Red Dead Redemption is an action-adventure video game created and released by Rockstar Games in 2010. This western-themed title lassoed the hearts of many gamers with an engrossing story and unique gameplay, cementing itself as one of the best games of its generation.
With Red Dead Redemption 2 right around the corner, fans are going to need some games to hold them over so that they don’t lose their minds waiting. These are a few of the games most similar to Red Dead Redemption that we could find. Let us know in the comments which one’s your favorite!
Call of Juarez: Gunslinger
Games Like Red Dead Redemption
While Red Dead Redemption stands out as arguably the best western shooter in gaming history, there is no question that the Call of Juarez series has helped keep the genre alive until it released. The series’ most recent installment, Call of Juarez: Gunslinger, was easily the best one yet.
The 2013 first-person shooter told the tale of a legendary old bounty hunter named Silas Greaves. Players lived the gunslinger’s adventures, all told via a comic book-like flashback narrative. Core gameplay elements revolved around bullet time slowdowns and gunslinger duels, with the showdowns rapping up each chapter.
The game also included three unique game modes (story, arcade, and duel), essentially allowing players to isolate their favorite parts of the game, like duels, instead of having to play through the story just to get to them. While simple, the game’s ending, as well as the ultimatum it presents, is a personal favorite of mine.
Gun
Games Like Red Dead Redemption
Originally released back in 2005, Gun was a title that really put a lot of gamers on a cowboy kick. Set in the American Old West in the year 1880, the game used real figures, gangs, and stories from that time period to further its narrative.
The story follows an Apache, Colton “Cole” White, as he battles an onslaught of killers, bandits, and power-mad cowboys in order to protect everyone around him. White is a skilled Marksman, allowing players to wield a bevy of different weapon, thus creating varied gameplay. Gun was also one of the first games to implement bullet time slow down into its gameplay. When Cole’s quickdraw gauge is full and activated, the game switches over to first person, slowing down time to let players shoot TNT and deliver fatal blows.
Grand Theft Auto V
Games Like Red Dead Redemption
Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto V receive a lot of comparisons due to the fact that they are both made by Rockstar Games. Comparisons that are indeed justified. Despite the fact that one is based in the Old West and the other is set in the modern, fictitious world of Los Santos, both carry the same Rockstar staples in terms of gameplay and story elements.
While they certainly aren’t as endearing as Red Dead Redemption’s beloved protagonist, John Marston, the trio that makes up GTA V’s single-player campaign are definitely as interesting, if not just as trigger happy. While Michael may be a bit of a sociopath, in the end, he really just wants what’s best for him and his family, despite his past mistakes. Franklin is clever, with good intentions, but always manages to end up on the wrong side of things. Trevor is… well his psycho-driven moments of rage are on par with Marston when the cowboy gets mad at least.
Shooting is almost identical to RDR as well, even featuring a slowed down shooting mechanic when controlling Franklin. The main difference is obviously found in the variety of weapons, as GTA V features more modern ones.
The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt
Games Like Red Dead Redemption
Red Dead Redemption features one of the most unique worlds and cast of characters in all of gaming. This fact rings true almost a decade later. If any video game is able to top it though, it has got to be The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt.
Despite one game existing in a magic-fueled fantasy world and the other in an exaggerated retelling of a wild time in our own world, the game’s stories and main characters have a lot of overlap. Both John Marston and Geralt of Rivia are aged men who only want to take care of those close to them. Yet both are also wise and skilled, able to dispatch the monsters that threaten their loved ones, each in their own unique ways.
Even gameplay in these two tiles isn’t without similarities. While The Witcher 3 and RDR are considerably different combat-wise, with one focusing on sword fighting and magic and the other shooting, both rely on precision to triumph. Managing Marston’s bullets and Dead Eye requires the same forethought before going into a battle that Geralt’s magic, weapon degradation, and other combat abilities do.
Red Dead Revolver
Games Like Red Dead Redemption
It may seem obvious that Red Dead Redemption’s predecessors would be a game fans would have already played, but obviously isn’t always common. That and the fact that they are two completely different games.
What is most interesting about Revolver is that, while Redemption can be comical at times, its predecessor is just downright wacky. The easiest way to sum it up is that one mission in Red Dead Revolver has you fighting a horde of evil clowns.
Regardless, I think it is important to play Red Dead Revolver, if for no other reason than to put the sequel in perspective. Not to mention that there would likely be no Red Dead Redemption without Red Dead Revolver, despite how differently we look back on the two games.
Fallout: New Vegas
Games Like Red Dead Redemption
One of the most unique things about the Fallout series is its V.A.T.S system. Standing for Vault-Tec Assisted Targeting System, this mechanic allows players to isolate specific body parts of enemies, slowing down time as it does it. Anyone who has played Red Dead Redemption has no doubt gotten hooked on the game’s Dead Eye meter, another feature that gives them the ability to isolate body parts in real time.
But why recommend Fallout: New Vegas over all the other Fallout games? Just like with many of the other games on this list, Red Dead fans will love the stories that take place in New Vegas. Be it the Courier’s tale of revenge, a well-known cliche among westerns, or the heavy doses of gambling, New Vegas is easily the most western of all the Fallout games.
Hunt: Showdown
Games Like Red Dead Redemption
Hunt: Showdown is a PvP/PvE, first-person bounty hunting game, and what’s more western than a good old fashioned bounty hunt? Not only do you have to track and kill various monsters, but the other hunters searching around the map as well.
Along with bounty hunting, the setting is also very similar to Red Dead’s western world. The maps are located in the Louisiana swamps, with buildings and locales that are indicative of the Old West. The large and clunky weapons are also very much like to the one’s you’ll use with John Marston in Red Dead, from a rusty old pistol to a shotguns and dynamite sticks.
Every time you kill an enemy, you receive monetary compensation. However, if you are killed you not only lose all your money but all your gears as well. The only thing that transfers over is your experience, which always remains in your Bloodlines in your pool of hunters.
Hunt: Showdown is currently in Early Access on PC, and is planned to release on the Xbox One Preview Program sometime soon. No official release date has been set for it yet.
Exoplanet First Contact
Games Like Red Dead Redemption
If Red Dead Redemption took place on an alien planet, it would probably look a bit like Exoplanet: First Contact. This space/western RPG has you playing as once Space Captain Jack Sharp on the planet K’Tharsis where you can choose to side with the local population or as a mercenary for a soulless corporation trying to deplete the planet’s natural resources in a new Gold Rush.
The core of Exoplanet: First Contact is what brings about similarities with Red Dead Redemption, with western themes that are simply attributed to a new world. However, First Contact differs in a lot of ways, mostly due to its greater emphasis on RPG elements. For example, you can craft your own weapons and gear, and choices you make during the game will have an effect on the open-world environments.
Exoplanet: First Contact is currently in Early Access in PC, with no official release date yet to be revealed.
While we all wait with bated breath for the release of Red Dead Redemption 2 on Oct 26, we hope these games will help you whet your western appetite in the meantime.
