The game can be slow, and John Marston feels kind of copy pasted from Arthur Morgan in this game. If you're planning on playing for the first time on console, the performance is outdated, and it's locked at 30 FPS...But there is no other nitpick, this game is an absolute masterpiece that every gamer should try! The story, and character development is 10/10, from the lighting to the animations, the graphics and realism is 10/10.
The map in this game is vast, and the details are immense, there's so many random encounters, side quests, and secrets that can be explored in first person or third person! You are in for a long ride, so enjoy it. As for the combat, the combat is quite simple in a good way, it is quite brutal, and feels very realistic, yet gives you the ability to slow down time and target multiple enemies at once via Deadeye. The combat is without a doubt very enjoyable! There are certainly more things to be said about this game, for example the customization, this game gives you alot of freedom to change how the player looks, while including dynamic hair growth, you can also use any barber to cut and style your hair and beard, while letting you change all of your clothes as well.
The game is outstanding. As for Red Dead Online...Well that's another story...Yikes!