions (and that's fine).