It is accepted thatRed Dead Redemptioncan now be looked back upon as a relatively revolutionary addition to the now saturated open-world genre of games. The at the time staggering level of world-building detail, combined with an intricate passion for the game’s narrative, fostered a truly immersive and memorable videogame depiction of the Wild West in its twilight years.
To compliment its critically acclaimed main story, the world ofRed Dead Redemptionwas additionally saturated by swathes of side content for players to enjoy. Of all this wide-ranging side content to be experienced within the gunslinging frontier, the diverse and memorable Stranger missions ofRed Dead Redemptionundoubtedly provided some of the best gameplay and stories that the game had to offer.
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The Fundamentals of Stranger Missions
Stranger missions withinRed Dead Redemptionare optional side-stories that the player will likely organically stumble acrossthroughout the varied landscapes of New Austinand Northern Mexico. These missions would often contain multiple separated sequences that would carry a shared narrative across several missions, culminating in what is more often than not a bizarre or disturbing conclusion.
To gain an indication as to how popular these compelling mini-narratives proved to be with players, the Stranger mission type also featured very prominently in the game’scritically acclaimed follow-upRed Dead Redemption 2. With some of the firstRed Dead Redemption’sStranger missions providing morbid foreshadowing, and even carrying over plot elements to the sequel, some Stranger missions inevitably stand a cut above the rest.
California
One of the earliest Stranger missions that players are likely to come acrosswithinRed Dead Redemptionis that of California. A long-spanning mission, the encounter is memorable for many players in the sobering and sad way in which it concludes.California tells the story of an Eastern European man named Sam Odessa, who originally hailed from somewhere around the Black Sea.
After bumping intofan favorite protagonist John Marstonby chance, Odessa tells Marston of his desire to reach California for the betterment of his family, much in line with the classic trope of the American Dream that was a common source of inspiration for many migrants within the United States at the time. John warns Sam of the dangers of the frontier, with Sam’s optimistic and joyful demeanor overriding any sense of danger.
Over the course of the following in-game weeks, John happens to come across Sam three more times. With each subsequent encounter, it becomes more apparent that Sam is lost and is becoming more and more delirious in the desert heat. With John eventually finding Sam’s sunbaked corpse and taking pity on the man, he delivers a letter intended for Sam’s wife and child on his behalf, providing a somber and impactful end to this particular Stranger questline.
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I Know You
The Stranger mission by the name of I Know You is probably the most recognizable and memorable of all the Strangercontent withinRed Dead Redemption.The encounter is overtly paranormal, with the level of narrative foreshadowing that it offers combining with its creepy nature providing a relatively short but iconic experience.
The mission itself is accessible by players fairly early on in the game, with the gravitas of what it represents only becoming fully apparent upon thecompletion ofRed Dead’sinfamous ending. The pivotal figure within I Know You is an ominous and mysterious character simply referred to as the Strange Man. Mustached and well-dressed, the Strange Man talks to John with an odd level of coy familiarity, much to Marston’s annoyance, and asks him to engage in two tasks that end up involving moral dilemmas.
After judging Marston according to the choices he makes in said dilemmas, the Strange Man is once again encountered in Beecher’s Hope, at the very spot of Marston’s future homestead and grave site. After displaying an uncomfortable level of knowledge of Marston’s life, and seemingly his future, John shoots the Strange Man in anger, only for the bullets to have no effect. While it is up to fan interpretation, it is believed that the Strange Man is either God or the Devil, with him alsoappearing in similarly creepy fashion withinRed Dead Redemption 2.
Flowers For a Lady
Flowers For a Lady is arguablyRed Dead Redemption’sStranger content at its very best. Deceiving and chilling, the story of this Stranger mission paintsthe world ofRed Deadas a much more disturbed and cold one, befitting with many of the game’s themes.
The beauty of this particular Stranger encounter lies within the uniquely wholesome way in which it begins. Being the first Stranger mission that becomes available within the story ofRed Dead Redemption, Flowers For a Lady sees John Marston come across an old man named Billy West, who is picking flowers for his wife Annabel. With the man being less mobile with his old age, he tasks John with finding a variety of flowers scattered across the game’s map to forge a bouquet for his wife, which John most likely accepts due to the evoked feelings of his own wife,Abigail.
With Billy delighted once the player returns to him with the correct flowers, he offers for John to sit with him in his cabin and to try his wife’s tea. With John obliging, many players were horrified to find that Billy’s wife has actually been long dead and is a rotting corpse positioned upright in an armchair within the cabin. With John understandably making an excuse to leave, the player is left to stew in the grotesque realization of Billy’s denial and the true nature of the well-intended mission that they had just embarked upon.
Red Dead Redemptionis available on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360.
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