RDR and Silence: Where the Game Speaks Louder

Red Dead Redemption completes 15 years on May 18, 2025 , still being one of the most emblematic games of Rockstar Games . However, despite its revered status, part of its narrative remains problematic. Its satire — inherited from the Grand Theft Auto series — often hollows out the dramatic potential of a western that, at times, becomes more eloquent when it simply remains silent.

Set in the final days of the Old West expansion, the game presents John Marston as a figure out of time, a criminal who believes he can ensure his family's safety by collaborating with the government of the United States . "He is a symbol of the nation's sins and, at the same time, a victim of it." The tragedy is well crafted, but occupies only a fraction of the game time. The rest is filled with interactions with caricatured characters — like the conman Nigel West Dickens , the stereotyped Irishman Irish , and the sham revolutionary Abraham Reyes .

The representation of Mexico is particularly shallow. A historically complex conflict like the Mexican Revolution is reduced to a dichotomy between a tyrannical government and an opportunistic revolution. Marston moves through this scenario with indifference: he helps both sides, always cynically, without real involvement. "The game's pessimism is not dark, it's superficial."

Narratively, Red Dead Redemption fails to develop tensions that it creates. Marston, as an agent of state repression and a white man of the frontier, has his suffering placed in parallel with that of indigenous peoples. But the game never confronts the fact that he is precisely part of the system that caused this suffering.

Still, the game reaches moments of visual and sensory excellence when it abandons forced dialogues. Crossing the border with Mexico to the sound of "Far Away" , by José González , is an example of this. The impact comes not from the script, but from the combination of landscape, silence, and timing. The problem? The scene is preceded by jokes about drunks.

Despite the separation between the main narrative and the open world, this isolation works. Unlike Ubisoft games, RDR does not turn its map into a "checklist." Minigames like poker and liar's dice are optional activities. Random events occur with or without the player. The world turns independently of Marston's presence.

There is life beyond the narrative: hunting and collecting mechanics, varied biomes, daily cycles, and moments of contemplation in environments inspired by places like Monument Valley . Silence reigns. Without radios or urban traffic, there is only the sound of the desert. This cadence creates a meditative atmosphere that few games can replicate.

The ending synthesizes the best of the game: after fulfilling his mission, Marston returns to his family, lives a rural routine, does daily tasks, and rebuilds relationships. The violent climax that ends his journey is devastating, not only because of the violence, but because of the quietness that precedes it. "Marston promises that he will find his family — knowing he will die."

But it is impossible to ignore that Red Dead Redemption heavily draws from Blood Meridian , by Cormac McCarthy . The literary work offers depth, violence, and beauty in proportions that the game only tries to emulate. However, what the book does not have — and the game delivers — is the sensory experience: a distant campfire, the howl of a coyote, the loneliness of the desert at dawn.

In summary, RDR achieves its greatness in moments of silence. When it sets aside sarcasm and allows the world to speak for itself. A choice that, 15 years later, continues to mark its legacy — both for its achievements and missed opportunities.