Back in 2010 I really thought rdr to be a pinnacle of open world gameplay, the story was allright nothing special. The gunplay was fun and fresh at the time, sure after 3 playtroughs of 100+ hours it wasn't anything special anymore but still enoyable.
Now to me the best thing about the game was riding your horse through some dirt track in the middle of nowhere from a dense forest to a big pasture, from there through a swamp and into the drylands of southern America only to cross the bridge into Mexico and go back taking a different turn somwhere and ending up atop of a snowy mountain.
Along that journey you'd find the occasional bandit trying to rob you or some poor women assaulted that you could rescue and my favorite feature: hunting animals, from ducks to deer, an armadillo to elk or being jerked of your horse by a freakin cougar! The first time that happened I almost crapped my pants because of its roar!
Now for rdr2 I don't even care for the story, multiplayer or minigames, I want to lose myself riding in a massive and diverse world filled with animals I can hunt, skin and sell so I can buy some new wares or weapons. Interact with random people that can ask for help, try to rob or even kill me.
It's not the destination that counts, it's the journey.