Red Dead Redemption
For all of its wild west action and theatrics, Red Dead Redemption is a game driven by a bleak and unforgiving story.
Set against the backdrop of the last days of the wild west, the game follows the former outlaw John Marston on his mission to capture his former allies and friends to earn a pardon from the law.
Doing so will earn him the right to live out the rest of his days in peace with his family, tending to a farm he bought in the hopes of providing a better life for them.
To this end, he chases down those he once called allies, condemning them to death either by his own hands or that of the law he hands them over to.
Once he succeeds, he returns home to live out his long-sought after peaceful life… only to be betrayed by the lawmen he assisted trusted.
When the dust settles, he lies dead, his family left to mourn until his son takes up arms against them in a mission of revenge.
It’s a heartbreaking portrayal of not being able to escape one’s past, the inescapable cycle of violence and many other themes that, while impactful and captivating, don’t do much to elevate one’s mood.
By the time the credits roll, players are just as likely to mourn John’s passing as his family, and just as likely to lament the path his son sets out upon after he tried so hard to steer him away from such a violent life.
