WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Red Dead Redemption I and II
The Red Dead Redemption port for Nintendo Switch and PS4, playable on PS5, has been available digitally since August 17. Many players are (re)living the adventures of John Marston after the events of Red Dead Redemption 2. With this in mind, it is a good time to unearth one of the biggest mysteries in the game: the strange man.
the community of red dead redemption He has been carrying theories about this mysterious secondary character for 13 years. The matter has escalated to such an extent that many players have even consulted people knowledgeable in history, symbology, literature, and other specialties to reach a conclusion. even the magazine Gamepro Magazine dedicated a specific question to Rockstar for the character, but the developers they said they couldn’t say anything.
Who is the Strange Man?
The Strange Man is an NPC that appears in Red Dead Redemption during the “I Know You” side quests in New Austin, Nuevo Paraíso, and West Elizabeth, he wears a suit with a top hat, and his trade appears to be an accountant. This individual claims to know perfectly well the life of John Marston before, during and after belonging to the Dutch van der Linde Gang. It sounds like something to John, but he never quite falls into who he is.
It has an almost identical appearance to Josiah Trelawny of Red Dead Redemption II, an extravagant illusionist, con man and liar who was part of the Dutch van der Linde gang. There is no proof (beyond his resemblance) that he is the same character. Also, the GTA Online “Nazar Speaks” fortune machine mentions it: “I see a strange man in a top hat… it scares me”.
asks us two favors in Red Dead Redemption: visit a man who is about to cheat on his wife and a nun who is raising money for charity. In both cases we have the option of encouraging the man or dissuading him and helping the mount or stealing from him. The last meeting with the Strange Man is in Beecher’s Hope (John’s ranch) and says “This looks like a good site“, right in the place where John’s grave will be and in front of the barn in which he will be shot.
As to red dead redemption 2, we can find many written documents that talk about the Strange Man and even a painting that we can see with John Marston during the Epilogue. We can also catch a glimpse of him in the bedroom mirror as he kicks us out. Other NPCs claim to have seen it, but only Herbert Moon He has proof: a photograph.
The red dead fandom (Wiki) collects all the interpretations, but here you have a much more synthesized and clear answer: the Strange man is death. Call him God, Devil, Jesus, Lucifer or whatever you like. His way of being and acting is similar to Mephistopheles in the Faust novel. Although popular belief indicates that the devil or death is always evil, in many works he is “neutral” and limits himself to putting moral proofs.
It is not the first time that Rockstar Games has done something similar with its protagonist: Arthur Morgan from Red Dead Redemption II It features the Deer and the Coyote, who appear at key moments in his life to remind us of the path we have chosen and as a harbinger of the death we are going to have.
It is clear that Rockstar Games loves to play clueless with the Strange Man and it is very likely that the matter will remain up in the air forever. The most accepted interpretation is that it is death or some kind of deity that represents it. The strangest thing is that he did not appear in the Undead Nightmare DLC… where it would have been in its sauce.
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