{"id":24883,"date":"2026-02-11T11:27:07","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T19:27:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/?p=24883"},"modified":"2026-04-02T11:30:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T19:30:49","slug":"gta-but-with-horses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/gta-but-with-horses\/","title":{"rendered":"GTA but with horses"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The author\u2019s Red Dead Online character explores Rockstar\u2019s take on the American frontier. | Photo by Jaylin Emond-Hardin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Feb. 11, 2026 | Jaylin Emond-Hardin | Entertainment Editor<\/span><\/p>\n

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Content warning: <\/b>This game contains minor spoilers for the Red Dead Redemption franchise<\/span><\/p>\n

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Everyone knows Rockstar Games\u2019 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 \u2014 after all, who could forget the \u201cwe got \u2026 before GTA 6\u201d meme?<\/span><\/p>\n

While the Grand Theft Auto franchise is widely recognized, Rockstar\u2019s other major series \u2014 the Red Dead Redemption games \u2014 is far less known by comparison.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Consisting of three games \u2014 Red Dead Redemption, Red Dead Redemption II and Red Dead Redemption: Online \u2014 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019s descent into notoriety and ends with Morgan\u2019s death, either due to tuberculosis or at the hands of fellow gang member Micah Bell.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While I haven\u2019t 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 \u2014 I have been playing the same character for almost six years now \u2014 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Red Dead Online is low stakes when compared to its main story counterparts. While players accumulate low or high honor \u2014 the system of how decisions are made which may affect dialogue and certain missions \u2014 these choices carry far fewer lasting consequences, allowing players to experiment freely without significantly altering the game world or narrative.<\/span><\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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\u2019 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 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1645,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_titles_title":"GTA but with horses","_seopress_titles_desc":"Rockstar\u2019s Red Dead Redemption trades modern crime for cowboys, freedom and low-stakes storytelling play","_seopress_robots_index":"","_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[684,1556,608,39],"class_list":["post-24883","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-entertainment","tag-western","tag-western-oregon","tag-western-oregon-university","tag-wou"],"modified_by":"saragerrick","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24883","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1645"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24883"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24883\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24888,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24883\/revisions\/24888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24883"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24883"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wou.edu\/westernhowl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24883"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}