Why didn't you like gta? It offered a great story. Read dead is open world, like gta, just in a different era, with slightly different controls. Maybe you love the outdoors and beautiful scenery? A story of the wild west?

I think you should give it a go.

RDR1 shared many similarities with gta, but I felt connected with the story and its characters in a way that I had never been before with a gta game. I think GTA V improved on that point, but still, I think RDR1 story was far better. And as someone said, you may only follow the main story line and ignore all the side quests and the map exploring, however, I bet you’ll be missing on a lot of good stuff.

Btw, you should not feel embarrassed for not liking gta games. Although I really enjoy them, I think they have a lot of room to improve on the 'story telling’ department.

Whenever I tell somebody I don't like GTA games, I get conversations comparable with this:

Different type of open world experiences.

There is more to feel embarrassed for liking GTA games as an adult than the opposite. I personally really liked Red Dead Redemption. Not sure if i'd like the new upcoming one. I'd say borrow/rent the game or watch the gameplay on youtube or twitch when it comes out.