Red Dead Redemption 2 is the most anticipated game of 2018. After nearly a decade of waiting and two years since being officially announced, we’re all very anxious to get our hands on the game and learn more about it. Rockstar Game is notorious for their secrets and revealing trailers and info on their own time which is why we’ve only gotten three trailers since October 2016.
With that said, they pack their trailers full of details both obvious and subtle so that we have plenty of things to pick apart and theorize about. With the newly released third Red Dead Redemption 2 trailer, there is a lot to dissect. We see characters like John Marston, federal agent Edgar Ross, Bill Williamson, and more throughout the trailer and we also learn a lot more about the story itself.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is set during the dawn of a new century and the end of a less civilized America
We’ve known for a while now that Red Dead Redemption 2 would be a prequel to the first game due to the appearance of Dutch van der Linde but we weren’t sure of the exact year the game was set in. We now know that the game takes place in 1899, 12 years before the original game and 7 years before the failed steamboat heist that led to the downfall of the gang.
The government is finally cracking down hard on gangs in an effort to bring us into the future of America, a more civilized era with fewer outlaws and more order.
The mystery of the Blackwater Massacre will be revealed
In the original game, it’s offhandedly noted that there was a massive shootout in 1899 that took the lives of criminals, outlaws, and citizens in the town of Blackwater. Not much is publicly known regarding the cause of the battle or who was truly involved as the police went to great lengths to cover it up.
It’s reported that 37 people died, one of which may be Bonnie McFarland’s brother who may have been leading a rebellious life with Dutch’s gang. One of the few known survivors of the massacre is the legendary Landon Ricketts who is found in Mexico in the first game, Marston knew of the famous lawman and heard stories about him presumably due to his status following the bloody shootout.
One other character with a connection to the shootout is Archer Fordham, Edgar Ross’ right-hand man. The gravestone of the character’s mother can be found at the Blackwater cemetery and an audio file from an NPC suggests she got shot in the massacre and died in 1900, possibly following surgical complications or an infection. The NPC line is as follows, “I hear that Bureau fella’s never been the same since his mother got shot in the massacre.”
In Red Dead Redemption 2’s official plot synopsis, it’s noted that a robbery gone wrong in Blackwater sends the gang on the run, “After a robbery goes badly wrong in the western town of Blackwater, Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang are forced to flee.” The Blackwater Massacre will likely be the inciting incident in Red Dead Redemption 2.
This also backs up that map leak from several years ago which had Blackwater placed at the bottom of the map, if the trailers are anything to go by, we’ll be fleeing north so it makes sense to have Blackwater at the southern point of the map.
Rockstar appears to be bringing heists from Grand Theft Auto V to Red Dead Redemption 2
One of the standout features of Rockstar’s last title, Grand Theft Auto V, was allowing players to plan and execute large-scale cinematic heists. They were the core setpieces of the game and gave players lumps of cash to spend on all sorts of luxuries. It appears they’ll be making their way into Red Dead Redemption 2 as well.
As we saw in the second trailer, we see the crew holding up a train and now, a bank (presumably in Blackwater based off of the plot synopsis from Rockstar). We were teased with bank heists in the last trailer and there’s no way to tell if the one seen in this trailer is different from the one in the second trailer but it does appear that we’ll be heisting our way through Red Dead Redemption 2. Rockstar notes players will have to “the gang must rob, steal and fight their way across the rugged heartland of America in order to survive.”
It’s not clear if these heists will be as fleshed out as GTA V’s or if they’re the focal point of this game as there were somewhat credible rumors indicating that the game would have an RPG-like party system as seen in Mass Effect or Dragon Age. Players will supposedly be able to pick and choose members of Dutch’s gang they want to take with them out on missions and that sounds more like the core mechanic but nothing like that has been confirmed yet.
John Marston, Bill Williamson, and Edgar Ross all appear in the game
People have been speculating on if John Marston would be in the game for years now. It is a prequel so it’s possible but some thought since he isn’t the main character, Rockstar might have written him out for various reasons. That’s not the case, he’s most definitely in the game. We see him a couple times throughout the trailer both at the forefront of the action and in the background. It’s not clear if the original voice actor will be returning as he hasn’t done a lot of acting since RDR but the one grunt we can hear from him sounds like the same actor.
We also see Bill Williamson and a younger Edgar Ross who will seemingly serve alongside an older and more aggressive government agent. The unnamed agent seems pretty hellbent on tearing down the gang and will likely be the game’s primary antagonist but not much else is known about him as of right now.
Refined and brutal melee combat
Rockstar’s melee combat has never been something to write home about in all honesty. It gets the job done but you’re more likely to use guns than ever resort to getting in a fist fight because it’s nothing super special. In Red Dead Redemption 2, it looks like there might be more refined hand to hand combat. We see some brutal takedowns and dirty brawls, something that may fit into Arthur Morgan’s brutish nature.
As of right now, that’s all we were able to pick out of the Red Dead Redemption 2 trailer. Did we miss anything? Let us know in the comments below! We’ll likely find out more information tomorrow when outlets like IGN detail their exclusive coverage from seeing the game in action.
Red Dead Redemption 2 will hit shelves on October 26th, 2018.
