Red Dead Redemption Turns 15: There Will Never Be Another Spaghetti Western Like It

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Today marks the 15th anniversary of Red Dead Redemption, on May 18, 2025. Let’s take a trip down memory lane and revisit this western game in light of its influential cinematic roots.

Stories set in the American West come in various shapes and forms, similar to tales about knights, ninjas, or other popular characters. They range from whimsical to realistic, humorous to dramatic, conventional to unconventional. Red Dead Redemption, much like many of Sergio Leone’s spaghetti Western movies such as A Fistful of Dollars and The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly, shares the same legacy. In a sea of open-world games and its own series, Red Dead Redemption stands out as an exceptional adventure. It offers the thrill of embodying a legendary gunslinger in a rough-and-tumble American West, an experience that cannot be replicated in any other game.

A Look Back at the Red Dead Trilogy

The Red Dead series comprises a trilogy, but often overlooked is the initial installment, Red Dead Revolver. Despite being part of the same franchise, each game offers distinct interpretations of the Western genre. While the last two games share recurring characters and a coherent timeline, they differ significantly in terms of visuals, mood, and aesthetic.

Originally developed by Rockstar San Diego (formerly Angel Studios) and partially financed by Capcom, Red Dead Revolver is an action game that follows a straightforward story of revenge. Unlike other Western films or games in the Red Dead series, this game’s style is reminiscent of comic books or anime, with exaggerated elements. Limbs fly during battles, and bosses are larger-than-life characters, such as a massive figure with dynamite on his head and armored plates for protection.

Instead of being similar to Sergio Leone’s A Fistful of Dollars, Red Dead Redemption 2 bears a closer resemblance to movies like True Grit or Open Range – Western epics, in other words. The game goes to great lengths to portray its characters and setting authentically (with a few exceptions such as the representation of the Appalachian people). It’s so concerned with accuracy that historian and professor Tore Olsson wrote an entire book on how well RDR2 represents reality, finding that, while there were some errors and areas requiring more depth, the game got more aspects right than wrong.

Red Dead Redemption

This leads us to discuss the game from the heart of the brood, Red Dead Redemption of 2010. It’s a title that draws upon the cinematic style of Spaghetti Western films. The term “Spaghetti Western” is used to describe a genre of movies predominantly produced between the years 1960 and 1978, with Europe serving as the main production hub, particularly Italy and Spain.

Previous Western films often romanticized the American West by portraying cowboys as either noble heroes or black-and-white villains, with a distinct separation between good and bad. However, Spaghetti Westerns challenged this narrative by painting the antagonists in an appealing light and making the protagonists gruff and somewhat unpleasant to associate with, thus muddying the waters between right and wrong.

Additionally, they paid great attention to aesthetics. The breathtaking opening scene of A Fistful of Dollars stands out, featuring gunfighters’ silhouettes engaged in combat, set against an unusual blend of whistling and chanting music that the cinematic Old West had never experienced before.

In Red Dead Redemption, you’ll notice elements drawn directly from Sergio Leone’s films in both its visuals and audio. Particularly striking is the music, which is a blend of old-world and modern sounds created by musicians Bill Elm and Woody Jackson. While traditional instruments like the jaw harp are used, the score also includes unique combinations such as a harmonica’s smooth melody layered with a gritty, heavily distorted electric guitar.

The tale aligns perfectly with the vibe of Spaghetti Westerns, both positively and negatively. Certain aspects, unfortunately, don’t hold up as well over time. Among these, the character Irish is particularly problematic, being portrayed in a way that reinforces offensive stereotypes about the Irish, causing discomfort during my repeated playthrough of the game. It’s almost as if this character was lifted directly from a Spaghetti Western, where characters were typically one-dimensional and relied heavily on simple themes or stereotypes.

Although certain fundamental aspects align, there are differences as well. John Marston, despite being a Good Guy in the broader sense, isn’t typically perceived as such. He’s not voluntarily taking on challenges, but rather is being coerced into an unfavorable predicament. Marston can be abrasive, and even those who enjoy the game might find his voice takes some getting used to. Dutch van der Linde, on the other hand, is immediately endearing with his big ideas and smooth, resonant voice. Characters like Nigel West Dickens are over-the-top, untrustworthy, and full of bluster, while characters such as Bonnie MacFarlane entice John towards a more “honest” life that would demand significant concessions, which he can hardly entertain the thought of. Landon Ricketts, an aging American gunslinger John encounters in Mexico, mirrors characters portrayed by actors like Lee van Cleef in films such as For a Few Dollars More – seasoned killers who have earned their wisdom through bloodshed and loss. His conflicts with his former allies are not victories over evil, but rather survival scenarios. John doesn’t willingly participate, but the threat to his wife and son compels him, forcing him to carry out unsavory tasks. His former associates have degenerated, providing a rationale for his actions, yet they aren’t inherently wicked.

1) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid isn’t technically classified as a Spaghetti Western since it’s an American production. However, it falls right in the heart of the Spaghetti Western era, and its broad comedic style, along with its gritty feel, make it fit well within this genre. Similarly, John Marston’s last moments are reminiscent of the movie’s famous ending – a freeze frame accompanied by gunfire sounds – as he stands in a barn filled with lawmen who outnumber him and have their guns trained on him. Despite his attempts to live peacefully, it was never going to be an option for a lifelong gunslinger like John Marston; instead, his pursuit of peace was merely a brief interlude in his violent lifestyle.

Playing Red Dead 2 again seems more like a chore than enjoyment for me – it’s filled with unsavory characters making poor decisions and causing harm to one another, set against a stunning backdrop inhabited by unappealing individuals. Despite being visually stunning, masterfully written, and realized, there are times when I yearn for the simplicity of A Fistful of Dollars rather than the complexity of 3:10 to Yuma. Red Dead Redemption is what I truly desire. Although it’s brimming with violence, it tells the tale of a reluctant hero, equipped with the necessary skills and determination to navigate numerous precarious situations. This game captures the grandeur and flamboyance that inspired those classic western films.

For more on Red Dead Redemption’s 15th anniversary, read why its story works best when it shuts up.

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2025-05-18 16:39