Feb. 11, 2026 | Jaylin Emond-Hardin | Entertainment Editor
Content warning: This game contains minor spoilers for the Red Dead Redemption franchise
Everyone knows Rockstar Games’ most popular franchise, Grand Theft Auto. With five games in the main series and a sixth coming out in November, the game series has cemented its place in popular culture — after all, who could forget the “we got … before GTA 6” meme?
While the Grand Theft Auto franchise is widely recognized, Rockstar’s other major series — the Red Dead Redemption games — is far less known by comparison.
Consisting of three games — Red Dead Redemption, Red Dead Redemption II and Red Dead Redemption: Online — the franchise is set in the late 1800s and early 1910s, focusing on themes of violence, loss and, of course, redemption. For context, I will refer to each game as Red Dead, Red Dead II and Red Dead Online, as these are the names typically used in fan communities.
Red Dead follows protagonist John Marston as he navigates the last days of the American West in 1911. The game follows Marston as he attempts to free his family from Dutch Van der Linde, the notorious leader of the Van der Linde gang, and has near-exactly identical game mechanics to the Grand Theft Auto franchise.
Red Dead II is a prequel to Red Dead and follows Arthur Morgan, a member of the Van der Linde gang in 1899. It follows the gang’s descent into notoriety and ends with Morgan’s death, either due to tuberculosis or at the hands of fellow gang member Micah Bell.
Red Dead Online is a prequel to both games and follows a player-customized character, and players have the option to follow the accompanying storyline or to do whatever they wish within the free roam map.
While I haven’t played Red Dead, I have played Red Dead II and Red Dead Online, and I can honestly say I prefer the online game mode. I enjoy being a character I created myself — I have been playing the same character for almost six years now — and the stranger missions are unlimited, even after the main storyline has been completed. I also really love Arthur Morgan as a character, and because Red Dead Online is set before the events of Red Dead II, he never dies.
Red Dead Online is low stakes when compared to its main story counterparts. While players accumulate low or high honor — the system of how decisions are made which may affect dialogue and certain missions — these choices carry far fewer lasting consequences, allowing players to experiment freely without significantly altering the game world or narrative.
Like the Grand Theft Auto franchise, Red Dead Redemption allows players to free roam, and there are no consequences for not completing story missions, which allows players to make the game as low-stakes as they wish.
All three Red Dead Redemption games are available on Steam, the Microsoft Store and the PlayStation Store, though the first installment is not compatible with Xbox Series S. Red Dead II and Red Dead Online can be bought as a bundle or individually, though I recommend the bundle so a one-time purchase can be made.
Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu
