Top 4 genre-defining video games of this generation

#3 Red Dead Redemption 2 (Immersive Open World)

Red Dead Redemption 2 is the pinnacle of open-world gaming. Its world feels natural, dynamic, detailed and interactive. It doesn't fill itself with a mindless checklist of stuff to do - rather it lets you blend in the world slowly, take in the sights, and indulge in occasional activities that feel organic and believable.

What Red Dead Redemption 2's open-world does really well is that it lets one build up scenarios for themselves rather than shoving it down their throats. For example, you can interact with every other NPC in the game. The game usually gives a player four options to toy around with, ranging from greeting someone to threatening them, or a simple shootout.

Focusing on being a more realistic open world, RDR 2's world goes to such an extent as to make one gawk at the number of details they are being offered in a particular time. For example, players can brew up coffee in the camps. But for brewing them you'll need ground coffee which you can buy at the shop by not just interacting with the shop owner like in previous Rockstar titles, but also explore the shop to find that specific item you need.

If the player's character gets very dirty, other NPCs will react to it as well. (Not in a good manner, mind you.)

If people leave the carcass of the dead animal they so proudly hunted on their horse for a long time, then it will rot and degrade the reward one will get from selling or delivering them.

Situations like these are common in RDR 2, and one may also stumble upon a spooky mansion at night where two incest couple very exquisitely invite one for dinner.(Be ready for the consequences.)

You can end up exploring a deserted town where everyone died because of a certain plague, or during one of the night strolls, one may find very curious blood clues to a rotten body and discover the mystery of a savage serial killer.

Interesting encounters like these are a common sight in the world of RDR 2 and what makes it more interesting and believable is that most of these cool revelations are not marked on the map as a checklist of task to complete, which is a pretty common affair in the open-world games of this generation. Rather it lets one breathe and let their curiosity take the better of themselves.