Red Dead Redemption 2 wins Best Narrative, Best Score, and more at The Game Awards 2018

The ultimate winner of The Game Awards 2018 was God of War, but Red Dead Redemption 2 was also hugely popular. It won more awards than any other individual game, taking home Best Narrative, Best Score, and Best Audio Design. In addition to that, lead actor Roger Clark - who plays protagonist Arthur Morgan - won Best Performance, which is another point in the game's favor. 

Red Dead Redemption 2's greatest strengths are its world, story, and characters, and its sackful of rewards reflects that well. It's not about expertly shooting the dude, it's about why you shot the dude and what that means for the rest of your story. It's not about the thrill of riding a horse, it's about loving your horse more than life itself. And it's not about just hunting a bunch of - well, no, I guess it is about just hunting a bunch of animals, but you get my point. 

What's interesting is that this is sort of the opposite of what we saw at The Golden Joystick Awards 2018, where God of War took home four awards including Best Storytelling and Best Visual Design, while Red Dead Redemption 2 won the Critics' Choice award and Fortnite won Game of the Year. This highlights just how difficult it is to compare two undeniably excellent and impactful games, and it's proof of just how good a year 2018 was for games. And with Red Dead Online coming into form, Red Dead Redemption 2's legacy will carry well into 2019.  

Austin Wood
Senior writer

Austin has been a game journalist for 12 years, having freelanced for the likes of PC Gamer, Eurogamer, IGN, Sports Illustrated, and more while finishing his journalism degree. He's been with 12DOVE since 2019. They've yet to realize his position is a cover for his career-spanning Destiny column, and he's kept the ruse going with a lot of news and the occasional feature, all while playing as many roguelikes as possible.

Latest in Red Dead
Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden says 100-hour games are a "mismatch" to today's reality: "I haven't even opened Red Dead Redemption 2, because I don't have 90 hours"
Red Dead Redemption 2 screenshot showing the silhouette of a man with a cowboy hat on horseback, a glowing sun seen behind him
Red Dead Redemption 2's very own Arthur Morgan says he wishes that he could work with "genius" Metal Gear mastermind Hideo Kojima
Red Dead Redemption 2
Red Dead Redemption 2 modder makes "all wagons and horses travel at super sonic speeds," chaos and jumpscares ensue: "It's now a horror game"
Red Dead Redemption
Red Dead Redemption 2 dev reveals detail "99% of people never saw" that's part of "what makes Rockstar's games so good"
Red Dead Redemption
Rockstar veteran says Red Dead Redemption's PS3 version was "very hard and time-consuming" to make, but it was "easy to write for the 360"
Red Dead Redemption
After 14 years, the original Red Dead Redemption finally hits PC this month, with Undead Nightmare in two
Latest in News
Assassin's Creed Shadows cinematic screenshot
I've found my Assassin's Creed Shadows playstyle, thanks to this clip of Yasuke smashing dudes with a huge club instead of sneaking around
World of Warcraft housing
World of Warcraft's new housing system lets you decorate without the floating hacks I've been using in Final Fantasy 14 for 11 years, and I weep
Gemma Chan in Eternals
Eternals star Gemma Chan is hopeful she'll return to the MCU someday: "There's unfinished business there"
two aliens firing miniguns
4 years after shutting down, this dead sci-fi MMO is being brought back to life, but there's no word on its canceled TV show tie-in
Benoit Blanc (Daniel Craig) in Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery
Netflix wants Daniel Craig to join the cast of Greta Gerwig's Narnia movie – but it's not certain if he'll take it
The Last of Us
The Last of Us season 2 trailer breaks HBO viewing records, becoming the network's most-watched trailer