P&B Ranks: The Top 42 Video Games of All-Time

[Miguel Sanchez]

IN FIRST PLACE WITH 72 POINTS FROM 9 VOTES

Game: Red Dead Redemption II
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC
Release date: 26 October 2018
Gameplay:

 

User comments: 

"Sublime, beautiful and I'm still discovering new things years after completing it."

"It's probably a basic bitch answer, and recency bias, but outside of my top two choices, it's hard to imagine a better put together Open World game than this.  The only game I made a concerted effort to go to 100% for"

"I struggled with putting this game at number 1 ahead of others I've loved for years, but theres almost no faulting this game (broken economy aside). Its far and away the best looking game ever and the world feels so alive its scary. On top of that, theres a good story, massive amount of side quests and challenges and a variety of gameplay very rarely seen."

"Can I shock you? I like Red Dead Redemption 2, despite what I said earlier. Yes, it is grindy at times. Yes, the map is too big. Yes, there is just too much going on (no, I don't care about having to bathe and feed Arthur and his horse). Yes, the bit where you get diverted to a tropical island is a misstep and a waste of time. Yes, it's a really great game and Arthur Morgan is a scoundrel with a heart of gold. Like the first one, the NPCs and their side quests are the main driving force of the game. There's also some fishing too, which is nice."

Poll-maker comments: Despite buying this at launch, I only started playing it shortly after starting this thread when it became clear it was going to finish high. I've dabbled on and off and it's done nothing for me. I've put about 20 hours into it since starting it in late March and I've rarely had the urge to play it more than two days in a row. Contrast this with Horizon Zero Dawn which I've put 60 hours into in about two weeks because it doesn't take years to travel around or interact with the world. Based on what I've played I really don't think it's a good game, purely because of how unnecessarily tedious it is. Maybe at some point in the future it will grab me, but I don't have anything to say about it other than that I don't see it comparing to the first one so far. 
 

[Homer Thompson]

Sanity prevails.

* holsters banhammer *

[19QOS19]

I for one am gobsmacked our poll-maker doesn't like the greatest game ever created

[SANTAN]

Unsurprised the best game ever made has won. 

Contrarian gamer takes like the poll makers can file themselves in the bin where they belong. 

[Lofarl]

It’s fucking boring.  A technical masterpiece but f**k me I got bored fast.  All I cared about is my horse and I know it dies anyway.  I’ll avoid that despair thanks.

[19QOS19]

It’s fucking boring.  A technical masterpiece but f**k me I got bored fast.  All I cared about is my horse and I know it dies anyway.  I’ll avoid that despair thanks.

I think it'd be boring if you treat it like another game (aye, I know it's a game). You need to be fully immersed in the world to get the most out of it. Thankfully I had the time to get stuck right in and 'went in to RDR2' rather than played it.

[Miguel Sanchez]

3 hours ago, 19QOS19 said:

4 hours ago, Lofarl said:

It’s fucking boring.  A technical masterpiece but f**k me I got bored fast.  All I cared about is my horse and I know it dies anyway.  I’ll avoid that despair thanks.

I think it'd be boring if you treat it like another game (aye, I know it's a game). You need to be fully immersed in the world to get the most out of it. Thankfully I had the time to get stuck right in and 'went in to RDR2' rather than played it.

Having to press the shoot button twice as often to make the guns work isn't immersive, it's stupid.

[BFTD]

Can we get on with the worst games of all time thread now?

[Homer Thompson]

30 minutes ago, Miguel Sanchez said:

Having to press the shoot button twice as often to make the guns work isn't immersive, it's stupid.

I've played a couple of hundred hours of RDR2 and have literally no idea what you're talking about

28 minutes ago, BFTD said:

Can we get on with the worst games of all time thread now?

Easy -

1. RDR2
2. Witcher 3
3. GTA V

[NotThePars]

About as best an outcome as you could expect for a top two. Two consensus games I really enjoyed and no matter how bad Cyberpunk is it can't sully my time spent with that good lad Geralt. Arthur Morgan's another top boy. The best thing about Red Dead 2 is that Rockstar realised they can't make games which aren't clunky so just heavily leaned into it for the realism and came out with a top game.

[19QOS19]

Having to press the shoot button twice as often to make the guns work isn't immersive, it's stupid.

I think you need a new controller m8.

[SANTAN]

Currently firing up RDO to get ready for the summer update. 

[NotThePars]

It’ll be interesting to see what Rockstar do next cause I didn’t think they had RDR2 in them and it’ll be worth seeing if it was a fluke or not.

[forameus]

I completely understand the criticism of RDR2.  I think it's a technical masterpiece, but it suffers for me the way a few games have.  It's incredibly written, but the story being so well done causes problems when going up against the open-world nature of the game.  It also suffers a little from being done by the same guys who did GTA.  You're expecting this big sandbox of hilarity and chaos, but it's absolutely not that kind of game.  That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it needs to be said that it's a very deliberately paced game.  I've played it through twice, but going back to it again isn't quite as attractive as with other games because you're going to be playing through a lot of "boring" (for want of a better word) parts to get to where the game, for me, really shines.

It's also a fucking travesty it beat W3. The writing is good with RD, but nowhere close to the consistent level that is managed with W3.  Neither game is perfect, but I think W3 as an entire product is the best of its kind.  

2 hours ago, NotThePars said:

It’ll be interesting to see what Rockstar do next cause I didn’t think they had RDR2 in them and it’ll be worth seeing if it was a fluke or not.

I'd like to introduce you to the concept of endless "remasters", backed by the the gruesome twosome of RDO and GTAO.  I honestly wouldn't be surprised if we never saw another new title from them.  If we do get one, I think it might be a solely online title basically set up in the same way as their current two.  And that'll be a very sad day indeed.

[NotThePars]

I completely understand the criticism of RDR2.  I think it's a technical masterpiece, but it suffers for me the way a few games have.  It's incredibly written, but the story being so well done causes problems when going up against the open-world nature of the game.  It also suffers a little from being done by the same guys who did GTA.  You're expecting this big sandbox of hilarity and chaos, but it's absolutely not that kind of game.  That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it needs to be said that it's a very deliberately paced game.  I've played it through twice, but going back to it again isn't quite as attractive as with other games because you're going to be playing through a lot of "boring" (for want of a better word) parts to get to where the game, for me, really shines.
It's also a fucking travesty it beat W3. The writing is good with RD, but nowhere close to the consistent level that is managed with W3.  Neither game is perfect, but I think W3 as an entire product is the best of its kind.  
I'd like to introduce you to the concept of endless "remasters", backed by the the gruesome twosome of RDO and GTAO.  I honestly wouldn't be surprised if we never saw another new title from them.  If we do get one, I think it might be a solely online title basically set up in the same way as their current two.  And that'll be a very sad day indeed.

I’m going to say that won’t happen because there’s still PRESTIGE in a single player narratively driven title so it might not be soon and it might be heavily contingent on the Houser brothers (I think they’re called) finding a new story they want to tell but they seemed very bullish about RDR2 in a way which says to me they want to be remembered for this shit in a way you won’t get with remasters and online only titles. Basically I’m thinking the same motivation that sees the Call of Duty juggernaut still bothering with single player campaigns.

[Miguel Sanchez]

Speaking of GTA Online: GTA Online for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 Will Shut Down on December 16, 2021 - Rockstar Games

[Stellaboz]

Who the f**k wants to be a cowboy when you can shag your way through a bunch of magical wids?

[Fuctifano]

The top 2 in the poll were also my 1 and 2, can't really add much, both start a bit slow and the RDR story has a couple of mis-steps, the island bit is like it's been put in for a lost bet.

The 2 DLCs for TW3 are nonsensically good, Blood and Wine would have been a 9/10 game on its own with the length of it.

Anyway, my top 10 overall was

Red Dead Redemption 2 
The Witcher 3
Sensible World of Soccer 
CM 01/02
GTA Vice City
Secret Of Monkey Island
Pro Evo 4
Cannon Fodder
Undertale
Fallout : New Vegas

My 13 year old's (not submitted as he's not a P&B member) was

Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Fortnite
Minecraft
Smash Ultimate
Plants vs Zombies: Garden Warfare 2
Pokémon Sword
Mario Kart 8
Undertale
Rocket League
Tomodachi Life

Though it was interesting to note that most of mine are single player games, even the more recent ones (I didn't pick RDR2 for the online) whereas his are more collaborative / online.

 

Edited June 16, 2021 by Fuctifano

[GAD]

I didn't vote for RDR2, it's definitely a good game, and I enjoyed it for the most part, but it's massively overrated. The controls are horrendous, it's slow, and large parts of it are really quite boring. It also has a bit where you beat up a disabled person that's supposed to be funny I think.

[SANTAN]

30 minutes ago, GAD said:

I didn't vote for RDR2, it's definitely a good game, and I enjoyed it for the most part, but it's massively overrated. The controls are horrendous, it's slow, and large parts of it are really quite boring. It also has a bit where you beat up a disabled person that's supposed to be funny I think.

What was the disabled person part?

I can't say I ever found the game slow. I can imagine some of it being so on a second playthrough but i never felt that way on my playthrough, clearly a very popular game that seemed to be loved by those that "got into it". I think the clunky thing is quite a lazy criticism (others have expressed) would be interesting to see if there was a difference between those on PC and those on console.