And no it’s not that all arguments in life can be solved with dynamite arrows.
If you’ve played RDR2 you’ll know that there’s something deeply wistful and philosophical about the endless hours you’ll spend immersed in it.
As I spent (too) many hours riding through amazing scenery for the sake of it, 2 main life lessons appeared:
*Spoilers ahead*
OUR ACTIONS DETERMINE OUR CHARACTER
THE PAST IS ALWAYS PRESENT BUT IT DOESN’T DETERMINE WHO WE ARE.
RDR2 is built around an honour system. As you play as rugged Arthur Morgan the moral decisions you make result in not only how honourable he is, but what ending this gives his life.
Like Arthur, people can reflect too much on the bad decisions they’ve made in their past and don’t get the reminders of the good they’ve done in their life.
At a crucial moment Arthur is reminded of his forgotten good deeds as he becomes aware that his time on earth is running out.
This acts as his final motivation to focus his actions here on earth before he passes on. To show that he is a ‘good’ man.
RDR2 then asks us, ‘If we can’t change our past how do we get redemption?’
To which the answer is:
ITS NEVER TOO LATE TO CHANGE
“Don’t worry so much about your heart, the actions will lead and the heart follows” Sister Calderon RDR2