18 Action Video Games You Must Play Before You Die

8. Red Dead Redemption

You must experience: The real ending. Easily one of the greatest games of all time, Rockstar's left-turn from all things city-centric for GTA allowed them to ply their signature makeup of the series to the wild west, replacing cars with horses and questionable protagonists with one of the most downright loveable heroes there's ever been in John Marston. Although the standard 'GTA rules' of your main character questioning the violent acts they're partaking in - only to do them anyway - applies throughout, this Wild West tale is peppered with moments of genuine beauty amongst its chaos. Take the bloodbath you'll get drawn into when trying to cross the border into Mexico, only for Jose Gonzales's unbelievably soothing ballad 'Far Away' to slowly drip in as you mount your steed and ride triumphantly into uncharted territory - it's sublime. That ethos extends to the ending too, where a huge plot twist leaves things hanging in a pretty dire situation, only for a new playable character to pop up and the game to suggest "Over to you..." It's what you do after this moment, how you actively choose to wrap the narrative up yourself and how the game perfectly accentuates the moment with a late title card giving its very name an unbelievable amount of weight, that elevates the whole thing into another realm of appreciation.