Not for open world games, I love RDR2 and it's one of my favorite game of all time but it has very outdated mission system that is on very strict rails that doesn't allow any sort of freedom, which is awful for an open world game. It is basically "linear open world game".
Standards for animations, production quality etc, sure, but with how much money and experience Rockstar has, one would expect no less on that front.
It's always an interesting comparison. The Witcher 3 was a genre defining game and put prior Rockstar games like GTA well in it's shadow. So much so that there's always talk about it being among gaming's greatest ever.
Read Dead 2 in terms of the detail, polish, animation etc has without doubt further raised the bar. But I can't help but feel that as big an achievement as that was - including the writing of the lead characters who were some of the most complex we've seen in gaming - the game won't be remembered the way the Witcher 3 has been.
The differences for me are as follows:
- The sheer scope of the Witcher 3's world, monsters, quests, lore, storylines (including DLCs) is such incredible.
- The writing is the best I've seen in gaming. While not as realistic or grounded a setting as RDR2, the richness and snappiness of the writing when you consider the first point and especially given the number of genuinely interestingly side quests, was a remarkable achievement. I've finished it three times and it's just not possible to do that unless the side quests feel believable.
- Combat and mission design. Now, I know everyone says the Witcher 3's combat is weak and while there is truth to that - I can't compare it to Dark Souls, God of War or even Ghost of Tsushima. It's much.. lighter. But I do think it's pretty good, and better than it gets credit for. And for its time, I personally enjoyed the combat much more than other proper RPGS ( such as fallout, Skyrim or turn based games). Mission design is also strong. This is where RDR2 falls apart for me. As lovely as it is so many aspects the actual missions may as well not have me pressing a single button given how basic they are. At least in the Witcher 3 I feel a weight to the combat when I'm surrounded by 5 goons or when up against a monster that's painfully strong. RDR2 is just ride horse or aim plus shoot. It's not even comparable to Witcher 3 from 2015 let alone new games out now.
- The other area I feel RDR2 lacked a bit was the charm of the game. There's some magic in the world and characters in the very best games that for some reason lacked for me. I didn't care about the characters I met one bit. It was just all Arthur and Dutch for me. And the idea of playing a murderous but celebrated (by the game) bunch of thugs did feel slightly weird.
So yeah, those are the areas where I'd say Rockstar has to work for their next game. I know capturing there are things they can't - like the atmosphere/tone of the Witcher 3 which many people allude to as making it special. And to be honest they don't needed. With RDR2 they created something special on their own. But if they can maintain the quality of the animation, cinematics, dialogue etc and improve on some the above - especially gameplay - then that'll be a huge leap. Gameplay doesn't always have to be as good as Dark Souls or God of War for example. Especially when you do other things so well. But it should feel great at least.