Rockstar Games released Red Dead Redemption 2 in 2018, and it was accompanied by the popular but often overlooked Red Dead Online, which expanded on the cowboy fantasy established in the campaign. One Red Dead Online fan has spotted a strange and potentially haunting three-letter message in dead trees in the vast western landscape.
Reddit user Writking recently posted an image of their Red Dead Online adventure in which they discover several trees that come together to spell out one word. Like Red Dead Redemption 2, the online component to the Rockstar Games title offers a plethora of Easter eggs and references, ranging from fun and whimsical to off-putting and creepy, with countless in between. However, Red Dead Online continues to not receive updates from Rockstar Games, and players have held a large funeral for the game to commemorate it, an event that Writking may have attended prior to the discovery of these trees.
Near a circle of burnt trees atop Roanoke Ridge in the Ouachita Mountains, Writking has revealed that five trees combine to spell out "why" when observed at the proper angle. The aforementioned Red Dead Online Easter egg joins a long lineup of mysterious objects in the Rockstar Games open world that may be spotted by fewer people as they leave the live service game that isn't getting updates. It has been spotted in the past by other Red Dead Online fans that have been able to confirm that a bolt of lightning will always strike these trees at 10:00 P.M. if a player is wearing Viking gear in the single-player mode.
While the going consensus about these Red Dead Online trees is that they spell out the word why, others have angled their camera to show it as "help" as well, further emphasizing the optical illusionary nature of the Easter egg. In addition to these environmental puzzles that require lining up such trees in Red Dead Online, some games such as Assassin's Creed Valhalla's standing stones and Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice's illusions encourage players to uncover similar hidden messages like how these trees may spell out multiple words. Unlike the two games, looking at these Red Dead Online trees from different directions won't unlock any items or achievements and is just a part of the environment.
One Red Dead Redemption 2 fan has noted that the Native Americans occasionally portrayed by Rockstar Games during the game's campaign have thunder and lightning gods that may be referenced with the inclusion of the why trees. Other players suggested that the trees spell out KHY or War, but an eagle-eyed fan highlighted the fact that the same trees can be found in Red Dead Online's Rio Grande, and they appear the exact same, unlike in other places that reuse the trees.
Red Dead Online is available now for Google Stadia, PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
