Skip Navigation
Gaming @beehaw.org
PopeRigby @beehaw.org

Rockstar has some of the most restrictive mission design I've ever experienced

I've been playing Red Dead Redemption 2 again recently and have been thoroughly enjoying it, but this one thing has always bugged be about this game and Rockstar games in general, and that's how restrictive they are with their mission design. You decide to get off your horse too early when riding to an objective, mission failure. You stand outside a building too long while your friends go inside, mission failure. The list goes on, but you get the point. If you go even slightly outside the railings of the amusement park ride Rockstar has setup, instant mission failure.

This whole issue is made even worse by how in contrast the missions are with the open world. The open world is a sandbox where you can handle situations how ever you want. It feels like a living, breathing world where NPCs will react to your actions. It almost feels like there were two entirely separate teams working on the open world and missions, who aren't coordinating. Given how big Rockstar is that could absolutely be the case.

I've also been playing Kingdom Come Deliverance II and that game is in a lot of ways quite similar to RDR2 with it's set protagonist, realism, and open world sandbox. The flexibility of how you can handle quests in that game really highlights the shortcomings of RDR2. I know KCDII is an RPG and focuses more on player dialogue choices, but the existence of the honor system demonstrates how Rockstar is willing to let player actions dictate the story and world, so they could at least let some of that bleed into the missions. Maybe sprinkle a few high and low honor choices into missions, and don't fail the mission if you do something slightly wrong. Have the world react to the player not doing what you want. Have your friends call after you if you're lagging behind or something. I'm pretty sure that already happens in the game at some point.

Thank you for listening to my rant. This is just something I've been meaning to put into words for awhile.

You're viewing a single thread.

18 comments

  • I loved the environments in RDR2, but holy hell, the missions' persistent denial of player agency drove me up a tree. Railroading is annoying in the best of cases. I could tolerate it in The Last of Us, which limited the places I could go but offered a wonderfully engaging story in those places and never dropped a 10-ton FAIL anvil on my head for trying something creative. In an open world game (a genre that I like because I'm encouraged to find creative solutions) I find it unforgivable.

    Kingdom Come: Deliverance drove me away for similar reasons. I like games where the challenge comes from learning how to work with available tools and moves, developing my skill with them, and figuring out how to use them most effectively. Making progress that way is satisfying. KC:D chose the polar opposite of that, interfering with my ability to control my character until I slogged through seemingly endless time sinks thinly disguised as "training" sessions. This mechanic had nothing to do with developing my skill as a player, but instead just arbitrarily denied me agency. I hated it, and since the reports I've read suggest that the sequel does the same, I won't be buying it or anything else from those game designers.

    I guess my point is just to let you know that you're not alone. :)

    • I dropped KCD 1 after ~30 hours for the same reason as you, but at least KCD has some justification - the whole point of the game is to be an ultra-realistic simulation of medieval life, a roleplaying game in the truest sense of the word.

      Your character starts out not even knowing how to read, even though you, the player, obviously do to interact with the GUI. He's the son of a blacksmith who never would have learned anything else, so he, the character, has to spend time learning basically everything, even if you, the player, already have it figured out.

      You and I think that design is unfun. Clearly, though, there's an audience for it, as KCD 2 sold something like a million copies on launch day and instantly recouped their development costs.

18 comments