I just think the game has a massive disconnect between the narrative and the inherent "here's a bunch of side content" stuff that abounds in open worlds. It's fine in Chapters 2 and 3, where Arthur's whole angle is getting money any way possible. Sure, spend some time gambling, sure, steal a bunch of things, sure, go hunting. It works, even if it makes things feel a bit stagnant as far as progression goes. But by Chapter 4 you're losing gang members left and right, the Pinkertons are breathing down your neck and you've pissed off the local crime boss; it makes absolutely no sense, in that context, for Arthur to say "right, I'm going to go hunt this legendary buck I heard about two states over." In Chapter 5, you aren't even on the same map, in Chapter 6 you're dying of tuberculosis, and then the epilogues are devoted to John telling his wife time and again that he's leaving the life of crime and violence behind for good; Micah's death brings closure to that. So, again, there's this tremendous sense of ludonarrative dissonance for your character to say he's ready to settle down while you're thinking "yeah, but I'm going to go rob a train to finish up this outstanding challenge." For more than half the game, most of the side content (with the exception of some stranger missions such as Hamish or Charlotte) feel like they're running completely counter to the story. It makes absolutely no sense for John to abandon his wife and travel across multiple states to go hang outside the prison he is still wanted for escaping from to catch a large catfish because someone he never met offered to pay Arthur for it. But as a completionist gamer? I'm catching that fish.
