Red Dead Redemptionand its sequel are serious games - for the most part. Both smartly written, fiercely satirical, and fantastically immersive takes on the classic Western, they contain some of the most biting critiques of American history, culture, and mentalities as have ever been programmed into a video game. They also happen to be brilliant dramas,featuring fascinating characterswho stick with you even after the credits roll.
But to their credit,Red Dead Redemptionand its sequel both manage to be incredibly funny. Their character banter is unparalleled, and their sandbox engine’s potential for slapstick and physical comedy is unparalleled. Here are ten of the funniest moments inRed Dead Redemption1and2that’ll still make you laugh, whether it’s your first or your fifteenth playthrough.
10Uncle Tells John Off
Even A Broken Clock
Uncle is, by and large,Red Dead’s greatest comic relief character. He’s consistently portrayed as a parasite who follows the gang around, profiting off their risks and labor while contributing absolutely nothing of his own. He’s also a drama queen, frequently complaining of lumbago, an ailment he portrays as chronic, debilitating, and deadly - when it’s really just an archaic term for an aching back.
However, Uncle occasionally proves himself an accurate judge of character, especially after John finally buys his little patch of land at Beecher’s Hope. He rails against John’s unrealistic optimism, calling him hopeless, and doing a poor imitation of John begging Abigail to give him a second chance: “Oh, darling Abigail. I’ve changed…come live with mein an outhouse I wouldn’t ask my worst enemy to take a s**t in.”
9Dutch’s Leap Of Faith
A Brilliant Character Moment
As far asRDRcharacters go,Dutch van der Linde is one of the best. He’s a walking bag of bluster, a deeply flawed individual who couches his personal failings in rousing speeches, criminal bravado, and lofty “plans” that never come to fruition. One of Dutch’s favorite tricks, when cornered near a cliff (which happens often enough), is to begin one of his lengthy sermons: “You can’t fight change. You can’t fight nature. You can’t fight gravity,” at which pointhe jumps.
It’s such a brilliantly stupid trick that it actually works in Dutch’s favorinRDR2, helping him and Arthur escape pursuit. But it’s very telling of Dutch’s character, too - his lack of planning, despite his insistence on some sort of master plan, frequently gets him into trouble - to the point that these end up his final words inRDR1.
8MacDougal’s Unaware Self-Awareness
Perhaps the coolest thing about the originalRed Dead Redemptionwas its willingness to make a serious story silly. That’s especially true of itsUndead NightmareDLC, which turnsRDRinto a midnight drive-in movie, complete with zombies, chupacabras, and a misanthropic Sasquatch. In this brilliantly absurd DLC, though,MacDougal’s ironic death stands out among the funniest momentsin the series as a whole.
In a game full of villains, Professor Harold MacDougal’s unabashed racism against the indigenous people of West Elizabeth sets him apart as one of the most reprehensible. InUndead Nightmare, he gets his comeuppance, ignorantly musing,“I’m going to wander down that lonely, deserted street and get my bag"before he’s ambushed and eaten by a zombified Nastas, a Native American he frequently antagonized.
Ill-Fated Flight
Some ofRed Dead’s funnier moments come from dialogue or characters. Others arepure physical comedy. One of the greatest comes froma bizarre little Strangers missioninRDR1called “Deadalus and Son.” During his travels, John meets a strange fellow named Charles Kinnear, who asks him to help gather materials for a flying machine he’s working on. You, the player, have to go out and gather beaver furs, feathers, and red sage, then bring it all back to Kinnear.
The name of this mission appears to be intentionally misspelled, for reasons that will become clear momentarily.
Kinnear finishes his machine, and takes a leap, and, for one, brief, shining moment, he appears to have defied gravity - untilit all comes crashing down, quite literally. You can’t help but feel a little bad for the guy, but he brought it upon himself.
6Arthur & John Quit Smoking
Non-Verbal Communication
The relationship between Arthur and John inRDR2is one of the game’s more charming facets. Arthur’s beleaguered mentorship often clashes with John’s self-destructive tendencies, but they keep finding each other since, with Dutch untethered from reality and the rest of the gang either blindly following him or too embroiled to call him out on it, they’re the only two around with any sense of sanity.
The two of them often discuss this, at one point,while standing next to a cart full of dynamite. John passes Arthur a cigarette, and goes to light it - then the two turn their heads toward the cart, back towards the match, then away as Arthur flicks the cigarette away. It’s such a simple moment, yet packed with so much meaning and character that it’s impossible not to laugh.
5RDR2’s Greet-Greet-Antagonize Lines Are Comedic Genius
“You Got A Kind Face… Kind I’d Like To Punch!”
The Rule of Threes is a tenet of comedy writing that says things are funnier when they come in threes - the third thing said or listed is generally the punchline. This is employed to great effect inRDR2’s brilliant dialogue system. Whenever you meet an NPC, you can direct Arthur to greet or antagonize them, and the voice lines will take on a kind of conversational flow if you choose multiple options in sequence.The funniest lines come from the greet-greet-antagonize combo, however.
In effect, Arthur says hello to the NPC, gives them a compliment, and then twists it into a savage insult. Perhaps the most famous variant has Arthur telling a man on the street, “you have a kind face…the kind I like to punch!”
4RDR2’s Bizarre Dialogue System Creates Its Own Comedy
“OK Then”
But sometimes, even the best comedy writing can’t keep up with the strange non-sequiturs created byRDR2’s own dialogue system. The automatic responses between Arthur and various NPCs can occasionally bewildly inappropriate in tone, especially around camp. Arthur might run into Sadie, and ask how she’s doing since her husband’s death, or listen to Abigail’s worries when it comes to Jack and John - they’ll pour their hearts out, and Arthur will reply with a chipper, “Well, catch ya later then!”
It’s so bizarre and unexpected that it’s hard not to laugh - it almost sounds like Arthur is trying to get out of a difficult conversation he’s not prepared for. These moments may not be intentional, buttheir spontaneity makes them even funnier.
3RDR2’s Wonky Physics Create Lots Of Physical Comedy
Arthur Takes Flight
For as detailed asRDR2’s horses can be,there are some serious flaws in the physics of riding. One infamous glitch has horses responding more-than-proportionally to bumps in the road. Hit anything - a tiny rock, a stray bird, a piece of debris - and there’s a good chance you’ll go flying off your horse, head over heels, screaming wildly, directly into the dirt.
Again,this kind of humor stems from its unexpectedness. These catastrophic crashes come so suddenly - often, you’re able to’t even see what stopped you, since it’s so easily trampled by your horse’s heels.RDR2is so beautiful and realistic as a whole that these moments are jarring, which only adds to the physical humor of it all.
2Arthur & Lenny’s Night On The Town
“Lennay!”
I’d be remiss if I listed the funniest moments inRed Dead Redemptionwithout at least some mention ofArthur and Lenny’s drunken debaucheryinRDR2. It’s one of the game’s most memorable scenes: the two of them go out for a “quiet night” in Valentine to calm Lenny’s nerves after he hears Micah’s been arrested, where they wind up drinking to excess. Arthur soon loses track of Lenny, and must search the bar for him, drunkenly wandering room to room and calling out his name in that exaggerated drawl.
There are lots of great little gags in this scene: Lenny trying to balance a shot glass on his head, Arthur struggling to keep his balance while urinating, everyone else in the saloon appearing to have Lenny’s face, etc. By far my favorite moment, though, is when Arthur picks a fight with another group of patrons in the bar, only for the game to smash cut to them line dancing on top of the bar a moment later.
1The Funniest RDR2 Moments Are Created By Players Like You
Boundless Creativity
Really, though,the funniestRed Dead Redemptionmoments are player-made. They may come from abuse of in-game mechanics - chugging 100 Hair Tonics to make Arthur sprout an impossibly long beard mid-cutscene is a personal favorite of mine - or from clever mods, but either way, they’re borne out of player creativity, not the game’s writing or programming.
Other major standouts include playersmoddingRDR2’s horses to be unnaturally, chaotically fast, or coming up with new and creative ways to break up the secret Klan meeting in the woods. The real joy ofRed Dead Redemption 2comes when players take the tools the game gives them, and experiment until they find bizarre and hilarious ways to use them.
