You know the drill by now; Red Dead Redemption 2 is Rockstar's latest masterpiece and, with so much detail packed into its world, the studio have also managed to work in dozens of easter eggs, secrets, and references. The states of West Elizabeth and New Hannover are littered with cool little stories (some spooky, others not so much), to the point that - even several weeks after its release - players are still discovering surprises.
With nods to previous entries in the franchise, to films that have even influenced its overarching narrative, it's clear that Red Dead Redemption 2 is a swan song to the western genre - one with enough heft, nuance and gameplay variety to convince players to stay in its world long after the credits begin to roll.
The first half of this list will be a SPOILER-FREE look at the many easter eggs and references from Red Dead Redemption 2, so fret not if you haven't finished the story. For now, let's crack on, and cover the most obscure winks and nods Rockstar managed to include in their prequel, and why you're going to want to find them all...
WhatCulture's very own resident movie guy, Ewan has been working in the content creation biz for over 10 years now, having started as a freelance contributor to WhatCulture Gaming all the way back in 2015. After graduating with a First-Class Honours in History from Northumbria University in 2017 (where he won a prize for a totally killer dissertation on the Watergate years), Ewan took on the role of Comics Editor at WhatCulture and quickly developed WhatCulture Comics into one of the biggest superhero-focused channels on YouTube. He followed this with a brief hiatus at Screen Rant in 2021, where he worked across the Gaming and Film sections as a writer and editor, before returning to WhatCulture as a Senior Content Producer / Presenter in 2023. He started his own podcast, We Love Dad Movies, in 2022, and has contributed several written pieces to the Eisner-nominated comics website Shelfdust as well.
In his current role, Ewan incorporates his love of cinema, comic books, and history into written pieces and video essays for WhatCulture's Film & TV channel, as well as WhatCulture Gaming and WhatCulture Horror, with a particular focus on nineties-era Dad Movies, old school Westerns, and Golden Age Hollywood Noir. John Carpenter is his fave, and he thinks Batman Beyond should never have been cancelled. If that's your vibe, you'll probably like his stuff.
