I always thought the difference between GTA and RDR was because both have their stories take heavy reference to movies in their genres. Like, GTA is influenced by crime and action movies, where you can be balls to the wall crazy without consequence. RDR is a western, and many of the best are about the tired gunman faced with their consequences. People dying in those movies are always focused on. So I can see why the two are different and I like that they are.
The honor system in Red Dead is there to teach you a lesson. In the first part of the game you’re probably being a bad guy because it’s the easiest way to make money but eventually Arthur starts to die. When you can see that there is going to be an end to the character it is up to you, the player to decide whether Arthur will redeem himself in the end or stay on his path of villainy. The moral at the end of the game really asks you a question, “what legacy will you leave behind when you die? One of blood and hatred, or one of a man who deep down was good all along?” The other more obvious moral being, “It’s never too late to redeem yourself” Problem is, you can only reach these morals through a specific playstyle. Someone who stays evil throughout the game would never see the message underneath.
Interestingly enough, in played RD2 around the same time as I first started listening to harmontown. Those early game horse rides can be pretty long...
