The first Red Dead Redemption was a resounding success, but it is arguably outdone by its successor. 2018's Red Dead Redemption 2 offers a notably different, considerably more advanced, Wild-West adventure, complete with a mostly-new cast and a brand-new protagonist. Against all odds, the story of Red Dead Redemption 2 is even more fondly remembered than that of the first game—the opposite of a sophomore slump.
Major spoilers ahead for Red Dead Redemption 2.
One can't extol the effectiveness of Red Dead Redemption 2's narrative without paying respect to its leading man, Arthur Morgan. While John Marston is iconic in his own right, Arthur Morgan surpasses him in depth, complexity, and charisma; all of his warring personality traits and choices mingle and clash to create a truly compelling protagonist. He's a central figure in many of the other characters' lives as well, playing something of an uncle or older brother role for many of them. This makes him considerably more endearing, to be sure, but it also makes his absence in Red Dead Redemption 1 much more awkward and inexplicable. This is something that any potential Red Dead Redemption remake should strive to remedy.
A Potential Red Dead Redemption Remake Needs an Injection of Arthur Morgan
Arthur Morgan Is Missing from Red Dead Redemption 1 Entirely
The first Red Dead Redemption takes place roughly twelve years after the events of the second game, after Arthur passes away and the Van der Linde Gang splits up. As such, it's a game concerned with the past, showing players a decayed, corrupted version of what was once, allegedly, a thriving, beautiful criminal enterprise. Tragically, Red Dead Redemption 2 confirms that, more than just a strong outlaw outfit, the Van der Linde Gang was a family, living by their own creed, each member operating with the best possible intentions (with some notable exceptions).
Fleshing out the Van der Linde Gang's past in this way was a good decision on Rockstar's part, but it came with one major drawback: the studio had to work around what was already established in Red Dead Redemption 1. For the most part, Rockstar did a good job of this, but new narrative elements were unavoidable, and Arthur Morgan himself is one such new element, clearly only a twinkle in Rockstar's writers' eyes at the time the first game was made.
Because of this, there is no acknowledgment of Arthur by John or any other Red Dead Redemption character, which is quite implausible. Red Dead Redemption 2 establishes that John and Arthur have a strong, brotherly bond, and Arthur is shown to be rather close with Abigail as well, so it's bizarre that they would never mention him. This is especially strange since the entire story of the first game is about coming to terms with the Gang's past; there are ample opportunities for Arthur's name to come up.
None of this should be taken as a criticism of Rockstar, of course: there was no way to make Red Dead Redemption 2 both unpredictable and completely consistent with its predecessor without actually changing the latter. That wasn't feasible at the time for a number of reasons, but it's certainly feasible today.
Ahead of 2023's Red Dead Redemption remaster, gaming audiences were champing at the bit for a proper remake, akin to something like The Last of Us Part 1 or even Persona 5 Royal: a meaningfully updated version of the game with some new content. These dreams didn't come to fruition, but they did prove that there's demand for a full-blown Red Dead remake, and if that happens, it would be the perfect opportunity to add some references to Arthur. These can be as small as Easter eggs or throwaway lines of dialog, but they would go a long way toward making the franchise feel more cohesive and consistent.
Red Dead Redemption
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 79 /100 Critics Rec: 73%
- Released
- May 18, 2010
- ESRB
- M For Mature 17+ Due To Blood, Intense Violence, Nudity, Strong Language, Strong Sexual Content, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Rockstar San Diego
- Publisher(s)
- Rockstar Games
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- rockstar advanced game engine
- Genre(s)
- Open-World, Adventure
