Rockstar’s Best Chance to Make Red Dead Redemption 2 Truly Untouchable Was Just Right There

It’s not a debate that Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of the biggest and best games ever made. Rockstar Games gave us a beautiful world, a well-told and written story, and the whole nine yards in RDR2. But after the story came Red Dead Online, and the debate among fans is that we could’ve gotten more story instead.

The epilogue of RDR2 shows us the events following Arthur Morgan’s death as we follow John Marston’s journey going forward and the transition to the first game. But still, fans think we could’ve explored the timeline between the two games a bit more.

Could Rockstar have added even more story in RDR2?

When Rockstar first made the choice to add an epilogue to the end of Red Dead Redemption 2‘s story, it was one that turned out to be a masterpiece. It gave players a satisfying conclusion to Arthur Morgan’s journey while setting the stage for John’s evolution into the character we know from the original Red Dead Redemption. Years later, fans think it’s a bit long but very necessary and some even wish it was longer.

Unpopular opinion. I wish the Epilogue was longer
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In contrast, Red Dead Online never quite felt the same, in terms of its depth. The jump from the detailed single-player storyline to the largely freeform online mode is something Rockstar has done before with GTA Online. But with a story like RDR2, it may not have been the best idea, especially with the way it was done.

The biggest issue with Red Dead Online that’s been brought up over the years is how disconnected it feels from the world created in the single-player campaign. RDO takes place in the same world. It’s open, stunning, and just as beautiful, but the immersion that made RDR2 so special simply isn’t there.

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With RDO, Rockstar attempted to create a living, breathing Wild West filled with us players. However, it falls short when compared to the emotional weight and narrative structure of the story mode. The player experience is changed from us following the story of Arthur Morgan and the chaos that is online play, it’s almost as if we’re playing a different game altogether.

Hopefully, Rockstar prioritizes more story in Red Dead Redemption 3

Looking back, Rockstar really had the chance to make RDR2 an even bigger success than it is today. It’s really similar to how the situation is today. Developers sometimes allocate resources to making an online or a live service mode which doesn’t always work out. PlayStation for example just canceled a possible live service God of War that was in development.

RDR2‘s epilogue gave us a brief but meaningful look into the lives of key characters like Sadie Adler, Charles Smith, and John Marston as they settled into their post-gang lives. It’s a shame that we didn’t get to explore more of the timeline between RDR2 and the first game during the epilogue. Imagine if we got an epilogue DLC for that purpose instead of an Online mode that no one plays anymore.

Do you think the game’s longevity was in question? Because RDR2 had such a big, living, open world full of quests and activities to do that would have and has lasted for a long time. But then the question is, could we have gotten more of that instead of Red Dead Online?