Retrospective Red Dead Redemption

This one-off western wonder is also one of the finest open-world adventures we have.

- Martin Kitts

Combining the hardcore forum cred of a cult favorite with the sales figures of a genuine mainstream hit, Red Dead Redemption saw the Grand Theft Auto formula transplanted into the last days of the Old West, to hugely successful effect. In much the same way that GTA distils the essence of modern America as seen through the lens of Hollywood, Redemption is Rockstar’s homage to a period of history that’s distant and strange, yet somehow also intensely familiar.

Set a century ago, the game follows John Marston, a retired outlaw who, despite having renounced his former life and taken on the role of a simple farmer, has been press-ganged into bringing his old partners-in-crime to justice. Leaving his family behind, Marston heads out to the border state of New Austin and sets about hunting down his former comrades, aided and abetted by a cast of stereotypes who will be recognizable to anyone who’s watched more than a fistful (yes!) of Clint Eastwood movies.

You’ll meet Bonnie McFarlane, the feisty cowgirl who’s more than a match for the men, and elderly sharpshooter Landon Ricketts, who can still teach the young guns a trick or two. There’s grizzled lawman Leigh Johnson, world-weary but incorruptible, and naive journalist Jimmy Saint, unwittingly wandering into danger while researching tales of the west. And let’s not forget slippery conman Nigel West Dickens and the numerous swaggering gunslingers and ruthless banditos, all of whom help Redemption tick every box on the big checklist of western clichés. But while the plot would not have won any Oscars if it had been made into a movie, as a game it all makes perfect sense. Its job is to give you a reason to exist in the vast world the developers have created, so why not populate it with characters you already know?