I agree with this. RDR was brilliant.
I'm still annoyed to this day that the ending got spoiled for me. Think I was watching a guide video because I was stuck on a mission and stupidly scrolled down and started reading the comments. Whole thing got spoiled within 10 seconds of me doing this.
My only thing with RDR was it wasn't as fun to play after you've finished the story/side missions. Riding around a rural setting on a horse got boring when there was no objective or anything to do.
Maybe the first video game ending to break my heart. I wasn't spoiled but I had been hinted at the ending cause I knew Jack was playable. Just having control wrestled away like that and seeing the way he went out like a G
The open world itself wasn't as fun as something like GTA, no. But there was more than enough story & side content to last a while. I enjoyed most of the challenges, like the hunting. Although, killing multiple bears with a knife was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do in a video game and I just flat quit Undead Nightmare cause I could not kill a bear with a torch without getting got first. The plant picking was a bit too tedious and the reward wasn't really worth it. I don't mind if plant picking comes back but they need to make crafting more expensive. Also, they should probably make the hunting goods mean more. Maybe a food for health mechanic. By the end of Red Dead 1 I was hoarding so much meat and fur for like no reason whatsoever.