Red Dead Redemption player finds reference to Arthur Morgan in original game

One Red Dead Redemption player has found a reference to Arthur Morgan hidden within the game that you may not have spotted.

There’s no denying that Red Dead Redemption is an incredible series. In fact, Red Dead Redemption 2 remains one of the best-looking games out there to this day. Of course, fans would still love to see it receive a new-gen overhaul, but that doesn’t appear to be on the cards - officially at least. Fans have done just that via mods. The original Red Dead Redemption received a current-gen port earlier this year. On the whole, it was a well-handled port but it’s by no means the full remake many of us were expecting. There’s still so much to love about the series though. It’s a franchise packed with detail, so you may have missed this reference to Arthur Morgan hidden in the first game.

Take a look at some of our favourite Red Dead wins and fails below.

The Arthur Morgan reference was spotted by YouTube user Indo-J. If you didn’t pick up on this, you really can’t be blamed. It’s subtle, but there is a scene that takes place between John Marston and Bonnie MacFarlane where the duo are travelling by horse and cart. Bonnie refers to John as “a man who looks like he’s been through the mill”. Elaborating on her point, she adds that she’s lived a sheltered life, “Sometimes I wish I’d been, well, braver. Been to more places, seen more things.”

Now, this is when we venture into the subtle reference. John replies with, “If you ask me, it usually takes more strength to stay than to run, Miss MacFarlane.” Are you picking up on this yet? In Red Dead Redemption 2, Arthur famously stayed back to fend off the Pinkertons, giving John the opportunity to get away. “Takes more strength to stay than to run,” suddenly takes on another meaning.

Fans flocked to the comments to discuss just how incredible the franchise’s storytelling is. “John loved Arthur. But he also resented him. Not for what Arthur did to John. But for what he did for John. This is truly what it feels like to have a brother,” said one user. “You can see after almost 11 years, John still thinks about Arthur,” said another. Now I want to start another playthrough again.