The Red Dead Redemption 2 trailer left me feeling (red) dead inside

It has often been said (by me) that gaming news is like public transport. You go ages without anything coming, and then it all turns up at once. Indeed, this was the case last Thursday, when not only was the Nintendo Switch revealed, but we finally got a first look at the hotly anticipated Red Dead Redemption 2. We were all expecting so much, but sadly it failed to live up to the hype.

Going in, the internet was awash with questions. When would it be set? Who would we be playing as? How big is the online portion? Can I still tie a prostitute to a train track whilst laughing maniacally? We all hoped that the trailer would provide the answer to at least some of these questions. Instead, it answered nothing.

All this trailer has done is left people asking the same questions as before

No real details were divulged by Rockstar. Instead, all we got was a a glorified tech demo. Admittedly, the environments shown were absolutely gorgeous, but for a first trailer, with so much hype behind it, I wanted more. Nay, I needed more. Some pretty trees, a train and a bear just do not cut it for me.

It’s not just the fact that the trailer was comprised almost solely of environments that’s left me underwhelmed, It’s the fact that it was only a minute long; the fact that there was zero indication of an actual story; the fact that, if it hadn’t said it was Red Dead Redemption 2, people could easily have mistaken it to be a remaster of the original game. For a reveal trailer, it was incredibly short on actual reveals.

All this trailer has done is left people asking the same questions as before. It gave fans nothing concrete to get excited over, instead leaving them to continue debating the merits of the game being a prequel. (Please god don’t be a prequel. Prequels are terrible.) The questions fans are asking, whilst worth discussing, are not enough to keep the game in the public consciousness for the next few months, particularly going into the big autumn release schedule. In fact, social media analytics have shown that it couldn’t even sustain full discussion for the entirety of Thursday, instead being over-shadowed by the Switch, and even the Logan trailer.

Sadly, it failed to live up to the hype

I’m aware that it is only the first trailer, and that the game doesn’t actually release for a whole year (at least), but I expected so much more from Rockstar. Their trailers are usually mind-blowing and a spectacle to behold. The Red Dead trailer was nothing of the sort. It was just there. Am I excited for the game? Of course I am, I can’t wait. But nevertheless, for a first trailer, I am left feeling disappointed.