Rockstar Games' Red Dead Redemption 2 is a sprawling epic set against the backdrop of the American West, and it's no surprise that the game's mission names reflect that theme. From the beginning of RDR2 through its epilogue, players are constantly bombarded with names, tropes, and visuals which are pulled straight from old-fashioned Western movies and books set in the Wild West.
For a period piece trying to evoke a very specific moment in American history, this isn't a bad thing. Tropes and stereotypes, when applied properly and respectfully, are a fantastic way to impart upon the player just what kind of world they are experiencing. In Red Dead Redemption 2, it is clear Rockstar was attempting to immerse players in the world of the Wild West - both as it was shown in classic Westerns and also how it actually was for normal people in real life. From town names to character dialects to the diseases RDR2 characters catch, everything is in service of making the game's Western theme as tangible as possible.
This immersion extends to Red Dead Redemption 2's mission names, of which there are many. Rockstar has always taken a somewhat playful approach to naming missions in the Red Dead Redemption and Grand Theft Auto series, but it feels like extra care was given to the titles in RDR2. While games in the Grand Theft Auto franchise (and, to a lesser extent, the original Red Dead Redemption) tend to feature missions with playful and/or satirical titles, the ones in RDR2 are more serious in tone.
What RDR2 Mission Names Would Make The Best Western Movie
Some of the missions in Red Dead Redemption 2 have fairly generic titles, and some of them are used more than once, but a lot of them are quite memorable and evoke the feeling of other media set in the Wild West. Below is a list of real Red Dead Redemption 2 missions that feel like they could be easily turned into a Western movie.
- Outlaws from the West
- Eastwood Bound
- Americans at Rest
- A Quiet Time
- We Loved Once and True
- Money Lending and Other Sins
- The Spines of America
- A Fisher of Men
- The Sheep and the Goats
- A Strange Kindness
- The New South
- American Distillation
- Friends in Very Low Places
- A Short Walk in a Pretty Town
- The Battle of Shady Belle
- The Joys of Civilization
- Angelo Bronte, a Man of Honor
- A Fine Night of Debauchery
- Urban Pleasures
- Revenge is a Dish Best Eaten
- Savagery Unleashed
- Paradise Mercifully Departed
- That's Murfree Country
- A Fork in the Road
- The Fine Art of Conversation
- The Delights of Van Horn
- The Bridge to Nowhere
- Fatherhood, for Beginners
- A New Jerusalem
- Uncle's Bad Day
- American Venom
All of these RDR2 mission titles sound like they would would great for a movie set in the Wild West, or on the cover of a paperback western novel. This is by no means a comprehensive list, but it's hard to look at any of the Red Dead Redemption 2 mission names listed above and not picture a hand-drawn movie poster in that classic Western film style - although these days it would probably be Kurt Russel in the starring role, not Clint Eastwood.