The popularity of the Red Dead Redemption franchise cannot be understated. While it may not boast the same exact sales as Grand Theft Auto, nothing does—but it continues to be one franchise Rockstar invests in after leaving so many to the wayside. Everything from the setting to the characters makes the title stand out, and Red Dead Redemption’s ending is considered iconic in the industry by many.
This is because of John Marston’s death, the turnover to Jack Marston, and the latter’s pursued vengeance at the end of Red Dead Redemption, on top of everything else. However, while it does not undermine the greatness of the ending, it’s not the only time Rockstar Games has pulled a similar trick.
Red Dead Redemption’s Ending
As a quick refresher, Red Dead Redemption’s ending is nothing but a tragedy that ties to the overarching themes of the franchise. Players, as John Marston, hunt down his former fellow Dutch Van Der Linde Gang members at the behest of the Bureau and agent Edgar Ross. The latter has his wife, Abigail, and his son, Jack, hostage until this is done.
Yet, after John does all of this, the Bureau betrays him—something foreshadowed by Dutch’s last words before his death. They assault his farm, where he is trying to leave his past behind and move on with his life. This assault sees Uncle and John die, with the latter being an iconic moment in the industry that became one of the, if not the absolute, most impactful video game deaths in industry history.
Afterward, players can take over as Jack Marston after he buries his mother next to John a few years later. Having become part of this entire civilization vs. freedom cycle, Jack hunts down Edgar Ross and avenges his father—fathers, if counting the events of Red Dead Redemption 2 now. All of this comes down to an excellent use of storytelling and character development that is second to none, but it’s not the first time Rockstar used a similar story point.
How GTA 4 and Red Dead Revolver Compare to Red Dead Redemption’s Ending
Two Rockstar titles have quite a few similarities to this ending and released a few years, if not more, prior to Red Dead Redemption in 2010. GTA 4 came out a couple of years before in 2008, while Red Dead Revolver released in 2004. Both of these games feature an aspect to the story that is, beat-to-beat, similar to this game.
Red Dead Revolver’s opening is incredibly similar to the end of Red Dead Redemption. It opens with a character, Nate Harlow, returning home and believing that everything would finally be okay much like John Marston did. Nate’s home then comes under fire from a government-supported attack, just like John Marston’s. Nate and John both die during this attack, though Nate’s wife is directly killed here too. While players play Red throughout the entirety of Red Dead Revolver, both sons after these events – Red and Jack – must seek a government for retribution for their family’s death: Red Dead Revolver’s Griffon and Red Dead Redemption’s Edgar Ross.
While that one is pretty on the nose, similarities can be seen in Grand Theft Auto 4 as well. Niko, after doing his last “deal” similar to Marston’s last job for the Bureau, wants to leave his criminal life behind. However, a betrayal ends all possibility of that (Dimitri in GTA 4 and the Bureau in Red Dead Redemption). This betrayal leads to a revenge mission after the loss of a loved one, against the aforementioned Dimitri and Edgar Ross.
Their final words also echo some sentimentality of the American Dream. Jack tells Edgar Ross that he “ain’t going nowhere, old man!” While this is a direct challenge for the duel to come, it’s also a statement that his way of life and his interpretation of freedom in America is going nowhere. Nico says, “this is what the dream feels like…” directly referencing the American Dream and everything he lost in the pursuit thereof, in essence. It’s not as point-for-point as Red Dead Revolver's comparisons, but this framework helps set up Red Dead Redemption.
At the end of the day, this doesn’t pull anything away from these story beats in any of these games. Red Dead Redemption, of the three, may be the most memorable, and that’s in part on building what’s come before.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is available on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.