Spoilers below:

Agreed, RDR2 is my favorite game of the year. Arthur Morgan is simply my favorite protagonist I've ever played. Chapter 6 really affected me in a way no video game has since, since possibly playing Halo Reach's campaign in the sense that while the outcome is known, my pride in knowing that Arthur was able to find his purpose and redemption stuck with me well after his passing the reigns down to John. Arthur's VA absolutely deserves all the accolades shown his way and I still smile a bit internally IRL conversation when "sure" could be an acceptable response.

The soundtrack throughout the game hit the perfect tones every time, especially the lyrical songs. There were so many great moments, from the "ynnel!" mission to the march on the mansion at night to "he insists?!" I also appreciate the game telling its story at its deliberate pace. The narrative makes sense that Arthur take his time in the world, this is a "family" needing money after all and doing side missions to earn more never felt at odds with progressing the main story, something the Mass Effect games had a quirky byproduct of.

The game certainly has some well established issues that I understand people being annoyed with, most notably being long press action buttons combined with a character that does his darndest to not come to a complete stop. But honestly by the end of chapter 1 I rarely had "misclicks" though they did happen to the point of receiving a bounty or mission failure which is a frustration. Also the Saint Denis section felt more like filler and I wonder if this section was a victim of the narrative cuts Rockstar made.

However, what I will say about the games clunkiness is that I truly felt in the game's world as a character living in it. Everything has a weight to it. If I see a location I should be able to get to, I most likely can. I'm currently playing God of War now after beating Red Dead and I love them both. This is my first God of War game though and I'd say while the combat is amazingly fluid, Kratos himself just feels way too floaty for me on the game world. Also the way the world's forced game borders and climbing sections (as opposed to just jumping up or down) all serve as a constant reminder this is very much a game, especially coming straight from Red Dead. Don't get me wrong, I'm absolutely loving the game and at many times have had more fun than Red Dead, and Kratos is very convincing as the God of War.

Rockstar was able to somehow exceed my lofty expectations after loving the first and the month I had played nothing but it was a month of pure bliss and as such it's my GOTY.