20 Most Intense Video Game Moments Of The Decade

Red Dead Redemption II is an absolutely genius game. It’s certainly not wall to wall fun, but it drags you in through its compelling protagonist: Arthur Morgan.

A man out of time, Arthur is a frontiersman in the last days of the Wild West. Throughout the game, he’s forced to face up to his own morality and mortality, culminating in the ‘I’m afraid’ scene.

Talking to a nun from an earlier side quest, Arthur confesses he’s dying on tuberculosis, and that he’s afraid of what comes next. Sensitive yet stoic throughout the game, here it all pours out of Arthur and reminds you just how deep your connection with him has gotten.

It’s not intense in an edge of your seat kind of way, but it’s emotionally intense to see such a mighty character become so emotionally vulnerable. It’s a testament to fully exploring content too, as not completing the nun’s mission gives you a different, less complete version of the scene.

Several other Red Dead moments were in contention, along with John riding into Mexico in the original Redemption. Arthur’s show of abject vulnerability edges them out though. If you prefer your intensity of a gameplay variety, the mansion mission tops the lot.