Summary
From major players like Arthur, John, and Sadie to the likes of minor characters like Pearson and Swanson, there doesn’t seem to be a character in the Van der Linde gang that is poorly represented or underwritten inRed Dead Redemption 2. It’s an impressive feat given how large theVan der Linde gangis at the start of the game, and while the story’s writing has been praised up and down since release, juggling all these fully realized characters arguably isn’t something Rockstar gets enough credit for.
With a sequel presumably coming to round off the trilogy, the bar has been set almost impossibly high by what many would consider the studio’s magnum opus inRed Dead Redemption 2.But there’s something the studio can do to catch lightning in a bottle a second time; one of the most underrated features of the second game was responsible for so much of the character work that it would be criminal for it not to return in the third game: camps and the character interactions that occur within them.
Some of the best character moments came from stopping and taking the time totalk to the NPCs around the camp. It’s very easy for the camp conversations to take a backseat to all the fun gameplay and exploration the world has to offer, but actually engaging with the gang members in the camp as the story progresses is some of the best storytelling content in the game that is entirely missable if the player isn’t paying attention to it.
During the early game, the camp conversations are lighthearted and easygoing, reflecting the backdrop of the story of the gang in its heyday. It gives a chance to get to know all the gang members under normal circumstances before things start going really south; their backstories, outlook on life and other gang members, and their perspective on what’s going on in the story. It’s a really intuitive way to let the playerget to know Arthur Morgan and hisRed Dead Redemption 2companions as people, rather than just as NPCs there to deliver expository dialogue and give quests.
As the story progresses, the conversations around the camp markedly change. The despair, distrust, and fear start to creep in as everyone slowly becomes aware of their fortunes changing for the worse. Somecharacters like Reverend Swanson and Karenhave the majority of their character development in these conversations and their eventual fates are nicely built up after taking the time to talk to them throughout the earliest chapters of the game. As the individual gang members start to falter, they’ll tell Arthur one by one their intentions to leave the gang before things get too bad.
The camp was such a great addition to the game that it needs to see a return inRed Dead Redemption 3. Indeed, it would be another simple way to get so muchnatural character development in aRed Dead Redemptiongamewithout sacrificing the freedom and fun the medium allows. Short of straight-up making a third game a cutscene simulator, something akin toRed Dead Redemption 2’s camp is probably the best option to get those meaningful story beats back.
There’s a lot of reason to believea thirdRed Dead Redemptiongame will be yet another prequel, so another camp might already be in the cards.
But it might be an idea to change the formula ever so slightly to keep it fresh. The first game had a stationary hub of sorts throughBeecher’s Hope, though it was mostly empty after Abigail and Jack were taken by the government. A third game could marry the two concepts: the camp filled to the brim with interesting, three-dimensional NPCs and a stationary base of operations to return to.
A stationary camp can reflect the Van der Linde gang’s glory days in the old West as a simpler time when they didn’t have to constantly be on the move. It can even make way for a building system where the player can contribute to the camp’s construction over time and see it expand and grow, not unlike thecamps inRed Dead Online. Only time will tell, though camps being reprised would do well for the franchise’s intimate storytelling.
Red Dead Redemption 2
WHERE TO PLAY
America, 1899. The end of the wild west era has begun as lawmen hunt down the last remaining outlaw gangs. Those who will not surrender or succumb are killed. After a robbery goes badly wrong in the western town of Blackwater, Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang are forced to flee. With federal agents and the best bounty hunters in the nation massing on their heels, the gang must rob, steal and fight their way across the rugged heartland of America in order to survive. As deepening internal divisions threaten to tear the gang apart, Arthur must make a choice between his own ideals and loyalty to the gang who raised him. From the creators of Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption, Red Dead Redemption 2 is an epic tale of life in America at the dawn of the modern age.
