RDR2’s Armadillo Compared To Red Dead Redemption’s Version

Attention to detail has always been a cornerstone of game development, and that has become increasingly true as game developers are now creating near-photorealistic worlds and telling award-winning narratives that rival any form of literature. Few games are a better example of this than Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption series. Both the original that was released in 2010 and the prequel that launched in 2018 are two of the most critically-acclaimed and commercially successful games of their respective generations, and that is due to incredible level of craftsmanship.

Red Dead Redemption and RDR2 pose a unique duality in that the sequel takes players back over a decade before the original story, but is technologically advanced compared to the original because of the massive advancements in gaming. This is even addressed cheekily in RDR2 with John Marston’s poor swimming as a callback to Red Dead Redemption. One place in particular that saw vast differences in narrative and design was the town of Armadillo.

Though both games take place in the same fictionalized frontier, the time gap between the two has important implications to the setting. Armadillo serves as the capital of New Austin in both games, but it is in far different states when players finally reach it in RDR2. The majority of RDR2 takes place in the northern states, and through smart storytelling doesn’t return players to New Austin until the epilogue, which was fittingly the main location for Red Dead Redemption. While Armadillo is a main hub in the original, when players reach it in RDR2 it is beset with plague and on the verge of collapse.

Armadillo Epitomizes Frontier Life In Red Dead

From the time of 1899 to 1907, the timeline of the RDR2 campaign, Armadillo suffers outbreaks of Scarlet Fever, typhus, and cholera, causing many deaths and people to flee the town. During the sequel players can even see mummified bodies and fires burning throughout the area. Armadillo itself plays into Tumbleweed’s decline by siphoning jobs and settlers, but both towns were designed to show the decline of frontier towns as improved hygiene, medical advancements, and industrialization brought incredible growth to towns like Blackwater, Annesburg, and of course Saint Denis.

In the year the original game takes places, 1911, Armadillo has recovered from its continual plagues and becomes a bustling hub full of various vendors, townsfolk, and a number of missions. Where in RDR2 Armadillo only has a saloon, stagecoach, and a general store manned by Herbert Moon, in Red Dead Redemption Herbert is still there along with a new cinema, doctor’s office, and much more. Players are able to buy a safehouse in Armadillo and play some poker and fiver-finger filet as well. In RDR2, however, once players finally get to Armadillo, there isn’t much aside from a few cigarette cards and the notable donkey lady Easter egg.

Given the sheer scale of RDR2‘s story its likely many players never even made it to Armadillo, but in Red Dead Redemption the story kicks off with players traveling from Blackwater to Armadillo on the very first mission “Exodus in America.” The opening hours of the game have players continually coming back through town for supplies, a number of stranger missions, and key missions for Marshall Leigh Johnson and John Marston’s savior Bonnie McFarlane. The city of Armadillo offers players hours and hours of gameplay options, but even after that players will likely find themselves coming back to the central hub of New Austin.

Rockstar did some very intricate continuity work between both games to give Armadillo a wonderful backstory and setting. There is an even a train station that doesn’t function in Red Dead Redemption 2 to flesh out the story that the town was on a promising path until being ravaged by plagues. Armadillo was as resilient as its name suggests, though, and once the plagues subsided the trains started running leading to a full revival. By the time players visit it four years later in Red Dead Redemption it’s well on its way to being the centerpiece of the western frontier.

About The Author

Rion Duncan
(79 Articles Published)

See also  Black Canary Can Answer Birds Of Prey's Questions About Dinah's Powers

Rion Duncan is a science-fiction author and avid gamer. After spending his youth in marketing he finally returned to his first love of imaginary worlds and fantastical characters. When not working on his book series Idonia or recording episodes for his Eclectic Podcast, he spends time doing his favorite activity; playing with his two-year old daughter.

More From Rion Duncan