Why You Should Start Over in 2026
Gamers love a good story. It’s the reason Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 won Game of the Year in 2025, and why something like Dispatch, with its simple gameplay, can achieve such viral success. But while these games and others do have compelling narratives, they pale in comparison to the writing of Red Dead Redemption 2, which remains one of the medium’s best-ever stories. In and of itself is the argument to replay the game, but if that’s not enough, here’s all the convincing you need.
I know that’s a bold claim, but now that I’ve restarted Red Dead Redemption 2 for the umpteenth time this year, I feel fairly confident in my assessment. Even some of the best-written games start to show their cracks on repeat playthroughs, but RDR2 is something of an exception: it only gets better with time. Not only are its story and dialogue better than the overwhelming majority of games, but also most movies, TV shows, and novels as well. The game’s popularity is sometimes leveled against it, as it’s been argued that it is overrated or pedestrian in some way, but this is a strange conclusion to draw. A lot of people, from first-time gamers to grizzled PC veterans, connect with Red Dead Redemption 2 because its story transcends whatever gameplay or structural problems the rest of the game may have, not because its story appeals to the lowest common denominator—something that can’t be said about many other AAA, story-driven games.
Spoilers ahead for Red Dead Redemption 2.
Every Playthrough Reveals Something New in Red Dead Redemption 2
Red Dead Redemption 2 is famously an ensemble story, with different characters drawing different connections and having different relationships with Dutch and Arthur. It’s hard to overstate how impressive it is that Rockstar managed to make all of these characters, even the unlikable ones, intriguing and believable. More significantly, however, is the game’s complex web of character relationships, which becomes easier to read upon repeat playthroughs.
For instance, I’ve been paying much more attention to how Dutch interacts with each gang member in my current playthrough. Put plainly, Dutch’s manipulations are far more obvious, present in almost every interaction he has. For example, he chastises John in front of Abigail when she is mad at him. He takes in the downtrodden, the abandoned, the spurned, and the scorned, giving them a place to call home, but making such a relationship completely transactional.
A lot of people, from first-time gamers to grizzled PC veterans, connect with Red Dead Redemption 2 because its story transcends whatever gameplay or structural problems the rest of the game may have, not because its story appeals to the lowest common denominator—something that can’t be said about many other AAA, story-driven games.
At several points in the Red Dead Redemption 2 campaign, Dutch chastises or verbally abuses his found family for their perceived transgressions, for doubting him and his authority, for undermining said transaction. Is this the behavior of a malignant narcissist, luring in the vulnerable with his warmth but withholding that warmth when they do something he doesn’t like? Or is it the behavior of a paranoid and traumatized criminal afraid of losing his friends to the encroaching pull of civilization? You might arrive at one answer after your first Red Dead 2 playthrough, but an entirely different one after a second run.
Even if Dutch has good intentions, his dishonesty is undeniable. His lies can be observed at specific moments, like when he gaslights Arthur about leaving him to die in the Cornwall Kerosene and Tar factory, but also more broadly, like when he repeatedly says that he has a plan when he is clearly improvising.
Red Dead Redemption 2 Can Be Blinding at First
I’m sure that there are many who would scoff at my above statements, perhaps claiming that they managed to pick up on the nuances of Red Dead Redemption 2‘s character relationships and psychological storytelling immediately. I’m happy for these people; they possess excellent analytical abilities. But the only thing I feel I’m guilty of is being enchanted by Red Dead Redemption 2‘s captivating story, atmosphere, dialogue, and acting when I first played it. I imagine I’m not alone in this, either.
Red Dead 2‘s ability to hijack the imagination is one of its foremost strengths, and this feeling of being swept away by the current of its narrative is one of the best parts of an initial playthrough. But much like how the characters of Red Dead Redemption are charmed and deceived by Dutch’s affable, clever persona, so too can first-time players be fooled into thinking the game is a standard, if well-executed, western tragedy. It is that, but it’s also a multilayered psychodrama with epic family drama thrown in as well. You can pick up on all of these themes in your first playthrough, but all of this can be recontextualized and re-examined after another playthrough. As such, seriously, consider playing it again this year.
- Released
-
October 26, 2018
- ESRB
-
M for Mature: Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Nudity, Sexual Content, Strong Language, Use of Drugs and Alcohol