Red Dead Redemption's epic trip to Mexico is still a masterpiece in sandbox storytelling

gamesradar.com:

I'm back playing the original Red Dead Redemption and have just been called "feck ugly" by a whisky-nosed Irishman. By this point, my rugged friend has been unreliable at best in his bid to help me battle some of the Old West's most formidable foes – but as I watch him mount his steed and disappear over the crest of a grassy hill on the outskirts of Nuevo Paraiso, I can't help feeling a wee bit sad. I will never see this man again. And so, when the plucky guitar chords and soft spoken lyrics of indie folk singer Jose Gonzalez's 'Far Away' kick into gear, my teary eyes empty faster than a thirsty horse's water trough. 

As I reach the summit of the same peak, the sky opens up before me. Clouds spread like cracks in porcelain, and the winding dirt tracks, valleys and riverways that stretch out ahead all lead to the same place: Mexico. Earlier this year, news that Rockstar reportedly canned GTA 4 and Red Dead Redemption remasters emerged, with the developer said to have chosen "not to proceed with the projects in mind" for reasons unknown. Having spoken to the GTA 4 community keeping Liberty City alive on PS3 in 2022, I was equally keen to revisit Red Dead Redemption and write about how well it stands up well over a decade since launch. In doing so, I expected to return refreshed and armed with mission-related anecdotes, and complimentary chatter regarding how well it fuses comedy with serious dialogue, how real and credible its world feels, and how cool its slant on the series' signature slow-motion Dead Eye targeting system still is today. 

All of this remains true, but away from its high-stakes shoot-outs and engrossing narrative, this set-piece is Red Dead Redemption at its very best. Moreover, despite it now being over