Far Cry 3 vs Red Dead Redemption 2
Far Cry 3 is an action-adventure FPS game from Red Storm Entertainment (2012) while Red Dead Redemption 2 is an action-adventure FPS game (2018).
Quick answer: Red Dead Redemption 2 rates higher, 8.7 to 8.1 on the GamingPickz Score, and Red Dead Redemption 2 is the cheaper at $14.99.
What each one is
Far Cry 3 is filed under Action-Adventure and FPS. In contrast, Red Dead Redemption 2 under Action-Adventure and FPS.
Stranded on the Rook Islands as Jason Brody, fight your way through a lawless tropical open world using a powerful arsenal to save your friends and escape the madness of this acclaimed visceral FPS.
Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde Gang are outlaws on the run. With federal agents and bounty hunters massing on their heels, the gang must rob, steal, and fight their way across the rugged heartland in order to survive.
Story, characters and reception
Plot
Michael Mando provided voice and motion capture for Vaas Montenegro , one of the game's antagonists. Jason Brody ( Gianpaolo Venuta ) is on vacation with a group of friends in Bangkok , Thailand . On a skydiving trip, they unknowingly land on the pirate-occupied Rook Islands, where they are captured by pirate lord Vaas Montenegro ( Michael Mando ), who intends to sell them into slavery. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Critical reception Reception James Stephanie Sterling from Destructoid felt the game had a larger emphasis on storytelling when compared with its predecessors, and liked the game's cast of characters. Sterling called the story "tightly written" and "stylishly presented". Matt Bertz from Game Informer agreed, calling the story "compelling". (Wikipedia)
Plot
Setting and characters For a more comprehensive list, see List of Red Dead Redemption 2 characters . The world of Red Dead Redemption 2 spans five fictitious U. S. (Wikipedia)
Reception
Critical response PlayStation 4 and Xbox One reception Red Dead Redemption 2 received "universal acclaim" from critics, according to review aggregator Metacritic . It is one of the highest-rated games on Metacritic, and the highest-rated PlayStation 4 and Xbox One game alongside Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto V . Reviewers praised the story, characters, open world, graphics, music, and level of detail. (Wikipedia)
At a glance
| Far Cry 3 | Red Dead Redemption 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| GamingPickz Score | 8.1/10 | 8.7/10 |
| Steam rating | Very Positive (88%, 133,189) | Very Positive (92%, 911,659) |
| Critic aggregate | 88/100 | 93/100 |
| Price | $19.99 | $14.99 |
| Install size | — | 150 GB |
| Steam Deck | playable | playable |
| Released | 2012 | 2018 |
| Developer | Red Storm Entertainment | — |
Prices and Steam ratings are read live and move over time.
Far Cry 3 vs Red Dead Redemption 2, point by point
Each facet side by side. A round is marked won only where a figure settles it; feel and "which is better" carry no mark, because no number we hold decides them.
Genre and premise
Far Cry 3Action-adventure FPS gameRed Dead Redemption 2Action-adventure FPS gameWhat each is filed as. Each game describes itself in full above; we do not judge a premise.
How it plays
Far Cry 3Open World, FPS, ActionRed Dead Redemption 2Open World, Story Rich, WesternThe tags players apply most, in order of votes. A read on feel, not a verdict.
Reception
Far Cry 3Score 8.1 · 88% on Steam · 88 criticRed Dead Redemption 2 ✓Score 8.7 · 92% on Steam · 93 criticThe GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment, critics and popularity, computed the same way for every game.
Content and scale
Far Cry 3133,189 reviewsRed Dead Redemption 2911,659 reviews · 150 GBReach and footprint, not quality: more reviews or a bigger install is not a better game.
Price
Far Cry 3$19.99Red Dead Redemption 2 ✓$14.99Read live from Steam and subject to change.
On a Steam Deck
Far Cry 3PlayableRed Dead Redemption 2PlayableValve's own Deck compatibility rating.
Red Dead Redemption 2 takes 2 of the marked rounds to 0. That is only what a number can decide, not which you will enjoy more.
The two on the grid
Compare the whole catalogueFar Cry 3 and Red Dead Redemption 2 on the axes the GamingPickz Score is built from, on the full 0 to 100 scale so each dot is its real position. Change either axis to compare them on any measure.
2 games have both
Players. The share of Steam reviews marked positive, pulled toward the catalogue average in proportion to how few reviews stand behind it. A game with 200 reviews moves a long way toward the average; one with 200,000 barely moves at all. Without this a title sitting at 100 percent on nine reviews outranks Half-Life 2 at 98 percent on 278,000.
Popularity. A blend of two things that are not the same. Audience is how many people wrote a Steam review, which is a floor on how many played it. Reach is how many language editions of Wikipedia document the game, which is cultural footprint rather than sales. A game can score high on one and low on the other: a huge free-to-play title has audience without reach, and a landmark console exclusive has reach without a Steam audience at all. Where both exist they are averaged; where only one does, that one carries it.
- Multi-platform
Every point links to that game's entry. The value map and the reception map are fixed views of the same data.
How positions are decided
No paid placement, no favouritism, live third-party data
- Placed by the published method, not by us. Every coordinate is computed from the axis definitions and weights printed on this site. Nobody moves a point. See the axes.
- Nothing here is paid for. No sponsored placements, no promoted slots, no arrangement of any kind affects a position. If that ever changes it will be labelled and sit outside the ranking.
- No favouritism, including our own. The 16 games we have written full reviews of are scored by exactly the same formula as the other 1,510, from the same third-party inputs, and they land where it puts them. Our own opinion of a game does not enter its coordinates.
- A position is not an endorsement. It says how a game was received and what it costs, not that we recommend it. Where we do recommend something, it carries a written review with a name on it.
- Fetched from live third-party data. Player sentiment from Steam, critic aggregates as published on store pages, prices checked hourly, attention from Wikipedia. Each figure carries its source and the date it was read, and we do not adjust any of them.
Which to pick, by what you want
- The higher-rated of the two: Red Dead Redemption 2 (GamingPickz Score 8.7)
- The cheaper right now: Red Dead Redemption 2 ($14.99)
- The safer bet by weight of reviews: Red Dead Redemption 2 (911,659 reviews)
What they have in common
Both are tagged by Steam players with:
Open WorldFPSActionAdventureMultiplayerShooterFirst-PersonSingleplayer
Where they differ
StealthCo-opHuntingSurvivalOnline Co-OpNudity
WesternRealisticHorsesBeautifulMatureThird-Person Shooter
Tags players apply to one game and not the other.
Difficulty and who each is for
By the tags players apply, Far Cry 3 is middle-of-the-road on difficulty. Red Dead Redemption 2 is middle-of-the-road on difficulty.
System requirements, side by side
| Far Cry 3 | Red Dead Redemption 2 | |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum GPU | 512MB Video RAM (1GB Video RAM) | Nvidia GeForce GTX 770 2GB / AMD Radeon R9 280 3GB |
| Minimum CPU | Intel Core®2 Duo E6700 @ 2.6 GHz | Intel® Core™ i5-2500K / AMD FX-6300 |
| Minimum RAM | 4 GB | 8 GB |
| Install size | — | 150 GB |
Can your PC run them? Check each against your own kit: Far Cry 3 · Red Dead Redemption 2.
Accessibility features
Steam store pages declare 1 accessibility feature for Far Cry 3 and 1 for Red Dead Redemption 2. A declaration is a floor, not a review.
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Common questions
How different are Far Cry 3 and Red Dead Redemption 2 in scope?
Far Cry 3 has drawn 133,189 Steam reviews. Red Dead Redemption 2 has drawn 911,659 Steam reviews and installs in 150 GB.
Is Far Cry 3 or Red Dead Redemption 2 better?
By the GamingPickz Score, Red Dead Redemption 2 rates higher (8.7 to 8.1). That is a composite of player sentiment, the critic aggregate and popularity, not our taste. "Better" also depends on price, length and platform, which the table above lays out.
Which is cheaper, Far Cry 3 or Red Dead Redemption 2?
Red Dead Redemption 2 is cheaper right now at $14.99, against $19.99. Prices move, so this is read live from Steam and can change.
Should I get Far Cry 3 or Red Dead Redemption 2?
Red Dead Redemption 2 rates higher, 8.7 to 8.1 on the GamingPickz Score, and Red Dead Redemption 2 is the cheaper at $14.99. It also depends on what you want: the "which to pick" section above calls out which is cheaper, lighter on storage, better on a Steam Deck and the safer bet by weight of reviews.
Do you rank one above the other for a fee?
No. Neither game, nor anyone else, pays for placement or a verdict here. The order and every figure come out of the same public data the rest of the site uses.
Related comparisons
How we compare, and what we will not do
The GamingPickz Score is a composite of player sentiment (adjusted for sample size), the critic aggregate and popularity, computed by the same code every ranked list on this site uses. The Steam rating label is Valve's own, reconstructed from the positive percentage and review count. Prices are read live. We do not write an opinion of which game is "better": we report the numbers and say which wins each measurable question above.