Some games just leave a mark even after you’ve put down the controller. Red Dead Redemption 2 is exactly that kind of experience for many people. When the story ends, you feel like you just let go of dear old friends. The gaming industry has made many great games throughout the years, but there aren’t many games that handle dialogue as this one did. Rockstar somehow managed to capture something real about the dying days of the Wild West, and a big part of that comes down to what these characters actually say to each other.
So here’s my take on the best lines from the game. Some are the kind that break your heart, some’ll make you laugh. All of them feel like they belong to real people, not just video game characters.
The story of Red Dead Redemption 2
Red Dead Redemption 2 is a tragedy about the end of an era. We follow Arthur Morgan and the Van der Linde gang as they flee across America.
At first, it’s a fun action game, where you ride horses through snowy mountains with gorgeous graphics and complete your missions. The game showcases the potential of the evolution of video game graphics, and it pulls you deeper into Arthur’s journey. But what makes this story real is that it refuses to give you easy answers. You have the opinion of doing bad things, but compared to other games, you don’t really want to take that path.
The game gives you the freedom to be as honorable or as cruel as you want, but your choices have weight. The world and the characters in it will react to who you’ve chosen to be. Those choices eventually shape the way Arthur’s journey ends. You start out like an outlaw on a big adventure, and you feel like you are invincible. But as the world gets smaller and the gang starts to go their separate ways, it becomes more intimate. It becomes a story about what we owe to the people we love and whether we can escape our past.
Arthur Morgan
Arthur, the main character, is not very chatty. He’s a man who lets his actions do the talking most of the time. But that’s how you know that when he does open his mouth, he’ll say something that hits. You can feel the weight of everything he’s been through. Gamers fell in love with Arthur, and he is considered one of the best game characters for his redemption arc. He is not a hero and he doesn’t want to be, but his story is still filled with compassion and sacrifice.
- “We’re thieves in a world that don’t want us no more.”
- “I guess I… I’m afraid.”
- “You’re my brother.” – “I know.” – His last words to John.
- “Revenge is a fool’s game.”
- “You’re a good man, Arthur Morgan.” – Jimmy Brooks says this if you save him. But, ironically, it’s also become a meme where players do awful things while this line plays.
- “Be loyal to what matters.”
- “You know, all that ever mattered to me was loyalty? It was all I knew. It was all I ever believed in.”
- “John made it. He’s the only one. Rest of us… no. But… I tried. In the end… I did.” – His possible last words.
- “Lack of something to feel important about is almost the greatest tragedy a man may have.”
- “Does this trolley go to Tahiti?”
- “We can’t change what’s done, we can only move on.” – Something he mutters to himself.
- “All them years, Dutch, for this snake?” – When he realizes Micah was the rat.
- “Dutch, ya know. That is the best god damn plan i’ve ever seen. A train robbery.”
- “As long as we get paid or you get shot I’m happy.”
Dutch van der Linde
Dutch has the smoothest words of anyone in the gang. He is the leader of the Van der Linde gang, the charismatic father figure at the center of Red Dead Redemption 2
- “Have some goddamn FAITH!” – It’s a meme at this point, but it works because it’s so him. He’s always asking people to trust him, even though he’s dooming them.
- “This place, ain’t no such thing as civilized. Its man so in love with greed he has forgotten himself and found only appetites.”
- “Only the feeblest of men take jobs in the government.”
- “Well, that is sort of the point, isn’t it? Let the people torture themselves.” – the response to Bill when he complains about high society being garbage.
- “I got a PLAN, Arthur! We just need more money!”
- “Tahiti. We’ll be mango farmers.”
- “I ain’t got too much to say no more.”
John Marston
John Marston is the heart of the Red Dead Redemption series. He is the protagonist of the first game and a central, playable character in Red Dead Redemption 2. He’s a former outlaw, a family man, and a very beloved character.
- “You’re my brother.” – His last words to Arthur.
- “Arthur saved my life, more than once.”
- “I blame me for following Dutch for too long, but I blame Micah for most everything else.”
- “We might’a shared a horse, but we ain’t friends. Remember, I’m watching you. Every moment.”
- “Where have we heard that before?” – When Dutch says “This is it, gentlemen. The last one.”
- “How did I know you’d try to weasel your way out of doing any work?”
- “I really enjoy begging and watching you make a fool of yourself.”
- “Sometimes I wonder if things are how we remember, if we ever were who we thought we was.”
- “We all need friends, old man. We die alone, but we live among men.”
- “The grass and the light… there’s a lot of ugly in this world, but there sure as hell is a lot of beauty. You’ll see it better when you get older.”
- “Money, it don’t mean nothing if you ain’t got your family.”
The Rest of the Gang
- “You and me, we’re more ghosts than people.” – Sadie Adler
- “I’m a fighter. It’s all I know how to be.” – Sadie Adler
- “Some trees bend… and some trees break.” – Hosea Matthews
- “Do not die for pride, my son… The earth, the water… they have no pride. They endure, and we must endure.” – Rains Fall
- “Your whole life is one of regret… but it can end better than it began.” – Blind Man Cassidy
- “Make your final moments your best moments, sir. Know glory and forget about shame.”- Blind Man Cassidy
- “Do I get a hug, Arthur? A warm embrace for a lost brother now found?” – Sean MacGuire
Funny NPC lines in Red Dead Redemption 2
- “I’m talkin’!” – Angrily shouted by NPCs when interrupted.
- “You got a kind face… the kind I like to punch.”
- “You best keep walkin’, boy, unless you want trouble.”
- “That horse looks better than my wife.”
- “I was born stupid, but I’m not THAT stupid.”
- “You’re makin’ a damn fool of yourself.”
- “Ain’t no harm in havin’ some fun with a sheep.”
- “Fine horse. Shame about who’s ridin’ it.”
- “And here I thought I WAS the butcher.”
- “This store is my whole life… that’s why I drink.”
- “Fine steed, you can still see the prairie in its eyes.”
