8 Times You Failed To Be The Hero In Video Games

Red Dead Redemption, despite having since been surpassed by its sequel, was Rockstar's true watershed moment. Their gripping, tragic tale of former outlaw John Marston on a violent adventure across the frontier to rescue his wife and son had more narrative clout than any of the mammoth developer's previous efforts.

John has been living as an honest (if not particularly talented) rancher for some years now after the downfall of his old gang. When bureau agent Edgar Ross arrests him and detain his family with the promise of releasing them if he tracks down his old associates, Marston begins an epic journey of murder, betrayal and self-reflection in his relentless quest for peace. He honours his mission and is given his old life back... only to be betrayed and gunned down by the bureau themselves.

John's greater goal had been to provide a normal and safe future for his son Jack. Whilst he himself was damned, he felt he could protect the boy from his past, allowing him to become an author, or indeed anything but an outlaw. Upon his father's murder and his mother's death shortly after, however, Jack finds himself untethered and vengeful, and ultimately tracks down and murders Ross. We can only assume the violence doesn't end there.

With the further backstory provided by Red Dead Redemption II, it's revealed that John and Abigail's desire to save Jack from such an existence goes back a great deal further, with Arthur Morgan reducing us all to tears by sacrificing himself to aid in their escape. It all makes the Marston family's fates even more poignant than anyone could imagine.