Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption 2 is a fantastic game, and it contains what is arguably the greatest open world ever created. But, like all open worlds, it is certainly not uniform. Some areas are certainly better than others, while others are just downright infuriating and impossible to enjoy.
The quality of an area depends on a wide variety of factors, including beauty, immersion, terrain, gameplay mechanics, and enemies. Some places are more visually appealing than others, while some contain frustrating gameplay mechanics that make the area difficult to explore.
These are five locations that make Red Dead Redemption 2 better, and five that are just frustrating.
10 Better - New Austin
Unfortunately, you can't access New Austin until the very end of the game but when it finally opens up, you will find one of the greatest areas of the entire map. Of course, a large part of our enjoyment stems from nostalgia, as the area serves as a faithful recreation of the Red Dead Redemption map.
However, it's also gorgeous and richly imaginative, as it is the only section of the map that gives you a true sense of being in the Wild West. Endless fields of dust, cactus, rising red hills, roads sweeping into the horizon. It's all here, and it's all beautiful.
9 Worse - Bayou Nwa
We generally enjoy the Lemoyne territory, but man, forget Bayou Nwa. This place sucks.
Bayou Nwa is located just to the north of Saint Denis, but it couldn't be more different. Where Saint Denis is beautiful, Bayou Nwa is ugly (as you would expect a bayou to be). Not only is it ugly, but traversing it can be a pain thanks to the knee-high sludge and mud you have to wade through should you get off your horse. Not only is it ugly AND difficult to traverse, but it contains tons of hidden alligators that are more than willing to pop out of nowhere and consume you whole. What a nightmare of a place.
8 Better - Saint Denis
Since we mentioned Saint Denis in the previous entry, we may as well go into more detail. This may just be the city slickers in us, but Saint Denis is a wonderful location. It truly gives you a sense of being in a budding city in the late 19th century, as it is filled with then-technological marvels like streetcars and electricity.
It also contains the best hotel, the best tailor, and the best plays on the whole map, not to mention countless intriguing random encounters. It's city living in the late 19th century, and it is glorious.
7 Worse - Grizzlies West
Grizzlies West is certainly gorgeous, but traversing it is a royal pain in the butt. It contains tons of precipitous cliffs and mountain passes, and your horse always has a hard time making its way down steep passes or through the thick and heavy snow.
You also have to contend with the weather, and being ill-prepared for the cold can quite literally mean death. It's also far away from civilization or any camp, so traveling to and fro is bound to eat up a lot of time. Was a fast travel option too much to ask for? Because the Grizzlies West will certainly make you pine for one.
6 Better - Grizzlies East
If you want a better experience in Ambarino, explore Grizzlies East. It is far more fun than its frustrating western neighbor.
Grizzlies East is easier to traverse, as you aren't forced to contend with the deadly cold or knee-high snow that makes your horse cry every five seconds. It is also positively gorgeous, filled with abundant wildlife, dense forests, and beautiful rays of sunshine.
It's also home to the unique hydrothermal springs and geysers, and messing around with those is a guaranteed good time (especially if you have a...companion...to test the waters).
5 Worse - Guarma
We don't think there's a player among you who actually enjoyed Guarma. For those who can't remember (or who blocked it from their memory), Guarma is the island you are forced onto midway through the game. There are countless things that make Guarma a grueling experience.
You are forced to play without the items you have accrued throughout the game, the island is limited and closed off from exploration, and the story takes a frustrating detour that forces us to intervene in events we don't really care about. We REALLY wish we could skip this...
4 Best - Strawberry
Again, this could just be personal preference leaking in, but we love us some Strawberry. Strawberry is the complete opposite of what we expected from a Red Dead Redemption game - colorful, teeming with wildlife and forestry, filled with beautiful rushing water, and a lot of intriguing architecture.
It looks like a place you'd find in the rural regions of Oregon or Washington, and if the American Northwest is your thing, then you'll love Strawberry as much as we do. It's cozy, it's beautiful, and it's one of the best areas in the game.
3 Worse - Van Horn
We don't know why you'd spend time in Van Horn. It's dirty, it's worn out, and worst of all, it's filled with dangerous people who are quick with an argument (or worse, a draw). Granted, that is entirely intentional, as Van Horn is implied to be some type of trading post that time has forgotten. But the intention behind the town doesn't make it any more fun to explore.
It's ugly, there isn't much to do (at least not anything you can't find somewhere else), the people are dangerous, and really, there is no point in coming here. Pass this one on like time itself.
2 Better - Tall Trees
Call us crazy, but Tall Trees is one of our favorite areas of the game. For one thing, it's one of the most visually appealing areas, filled with...well tall trees.
The trees are tall and incredibly dense, and it gives the entire feeling an imposing atmosphere. That's for the better because it's also teaming with the dangerous and viciously violent Skinner Brothers. No, you won't want to camp or stay in the area for long, but it makes for a really fun and visually wondrous detour.
1 Worse - Roanoke Ridge
Roanoke Ridge certainly isn't a BAD area, but it makes for a bit of an anticlimactic ending to the game. Yes, it is gorgeous, but it also has its fair share of problems. For one thing, Annesburg is a bit of a boring town. It's intentionally ugly, a mining town with endless clangs of steel and towers of black smoke pluming into the air and it's hard to explore.
The people of Butcher Creek can be violent, and there's always a chance of dangerous vagrants approaching you at your campfire. I'm just trying to make some venison here, people, leave me alone!