First and foremost I must say that I didn't play Red Dead Redemption - totally new to the series then. Secondly, I've started playing it as it was part of the Xbox Game Pass Ultimate game pack. Finally, none of the previous statements relieve the game from the inheritance it presents itself with - it's a Rockstar game, with the obvious links we must make to it's masterpiece, Grand Theft Auto.
It actually starts out pretty well. It is, visually, a stunning game. Not only the cut scenes but the game play experience is something worth seeing - and why not say, listening. But from there on, everything falls short.
It may be, from a story perspective, a wonder. But then it lacks the right method of delivering it. Long and repetitive cut scenes make it difficult to "really" get into the game at first. You will have to wait for the first gun flight and then, after a few more of just looking at the screen and waiting for new developments, you'll eventually go out on a rescue mission and some wolves attack you. So, after some boredom, you'll shoot at wolves...
In the meanwhile you'll loot dead bodies and empty buildings (and places) for a ton of different things you'll eventually lose track of what you have (and, more importantly, what they're for). Core, stamina, heath, health cores... An utter mess!
I lost interest in the game after a couple of hours playing. I felt bored as the game totally failed to hook me in.
It has nothing to do with GTA. The only thing that you can really say it's "remotely" similar is the open world setting. But even then, it's hard to compare a modern city to a western type dusty town in the middle of nowhere. I didn't connect at all to the characters or the events. And riding a horse is definitely more dull than riding a powerful motorcycle or a noisy muscle car.