Polygon's Ford James has decided that eight years is long enough to admit Red Dead Redemption 2 is a terrible game, confessing he was bored out of his skull within hours of reaching Horseshoe Overlook and Valentine. The piece frames Rockstar's obsessive realism as the culprit: 178 animal species to hunt become minutes of bush-hiding tedium, exhaustive drawer-by-drawer looting grinds progress to a halt, and horseback traversal feels clunky outside straight lines across flat terrain. James concedes the technical achievement and gripping story on paper, yet argues the mechanics prioritize simulation over enjoyment in an era of shorter attention spans.

This spicy take lands during Polygon’s Spicy Takes Week, timed ironically close to GTA 6’s reported November window, where James hopes Rockstar will ease back on the cowboy franchise’s ponderous pace. The writer even floats a PC replay with mouse-and-keyboard controls and mods as a possible redemption arc for himself, while labeling the title one of the best technical feats but not a very good video game.

Community chatter on X mirrors the divide, with some nodding at the “mile wide, inch deep” critique while others defend the deliberate western rhythm that made the original Red Dead Redemption land its emotional gut punch. For a game still drawing fresh eyes in 2026, the admission that realism can smother fun feels less contrarian than a reminder that even masterpieces demand patience most players no longer grant.