The huge fictionalized world of theRed Dead Redemptionseries is one of the most impressive aspects of the games. Rockstar re-created parts of the United States, from New Orleans inRed Dead 2’s Saint Denis, to Texas in New Austin. America isn’t the only country to feature inRed Dead, however.
Mexico has played a huge role across theRed Dead Redemptionfranchise, including its precursor,Red Dead Revolver. Here’s the role Mexico plays in every game, and why some fans hope that they may be returning to the country in the games' future.
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Red Dead Revolverwas largely set around the town of Brimstone, near the Mexican border.Red Harlownever actually traveled south of the border — the closest the game takes him is Fort Diego, an American fort on the border that was abandoned after the Mexican-American War.
One mission, however, puts the player in the shoes of General Diego, one ofRed Dead Revolver’s main villains. The flashback takes place several years before the events ofRevolver, and is the only time in the game the player controls an antagonist. In the mission, Diego’s Renegade Army fight against U.S. forces on a bridge across the Rio Grande in a fight scene reminiscent of the battle inThe Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.
Red Dead Redemptiontook players south across the San Luis River to Nuevo Paraiso, a fictional region of Mexico. It is divided into three regions: Perdido, Punta Orgullo, and Diez Coronas. John Marston travels there while hunting down old Van der Linde gang membersJavier Escuellaand Bill Williamson.
Entering Nuevo Paraisois one ofRed Dead Redemption’s most memorable scenes. As the player rides down the San Luis having just entered Mexico, Jose Gonzales' song “Far Away” begins playing in the background. Considered by many one of the best moments in the entire franchise, John Marston’s entry into Mexico helped establishRed Dead Redemption’s artistic ambition in the minds of many players.
Set in 1911,Red Dead RedemptionseesJohn Marstoncaught up in a fictionalized version of the Mexican Revolution. John saves the life of revolutionary Abraham Reyes, who then saves John from execution at the hands of the Mexican Army. Abraham later becomes the President of Mexico in theRed Dead Redemptiontimeline. Nuevo Paraiso is also where John meets lovelorn revolutionary Luisa Fortuna and elderly gunslinger Landon Ricketts, a man sometimes theorized to be an older Red Harlow.
The region features heavily inUndead Nightmare, where John discovers that the zombie outbreak has hit the country even harder than the U.S. It turns out that in theUndead Nightmaretimeline the apocalypse was triggered when Abraham Reyes stole an ancient Aztec mask in an attempt to become immortal. By returning the mask, John ends the zombie crisis.
Red Dead Redemptionis the only game in the franchise where Mexico is visited as part of the main story. Perdido is based on Mexico’s Chihuahuan Desert. Despite being in Mexico in-universe, however, much of the natural landscape in Diez Coronos is based on Monument Valley in Utah and Arizona.Nuevo Paraisohas several major settlements including Escalera, Chuparosa, Las Hermanas, Casa Madrugada, and El Matadero. Only one, however, appears inRed Dead Redemption 2.
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In 1899, tension between the United States and Mexico prevents Arthur or themembers of the Van der Linde gangfrom crossing the border into Nuevo Paraiso. However, much of Mexico was rendered in the in-game world.
to reach Mexico inRed Dead Redemption 2, the player has to travel to the Sea of Cornado in westernNew Austin. The player can cross the sea of horseback by walking between the letters N and A in the word Cornado as spelled on the map. Once across the player can travel to the end of a ravine and cross over an invisible barrier by jumping off of their horse at the right moment.
However, this leaves the player to explore the entire area without a horse unless they use cheats. Much ofRed Dead Redemption 2’s version of Nuevo Paraiso is almost completely empty. Some areas have low quality textures, and the only buildings in the area are a recreation ofEl Presidio, a military fort that serves as the base for the Mexican Army in the firstRed Dead. Players can also find a tunnel which, in the first game, has a railroad running through it. InRed Dead 2, however, the textures in this area are particularly low quality and the railway itself is nowhere to be found.
OneRed Dead Onlineplayer posting on Reddit under the username hafooni discovered that players couldspawn into Mexico inRed Dead Onlinejust earlier this month. The area is as underdeveloped as it is in the single player game, but also incredibly overdeveloped for a region which isn’t supposed to be accessed in eitherRed Dead Redemption 2orRed Dead Online.
It seems very likely thatRed Dead Onlinewas originally supposed to have an expansion set in Mexico. This would explain why the area was rendered in the game’s world without being accessible or fully developed yet. However, with the exception of El Presidio it seemsRockstarnever got very far fleshing out Mexico.
Although the studio may have allowed for the possibility of adding Nuevo Paraiso toRed Dead Online, that seems less likely now. If Rockstar was going to add a hugenew area toRed Dead Onlineit would likely have done so in tandem with the launch ofRed Dead Onlineas a standalone product back in December 2020. Nonetheless, many fans will be hoping to see the game’s version of Mexico fully fleshed out in the future.
Red Dead Redemptionis available for PS3 and Xbox 360.Red Dead Redemption 2is available on PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
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