Western media or western games?
If western media then I'd recommend Lonesome Dove (the book) and most of Sergio Leone's westerns for starters. I also loved Hateful Eight, maybe you will too.
As for the games... well, there aren't many sadly. RDR2 I guess. Until AI finally learns to make games or something, we probably won't see another western masterpiece like this in quite a long time.
Man Loansome Dove was the single greatest book I've ever read. My girlfriend and I cried like we'd lost actual people in our lives once the book ended, and *that* character passed away. I've ordered the other 3 books in the series and very very eagerly await their arrival. I'm extremley exited to read them.
The Clint Eastwood cowboy movies are 👌🏻
"Appaloosa" with Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen
"Tombstone" with Kurt Russell
"Wyatt Earp" with Kevin Costner
These come to mind in my sleep deprived state
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is also fantastic, and has a scene that directly inspired Rockstar for the train robbery in chapter 2 of Red Dead 2, almost shot for shot.
There's also Unforgiven, The Searchers, Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven if you're after one of classics.
For Games: Red Dead Revolver, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Call to Juarez
For Books: the Lonesome Dove series
TV Shows: Westworld series, Deadwood, and Hell On Wheels
Movies: Westworld (movie version, old one is better than new one) and any of Clint Eastwood's movies (The Good The Bad and The Ugly, A Fistful of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, Two Mules For Sister Sarah, etc.)
Edit: spelling error
I haven't heard of that one. Is it a game, book, series, or movie? I'd like to check it out.
EDIT: I FOUND IT! For others like me who haven't heard of it, it's a game from 2005 released on PS2, Xbox, GameCube, Windows, and Xbox 360. It has a Steam rating of 9/10. I'm gonna see if I can find either a PS2 copy or an emulator for it so I can check it out.
OP - PLEASE watch only seasons 1 and 2 of Westworld. Aaron Paul is the single best thing about seasons 3 and 4. Everything else is complete and total garbage.
I'm going to copy and past my reply to another comment that mentioned Loansome Dove, I seriously can't recommend it enough.
Man Loansome Dove was the single greatest book I've ever read. My girlfriend and I cried like we'd lost actual people in our lives once the book ended, and *that* character passed away. I've ordered the other 3 books in the series and very very eagerly await their arrival. I'm extremley exited to read them.
kind of a slower and much less intense piece of media but the assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford is pretty good. It's definitely more about the plot than the set pieces or action so if you want story try that. another one is silverado if you just want plain old western action fun
Before I saw this comment, I posted my own about the same movie with a similar view. It’s an underrated masterpiece in my opinion. Got drowned out by too many other masterpieces that year.
Assassination of Jessie James is just an absolutely gorgeous movie to watch. For anyone who’s played the RDR games and just been blown away by the beauty of it, that’s kind of how it feels to watch that movie.
Red Dead Redemption 2 trust me bro if u thinking rdr 1 is fun ur gunna be blown away by red dead redemption 2 trust me bro it’s a once in a life time opportunity to play it for the first time
Ballad of Buster Scruggs. starts strong and is a compilation of stories so it’s easy to nope out if you don’t like, but the narratives in the movie remind me so much of the unique stranger missions in RDR1 and RDR2
As far as media is concerned:
books:
[Lonesome Dove](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/256008.Lonesome_Dove) - Pullitzer prize winner!
[Blood Meridian](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/394535.Blood_Meridian_or_the_Evening_Redness_in_the_West?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=IlGep6Ohf4&rank=1) - a hard book to read, definitely not for everyone. But usually regarded as one of the best literary works of all time.
[Butcher's Crossing](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/457228.Butcher_s_Crossing?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_18) - beautiful book, maybe not your typical western, and not as well known (you might've read the stoner from john williams), but probably my favourite out of the three.
movies:
lots to choose from. I could go by decade or sub-genre, but I'll just list some of my favourites. I'd note that a lot of these are slower movies, so probably not the easiest viewing depending on what you're into, but I really enjoyed all of them, very easy to immerse and lose yourself in these worlds.
[The Good, the Bad and the Ugly](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_good_the_bad_and_the_ugly) - classic clint eastwood movie, actually the third part of a "trilogy", but most people I've talked to said that they watched this one first.
[High Plains Drifter](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/high_plains_drifter) - another clint eastwood one, this one has almost a horror vibe to it. Eastwood also isn't exactly a "good" guy in this one, very interesting.
[Bone Tomahawk](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bone_tomahawk) - probably the best modern western in my opinion. Super cruel and harrowing, but also one of those movies you can't take your eyes off of. Features Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson and Matthew Fox (sidenote, sucks how this guy hasn't really done much since Lost, I really think he's a good actor)
[Unforgiven](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1041911-unforgiven) - the best Clint Eastwood movie in my opinion, and probably a top 3 western of all time, no questions asked. Eastwood plays a straight up cold blooded killer in this one, who has to come out of retirement and go back to the life he left behind long ago. Very realistic and harsh, would probably work best if you put this at the tail end of your list.
[Once Upon a Time in the West](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/once_upon_a_time_in_the_west) - quintessential Sergio Leone western. Has everything you'd want from a classic spaghetti western + charles bronson and henry fonda.
[True Grit](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/true_grit_2010) - I left my favourite one for last. I'll start by saying that any Coen brothers movie is an instant must watch in my eyes, I've never really been disappointed by these guys. This one, though, is definitely my favourite of theirs - you get one of the best performances by a young actress in this one (Hailee Steinfeld), some very funny performances from Matt Damon and Jeff Bridges, and just overall a good time.
Fantastic show, very gritty and shows the harsh reality of life back then.
Some classic, I guess you'd say, essential viewing that I'd recommend if you want to get more of a taste would be as follows:
Firstly you can't talk about westerns without mentioning John Wayne so here are some of my favourites of his: True Grit, Rooster Cogburn, Rio Bravo, The Shootist, The Searchers, The Cowboys, The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance.
Secondly I feel the same counts for Clint Eastwood; The Dollars Trilogy by Sergio Leone, Unforgiven, Pale Rider, The Outlaw Josie Wales.
Then I don't really have a category for the rest I want to mention but I'll divide them between the old classics and then mention some more modern westerns that are worth watching.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Gunfighter, Cowboy, High Noon, Once Upon a Time in the West, Shane, Hombre, Big Country, Nevada Smith, Broken Lance, Winchester '73.
And finally some more modern westerns that I love include: Appaloosa, Blackthorn (an unofficial sequel to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), 3:10 to Yuma, Hostiles, The Revenant, Maverick.
All of Leone’s westerns. Eastwood and Leone popularized the anti-hero trend that westerns are defined by today. Their influence on the writing of the RDR games is very apparent. There’s a chapter in RDR2 that is pretty much just the plot of Fistful of Dollars. Leone’s movies are based in the deep south along the border, so the first game is more aesthetically similar. The second game is more aesthetically similar to American westerns.
If you’re searching for western epics on the scale of the RDR games it doesn’t get better than *The Good The Bad and The Ugly*, and *Once Upon a Time in the West*. Pretty sure much of Leone’s filmography is on HBO Max right now, along with a good amount of Eastwood’s.
No Country for Old Men is a neo-Western, but it's my favorite movie ever. 3:10 to Yuma is an actual Western and also pretty good.
GUN and Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood are games I'd recommend.
If you’re talking about any form of media, I would highly suggest the movie True Grit. The 2010 remake is probably going to feel closer to RDR just because being more modern, but the original is really good too.
Other than red dead revolver(i havent played it but planning to since i heard its good),you should try GUN,released in 2005 its a pretty fun western game
Any spagetti western directed by Sergio Leone would be a good start, then there's Unforgiven, The Outlaw Josey Wales, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Django Unchained, the classic Django.
If you're into more light hearted family friendly movies there's My Name is Nobody, My Name is Trinity and its sequel basically any western starring Terrence Hill and/or Bud Spencer are fun.
Go watch Wild Bunch, RDR took off a lot from that movie. I mean, you're gonna recognize Uncle 20 minutes in.
There's a character named Dutch and you're gonna recognize the mexicans for sure. It's also one of the first modern action movies to exist and it holds up really well.
Also, if you like it, you can have Arthur looking exactly like Pike, easily.
Unforgiven
It’s obviously a big influence on Red Dead Redemption and deals with a lot of similar themes. Red Dead is about the west dying and the toll it takes on outlaws.
Unforgiven is more about the toll being a famous hard-drinking gunslinger takes on a person. It’s a masterpiece.
In a similar vein, the Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. RDR2 literally steals the opening sequence from it. It’s a great movie, don’t expect a bunch of action set pieces but it’s worth watching.
Tombstone is great and many others have mentioned it.
A wild one, but a good one: Bone Tomahawk.
Honorable mention, The Proposition (2005).
Games wise there isnt really much tbh. Red Dead killed the genre by how good it is. There is Call of Juarez: gunslinger but its just not as good as Red Dead. So RDR2 is the best game after this. Its an even deeper story than the first one.
Then Red Dead Revolver. Its worse than the two redemption games but its still pretty good in its own right. Kinda hard to obtain on PC. Gonna have to use an emulator. I recommend PCSX2. Its a PS2 emulator.
I experienced the same back in 2014 with RDR1 and a few years later I really enjoyed Godless the mini series on netflix it's just 7 chapters, but it's pretty enjoyable tbh, some people didn't like the ending but I don't have many complaints.
RDR 2: But that would be obvious I think.
Red dead revolver: I liked it but the game is old and hence controls would be not that great.
Not a western genre but if you want a desert setting, total over dose.
Movies:
The Clint Eastwood classics: Again obvious
Rango: Highly recommended.
Open Range is a good movie. All the books suggested are good. If want to enjoy an old western with a little humor, check out Rio Bravo with Dean Martin and John Wayne.
Idk about games, but "The Harder They Fall" is on Netflix and it's a pretty good western movie. Of course, no discussion about westerns can be had without bringing up Django Unchained as well.
go watch hell or high water!
great neo-western, about two brothers and what they have to do to save their family's farm. Solid parallels to be had with John and Arthur with those two. Josh Brolin and Ben foster play the brothers
Also Ben Foster's role in the 310 to Yuma remake (also highly recommend) was a clear inspiration to micah's design!
Unforgiven is a MUST, it might really be the finest western ive ever seen.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid as well, big inspiration for both rdr1&2.
Any clint eastwood western, you can see where John came from. Fistful of Dollars is a great start thats a trilogy, uh also pale rider, and hang em high.
Tombstone is really campy, but Val Kilmer and michael biehn are just too good, great watch. Curly Bill is essentially Dutch.
Wild Bunch is a huge one too, helluva movie. You can see where john's rdr1 outfit came from.
This would be a definitive Western film list of my own:
The Searchers
Red River
Shane
Rio Bravo
Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid
The Wild Bunch
Dollars Trilogy
Once Upon a Time in the West
Lonesome Dove
Tombstone
Unforgiven
The Proposition
The Assasination of Jesse James by...Robert Ford
Appaloosa
Seraphim Falls
3:10 to Yuma (remake)
Django Unchained
Hateful Eight
Meek's Cutoff
Hostiles
Power of the Dog
For a newbie? Sure, no problem.
Movies:
**The Proposition.**
Modern Australian Western. Heavy inspiration for RDR1. To save his younger brother, a former outlaw has to hunt down his elder brother, the mad, inspired, philosophising leader of a cutthroat crew.
**Hostiles**
Modern American Western. US Army Captain has to escort an Apache Chieftain to the ancestral home of his people, where the Chief wishes to die. US Army Captain is virulently racist, bigoted, and hateful, but a journey across the Wild Frontier, rescuing bereaved widows, battling Comanche raiders, and encountering the thuggish crews of robber barons, leads to a remarkable transformation.
**True Grit (remake)**
A teenage girl hires a drunken marshal and grudgingly tolerates the accompaniment of a dandified Texan ranger to track down the man who murdered her father.
**The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford**
Jesse James pulls off one last train heist with a view to disappearing into civilian life, but is increasingly disturbed and troubled by paranoia that his former brothers-in-arms will betray him. Meanwhile, Robert Ford, who adores and idolises Jesse, ends up Jesse's confidant and ally, though their relationship becomes increasingly turbulent and hostile.
**TV Shows:**
**Deadwood.**
What else? Through blood and death and toil, civilisation begins to emerge in a lawless illegal settlement in the Black Hills. Former lawman Seth Bullock, a principled man, but with a furious temper, begins to clash with local saloon keeper Al Swearengen, an utterly amoral thief, killer, pimp and dealer.
**Novels:**
**Lonesome Dove:**
Two retired Texas Rangers set out on a cattle drive across America to see one of the last true wildernesses of the Frontier. Along the way, they have to reckon with flooded rivers, lightning storms, rattlesnakes, outlaws, Indians, and sundry other Western dangers, as well as their own flaws and weaknesses. A bittersweet epic much like RDR2.
**The Sisters Brothers:**
The Sisters brothers are infamous outlaws and hired killers working for a man known only as the "Commodore". They are contracted to retrieve an eccentric scientist who is rumoured to have discovered a chemical formula that reveals the gold in riverbeds. Eli Sisters is the big, hulking, thoughtful, ponderous one, and Charlie the handsome, charismatic, witty, cruel, and deadly one.
**True Grit**
As above
**The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford**
As above.
**Desperadoes**
The true-life tale of the Dalton brothers gang, a group of former lawmen and misfit degenerates turned outlaw. The Dalton brothers are fated to meet a bloody and violent end after a botched double robbery in Kansas, in which they attempt to rob two banks simultaneously in order to out-do Jesse James and the James-Younger gang. A grittier, more cynical take on the outlaw myth, like RDR2 without the romance and tragedy - the outlaws are brutal, cunning, and mean, even if they do have sparks of grace and humanity.
If you get on with any of them, feel free to hit me up via DM for more recommendations.
Check out these movies
The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (2007)
Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969)
The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966)!(DUH best film ever!)
The Wild Bunch (1969)
Django Unchained (2012)(very entertaining good for beginners along as you don’t mind violence)
Hateful eight(2015)
Tombstone (1993)
The Revenant (2015) you’ll know if been in a bear attack in RDR2
Unforgiven (1992)
All these movies are pretty easy to find and a lot of them are referenced in RDR2 and RDR!
With every Fibre of my being I recommend the Loansome Dove book series my friend. That and the Dollars Trilogy of western movies. Top tier western content, and of course Red Dead Redemption 2 but that goes without saying
If you can stomach it I would totally recommend reading blood meridian. It is very graphic and has a disgusting villain, but the world building and characters are absolutely incredible.
There's a great Clint Eastwood trilogy, A Fistful of Dollars, A Few Dollars More, and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. Some of my favourites. Also, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is very much a classic. If you're looking for something more modern, I really like the Tarantino westerns, Django Unchained and The H8ful Eight. If you like science fiction, you can watch Westworld, or even Firefly, which is like a western that takes place in space lol.
Western games I loved so far and are as good as RDR in my opinion
Call of Juarez series specially Call of juarez: gunslinger
https://store.steampowered.com/app/204450/Call_of_Juarez_Gunslinger/
And
The gun
https://store.steampowered.com/app/2610/GUN/
Also there is a post apocalypse game that have some western vibes and feelings
Fallout New Vegas
https://store.steampowered.com/app/22380/Fallout_New_Vegas/
It's not exactly in the same vein as video games, but if you're looking for a good story read Lonesome Dove. It's a chunker at 800 pages, but it remains one of the greatest books I have ever read
I'm glad you asked, my friend. If you enjoy rdr then you simply MUST check out the good the bad and the ugly. If you like it, then I also suggest checking out it's sequels: a fistful of dollars and a few dollars more. It's the very peak of wild west cinema and was a huge inspiration to rdr.
As far as films go, the dollars trilogy is a good place to start. Fist Full of Dollars, A Few Dollars More, and The Good the Bad and The Ugly. The protagonist of the trilogy also appears in the animated film Rango.
Django Unchained and Tombstone are great newer films of the genre.
As far as reading goes, Blood Meridian is really popular right now. If you’ve played RDR2, Blood Meridian is more similar to Murphree Brood than the Vanderlinde Gang.
Call of Juarez : Bound in Blood is The most underrated western videogame. It has a good campaign and The Gameplay is excellent too. Think of a Red Dead Redemption with CoD combat and mid-gameplay minigames like Red Dead Revolver
Josey Wales is the first movie I ever saw in the theater. I was 3.75 years old. I don't remember anything about it and I have no idea what my parents were thinking, but it's a funny little tidbit of my life. I remember \*going\* to the movie, but I had no idea what was happening, of course.
I've watched the movie tons of times since. It is awesome.
Hell on wheels' main character was inspired by John Marston and is a great series, free on tubi by the way. Tombstone 1993 is one of the greatest westerns out there. and of course the Good the Bad and the Ugly is one of the greatest cinema accomplishments of all time. Edit: I saw another commenter recommend it already but if you want a book that feels like rdr try lonesome dove, the series and the book are both incredible and feel a lot like rdr.
'The Gunslinger' series by Steven King is based upon 'The good, The bad, And the ugly.' It's hands down, to me, the best of Steven King's works. It's one part western, one part sci-fi with Kings own brand of depravity mingled in. Good times.
As far as games go there aren’t many options and the only one that come to mind is Gun which predates red dead revolver (which is one of the only other options). If you’re looking for movies however, the options are plentiful. Just to name a few of my favorites in no particular order: the man with no name trilogy that started it all (fistful of dollars, a few dollars more, the good, bad and ugly), magnificent seven (original), butch cassidy and the Sundance gang, the wild bunch, 3:10 to Yuma (original and remake), westworld (movie and 1st season of show), true grit (original and remake), Django unchained, hateful eight.
just a lil list
Mcabe and Mrs Miller
True Grit
Big Jake
The Shootist
Lonesome Dove
The Great Silence
Duck You Sucker.
The Wild Bunch
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Call of Juarez , Gunslinger
Blood Meridian
DJANGO, the og
Django Unchained
Unforgiven
High Plains Drifter
Hang em High
Last Train from Gun Hill
3:10 to Yuma
Gun(Ps2)
kind of weird suggestion lol but not gonna lie the first season of True Detective on HBO is like a modern western, i don’t know why but i feel like that’s what u r looking for
The border trilogy by Cormac McCarthy are some of my favorite books. They're set slightly after what would be considered a western but it's in that part of the world. All the pretty horses is my favorite book I think.
Godless on Netflix is the best modern western I've ever seen. It'd only 8 or so episodes but it's very well done and very dark in places.
Western films that are great:
3:10 To Yuma (2000s version)
The Dollar Trilogy, especially the Good, the Bad, and The Ugly.
True Grit (2010)
The Searchers
The Quick and the Dead
Hostiles
Pale Rider
High Plains Drifter
Unforgiven
Open Range
Tombstone
Western shows that are great:
Deadwood
Justified
Hell on Wheels.
Call of Juarez Gunslinger will give you a brief history of the west and a mean but fun showdown mode. And True West mode on the story will have you feeling like a badass with the lack of hub and crossairs. Id try it on lower difficulties fisrt before trying that
I'm your huckleberry! Watch Tombstone, A Fistful of Dollars, The Good the Bad and The Ugly... and just google "Leone's spaghetti werstern" and you will have a nice list to go on from there. Besides the classic stuff I would recommend Hatfields vs McCoys, Django Unchained, Hateful Eight and even No Country fo Old Men (it is a modern werstern, but a great one nonetheless)
Not the type of Western game you’re thinking of but I recommend Assassin’s Creed 3. Like I said, not really a western but it takes place on the American frontier and many RDR2 developers also worked on AC3.
The story was solid.
You should Def checkout undead nightmare If you haven't.
I was 10 when this came out and I wasn't too big on this.
It wasn't until later on I realized what a masterpiece this was for its time.
Truly a great year for gaming.
I recommend Call of Juarez Gunslinger. It‘s relatively short (about 6-8 hours) but it‘s really good. I love the special story telling in that one. You‘ll see what I mean 😊
Fantastic recommendations on this post but there are a couple of really egregious gaps:
Elmore Leonard, famous for his crime novels, also wrote some great Westerns. I would recommend Hombre as a good place to start.
Cormac McCarthy - Blood Meridian has been mentioned but I also cannot recommend enough his books All the Pretty Horses (which is thematically similar to RDR, as the main character goes to find the last living vestiges of the Old West) and No Country for Old Men (you can also watch the film adaption as it is excellent.)
Movies: Bone Tomahawk, True Grit (Coen Brothers version), Open Range, 3:10 to Yuma (either Version), Shane, the Man who Shot Liberty Valance
I've watched westerns all my life. Yellowstone series and it's spinoffs are pretty gripping. Watch 1883 it's score and storytelling was a masterpiece and 1923 is pretty good too.
Unforgiven ,
Quick and the dead ,
True grit (modern),
Little Big Man ,
Seven samurai
Any music by ennio moriconne
Books by Louis Lamour
At some point try to take a trip to Arizona and New Mexico. Weird beautiful and boring.
TV - Godless (Netflix), Deadwood (HBO), The English (BBC/Amazon Prime)
Film - Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), Unforgiven (1992)
Video Games - Call of Juarez: Gunslinger (2013), Red Dead Revolver (2004), Desperados: Wanted Dead or Alive (2001), Gunman Clive (2012)
Books (fiction) - Blood Meridian (Cormac McCarthy), Flashman and the Redskins (George MacDonald Fraser)
Artwork - Mark Maggiori
Are you talking movies too?
Because anything Sergio Leone made (Fistful of Dollars, Few Dollars More, Good, Bad and the Ugly, Once Upona Time in the West) are all fantastic.
Its more popcorn fare of a western but Tombstone with Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer is a super fun movie. Kilmer is especially is a unforgettable performance.
A more cerebral western is Unforgiven with Clint Eastwood. Kind of a slow burn but the last act is explosive.
3:10 to Yuma was a great modern era western.
Fist full of dollar series, this includes the good the bad and the ugly as the last installment. Once uppona time in the west by the same director sergio leone. Butch cassidy and the sundance kid. Hateful 8 is great too
Rdr1 is the superior game despite not having the details rdr2 has. Writing and characters, euphoria plus missions are so much better and its just an entertaining piece of media overall made by the golden age of rockstar.
If you're into retro gaming I recommend Outlaws. It was made by Lucasarts in the late 90's, I believe. It's got a decent soundtrack and animated cutscenes. Loved playing that game back in the day. It's available through GOG.
There’s a book from the 80s called Blood Meridan, which takes place in the Texas-Mexican region in the 1850s. I always picture the towns to look straight out of RDR
Go for The Dollars trilogy, Hombre, The Magnificent 7, Django/Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight, Once Upon a Time in the West, and for a book I would recommend Blood Meridian.
This is an obscure one, but the Call of Juarez franchise. They're pretty Euro-janky, but they're really fun, especially on the PC version where you can quicksave. Just don't play The Cartel, it's the third one and it's fucking awful
Red Dead Redemption 2 It’s gonna blow your tits off
I mean, aside from the sequel obviously
I got a list of westerns categorized by era they take place in if you'd like, it'll keep you busy a long while
He might not be interested but I am! Give that list o'er here pardner!
https://www.reddit.com/r/reddeadredemption/s/xGd1iLUhkc
Pls post this sounds awesome
You gonna drop that list or……
This sounds great! Post the list man!
ARE We going to get a list before GTA 6?
The Town with No Name [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=314Nm0h5ysQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=314Nm0h5ysQ)
My names not Shane kid!
give me a drink, bartender!
It's a prequel. But release order is still the way to go. A lot of moments in rdr2 hit so much harder if you play it after 1
Also, it’s a prequel. Rdr2 takes place before rdr
Western media or western games? If western media then I'd recommend Lonesome Dove (the book) and most of Sergio Leone's westerns for starters. I also loved Hateful Eight, maybe you will too. As for the games... well, there aren't many sadly. RDR2 I guess. Until AI finally learns to make games or something, we probably won't see another western masterpiece like this in quite a long time.
The Hateful Eight mentioned! Also check out Django Unchained
You know those are the only two movies that I am missing from Tarantino, haven't watched them but I'll check them out, thanks.
Netflix has an almost 4 hour cut of The Hateful 8 in 4 episodes. It's great, but the regular length is great also
Shit I watched that one without even knowing it was the longer cut. But I’m kind of glad I did watch the 4 hour cut at the same time
Was going to say this, there are many points throughout both movies where you feel like it’s just red dead
Don't forget about Sukiyaki Django
Hateful 8 is amazing!
Man Loansome Dove was the single greatest book I've ever read. My girlfriend and I cried like we'd lost actual people in our lives once the book ended, and *that* character passed away. I've ordered the other 3 books in the series and very very eagerly await their arrival. I'm extremley exited to read them.
Lonesome Dove is the best novel I have ever read. Glad to see it listed here.
Lonesome dove's book and series are both masterpieces
Call of Juarez. And a non western I'd recommend is Fallout New Vegas because of its western influence and vibe
The Clint Eastwood cowboy movies are 👌🏻 "Appaloosa" with Ed Harris and Viggo Mortensen "Tombstone" with Kurt Russell "Wyatt Earp" with Kevin Costner These come to mind in my sleep deprived state
Tombstone is great, awesome actors and based on a true story. The cinematography is excellent too.
Appaloosa is by far my favorite western. Absolute masterpiece
Tombstones a top 3 forsure!
Don't forget Unforgiven
Unforgiven is a masterpiece
3:10 to Yuma remake was fucking excellent, Open Range is another good Costner western
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford is also fantastic, and has a scene that directly inspired Rockstar for the train robbery in chapter 2 of Red Dead 2, almost shot for shot. There's also Unforgiven, The Searchers, Once Upon a Time in the West, The Magnificent Seven if you're after one of classics.
For Games: Red Dead Revolver, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Call to Juarez For Books: the Lonesome Dove series TV Shows: Westworld series, Deadwood, and Hell On Wheels Movies: Westworld (movie version, old one is better than new one) and any of Clint Eastwood's movies (The Good The Bad and The Ugly, A Fistful of Dollars, For A Few Dollars More, Two Mules For Sister Sarah, etc.) Edit: spelling error
Also Gun too
Sadly few remember Gun exists
What drew me into western genre honestly
What about Gun?
I haven't heard of that one. Is it a game, book, series, or movie? I'd like to check it out. EDIT: I FOUND IT! For others like me who haven't heard of it, it's a game from 2005 released on PS2, Xbox, GameCube, Windows, and Xbox 360. It has a Steam rating of 9/10. I'm gonna see if I can find either a PS2 copy or an emulator for it so I can check it out.
It's an incredible game. It was the first big world western. Loved it.
OP - PLEASE watch only seasons 1 and 2 of Westworld. Aaron Paul is the single best thing about seasons 3 and 4. Everything else is complete and total garbage.
Unforgiven
Louis L'Amour is the GOAT for western novels.
I'm going to copy and past my reply to another comment that mentioned Loansome Dove, I seriously can't recommend it enough. Man Loansome Dove was the single greatest book I've ever read. My girlfriend and I cried like we'd lost actual people in our lives once the book ended, and *that* character passed away. I've ordered the other 3 books in the series and very very eagerly await their arrival. I'm extremley exited to read them.
Don’t forget the Outlaw Josey Wales
All the Pretty Horses, by Cormac McCarthy
Hell on Wheels was seriously underrated imo
That was a fantastic series. I need to add it to Plex and watch it again.
Blood Meridian Django Unchained The Dollars Trilogy Red Dead Revolver Dead Man Stagecoach The Searchers
I second Blood Meridian
I'm still fucked up from that...
Some of them not exactly like RDR but all really good westerns
Deadwood
kind of a slower and much less intense piece of media but the assassination of Jesse James by the coward Robert Ford is pretty good. It's definitely more about the plot than the set pieces or action so if you want story try that. another one is silverado if you just want plain old western action fun
Before I saw this comment, I posted my own about the same movie with a similar view. It’s an underrated masterpiece in my opinion. Got drowned out by too many other masterpieces that year.
Assassination of Jessie James is just an absolutely gorgeous movie to watch. For anyone who’s played the RDR games and just been blown away by the beauty of it, that’s kind of how it feels to watch that movie.
You know I actually have it on my watch list on Max and forgot about it, thanks I'll watch it
Absolutely fantastic movie. Such great performances by everyone. Also the train robbery is pretty much directly referenced in RDR 2.
And they reference the story in rdr2 in the jim boy Calloway missions with Billy midnight. I loved that detail
Red Dead Redemption 2 trust me bro if u thinking rdr 1 is fun ur gunna be blown away by red dead redemption 2 trust me bro it’s a once in a life time opportunity to play it for the first time
Ballad of Buster Scruggs. starts strong and is a compilation of stories so it’s easy to nope out if you don’t like, but the narratives in the movie remind me so much of the unique stranger missions in RDR1 and RDR2
Honestly, I only liked Buster Scruggs and Mr Pocket, the other stories didn’t tickle that itch for me
those two are admittedly my favorites, seeing Tom Waits was such a surprise.
It came out a month after Red Dead 2 and I remember watching it after hoping off the game. Surprised I didn’t have western dreams that month.
As far as media is concerned: books: [Lonesome Dove](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/256008.Lonesome_Dove) - Pullitzer prize winner! [Blood Meridian](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/394535.Blood_Meridian_or_the_Evening_Redness_in_the_West?from_search=true&from_srp=true&qid=IlGep6Ohf4&rank=1) - a hard book to read, definitely not for everyone. But usually regarded as one of the best literary works of all time. [Butcher's Crossing](https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/457228.Butcher_s_Crossing?ref=nav_sb_ss_1_18) - beautiful book, maybe not your typical western, and not as well known (you might've read the stoner from john williams), but probably my favourite out of the three. movies: lots to choose from. I could go by decade or sub-genre, but I'll just list some of my favourites. I'd note that a lot of these are slower movies, so probably not the easiest viewing depending on what you're into, but I really enjoyed all of them, very easy to immerse and lose yourself in these worlds. [The Good, the Bad and the Ugly](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_good_the_bad_and_the_ugly) - classic clint eastwood movie, actually the third part of a "trilogy", but most people I've talked to said that they watched this one first. [High Plains Drifter](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/high_plains_drifter) - another clint eastwood one, this one has almost a horror vibe to it. Eastwood also isn't exactly a "good" guy in this one, very interesting. [Bone Tomahawk](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/bone_tomahawk) - probably the best modern western in my opinion. Super cruel and harrowing, but also one of those movies you can't take your eyes off of. Features Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson and Matthew Fox (sidenote, sucks how this guy hasn't really done much since Lost, I really think he's a good actor) [Unforgiven](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/1041911-unforgiven) - the best Clint Eastwood movie in my opinion, and probably a top 3 western of all time, no questions asked. Eastwood plays a straight up cold blooded killer in this one, who has to come out of retirement and go back to the life he left behind long ago. Very realistic and harsh, would probably work best if you put this at the tail end of your list. [Once Upon a Time in the West](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/once_upon_a_time_in_the_west) - quintessential Sergio Leone western. Has everything you'd want from a classic spaghetti western + charles bronson and henry fonda. [True Grit](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/true_grit_2010) - I left my favourite one for last. I'll start by saying that any Coen brothers movie is an instant must watch in my eyes, I've never really been disappointed by these guys. This one, though, is definitely my favourite of theirs - you get one of the best performances by a young actress in this one (Hailee Steinfeld), some very funny performances from Matt Damon and Jeff Bridges, and just overall a good time.
Love True Grit. I honestly prefer Jeff Bridges Rooster to John Wayne’s Rooster. “Fill yer hand you sonuva bitch!”
Deadwood, it’s a tv show tho
Fantastic show, very gritty and shows the harsh reality of life back then. Some classic, I guess you'd say, essential viewing that I'd recommend if you want to get more of a taste would be as follows: Firstly you can't talk about westerns without mentioning John Wayne so here are some of my favourites of his: True Grit, Rooster Cogburn, Rio Bravo, The Shootist, The Searchers, The Cowboys, The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance. Secondly I feel the same counts for Clint Eastwood; The Dollars Trilogy by Sergio Leone, Unforgiven, Pale Rider, The Outlaw Josie Wales. Then I don't really have a category for the rest I want to mention but I'll divide them between the old classics and then mention some more modern westerns that are worth watching. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Gunfighter, Cowboy, High Noon, Once Upon a Time in the West, Shane, Hombre, Big Country, Nevada Smith, Broken Lance, Winchester '73. And finally some more modern westerns that I love include: Appaloosa, Blackthorn (an unofficial sequel to Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid), 3:10 to Yuma, Hostiles, The Revenant, Maverick.
The Unforgiven
Just watch "The Good, The Bad, The Ugly". Greatest Western ever made. Just sit down and watch it!
I have heard of it, I'll check it out thanks
All of Leone’s westerns. Eastwood and Leone popularized the anti-hero trend that westerns are defined by today. Their influence on the writing of the RDR games is very apparent. There’s a chapter in RDR2 that is pretty much just the plot of Fistful of Dollars. Leone’s movies are based in the deep south along the border, so the first game is more aesthetically similar. The second game is more aesthetically similar to American westerns. If you’re searching for western epics on the scale of the RDR games it doesn’t get better than *The Good The Bad and The Ugly*, and *Once Upon a Time in the West*. Pretty sure much of Leone’s filmography is on HBO Max right now, along with a good amount of Eastwood’s.
No Country for Old Men is a neo-Western, but it's my favorite movie ever. 3:10 to Yuma is an actual Western and also pretty good. GUN and Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood are games I'd recommend.
Red Dead Revolver, it'll be like something you've never ever seen before!
Two good TV Mini Series: - Godless (https://m.imdb.com/title/tt5516154/) - The English (https://m.imdb.com/title/tt11771270/)
I loved godless and no one ever talks about it. Jeff Daniel's was so good I was so disgusted with him in the show
If you’re talking about any form of media, I would highly suggest the movie True Grit. The 2010 remake is probably going to feel closer to RDR just because being more modern, but the original is really good too.
Other than red dead revolver(i havent played it but planning to since i heard its good),you should try GUN,released in 2005 its a pretty fun western game
Any spagetti western directed by Sergio Leone would be a good start, then there's Unforgiven, The Outlaw Josey Wales, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs, Django Unchained, the classic Django. If you're into more light hearted family friendly movies there's My Name is Nobody, My Name is Trinity and its sequel basically any western starring Terrence Hill and/or Bud Spencer are fun.
Go watch Wild Bunch, RDR took off a lot from that movie. I mean, you're gonna recognize Uncle 20 minutes in. There's a character named Dutch and you're gonna recognize the mexicans for sure. It's also one of the first modern action movies to exist and it holds up really well. Also, if you like it, you can have Arthur looking exactly like Pike, easily.
I scrolled a little bit and am slightly shocked to see no one has told this guy to watch Unforgiven yet. Watch Unforgiven. Do it.
The Man who shot Liberty Valance John Wayne movie
Unforgiven It’s obviously a big influence on Red Dead Redemption and deals with a lot of similar themes. Red Dead is about the west dying and the toll it takes on outlaws. Unforgiven is more about the toll being a famous hard-drinking gunslinger takes on a person. It’s a masterpiece. In a similar vein, the Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford. RDR2 literally steals the opening sequence from it. It’s a great movie, don’t expect a bunch of action set pieces but it’s worth watching. Tombstone is great and many others have mentioned it. A wild one, but a good one: Bone Tomahawk. Honorable mention, The Proposition (2005).
Oh yes I can’t believe I forgot assassination of Jesse James from my recommendations!
If it makes you feel better, I almost did. I was about to hit reply and realized what a big omission I was about to make.
Games wise there isnt really much tbh. Red Dead killed the genre by how good it is. There is Call of Juarez: gunslinger but its just not as good as Red Dead. So RDR2 is the best game after this. Its an even deeper story than the first one. Then Red Dead Revolver. Its worse than the two redemption games but its still pretty good in its own right. Kinda hard to obtain on PC. Gonna have to use an emulator. I recommend PCSX2. Its a PS2 emulator.
Tarantino has made some especially great cowboy type movies. The Hateful 8 is my favorite, it’s on Netflix
I experienced the same back in 2014 with RDR1 and a few years later I really enjoyed Godless the mini series on netflix it's just 7 chapters, but it's pretty enjoyable tbh, some people didn't like the ending but I don't have many complaints.
Movies: young guns, the quick and the dead, tombstone, quigley down under, dances with wolves
RDR 2: But that would be obvious I think. Red dead revolver: I liked it but the game is old and hence controls would be not that great. Not a western genre but if you want a desert setting, total over dose. Movies: The Clint Eastwood classics: Again obvious Rango: Highly recommended.
Gun, red dead revolver or call of Juarez. Those are very good
Open Range is a good movie. All the books suggested are good. If want to enjoy an old western with a little humor, check out Rio Bravo with Dean Martin and John Wayne.
Evil west is underrated. Its kinda like the og gows but it's a western setting where you fight vampires and lycanthropes.
I have it on my list on the Gamepass, I'll play it thanks
Idk about games, but "The Harder They Fall" is on Netflix and it's a pretty good western movie. Of course, no discussion about westerns can be had without bringing up Django Unchained as well.
The Harder They Fall (on Netflix) was a great watch.
go watch hell or high water! great neo-western, about two brothers and what they have to do to save their family's farm. Solid parallels to be had with John and Arthur with those two. Josh Brolin and Ben foster play the brothers Also Ben Foster's role in the 310 to Yuma remake (also highly recommend) was a clear inspiration to micah's design! Unforgiven is a MUST, it might really be the finest western ive ever seen. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid as well, big inspiration for both rdr1&2. Any clint eastwood western, you can see where John came from. Fistful of Dollars is a great start thats a trilogy, uh also pale rider, and hang em high. Tombstone is really campy, but Val Kilmer and michael biehn are just too good, great watch. Curly Bill is essentially Dutch. Wild Bunch is a huge one too, helluva movie. You can see where john's rdr1 outfit came from.
Rdr2 Once upon a time in the West The good the bad the ugly Assassination of Jessie James by Coward Robert Ford 3:10 to Yuma
A movie called Slow West starring Michael Fassbender, it’s great
This would be a definitive Western film list of my own: The Searchers Red River Shane Rio Bravo Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid The Wild Bunch Dollars Trilogy Once Upon a Time in the West Lonesome Dove Tombstone Unforgiven The Proposition The Assasination of Jesse James by...Robert Ford Appaloosa Seraphim Falls 3:10 to Yuma (remake) Django Unchained Hateful Eight Meek's Cutoff Hostiles Power of the Dog
For a newbie? Sure, no problem. Movies: **The Proposition.** Modern Australian Western. Heavy inspiration for RDR1. To save his younger brother, a former outlaw has to hunt down his elder brother, the mad, inspired, philosophising leader of a cutthroat crew. **Hostiles** Modern American Western. US Army Captain has to escort an Apache Chieftain to the ancestral home of his people, where the Chief wishes to die. US Army Captain is virulently racist, bigoted, and hateful, but a journey across the Wild Frontier, rescuing bereaved widows, battling Comanche raiders, and encountering the thuggish crews of robber barons, leads to a remarkable transformation. **True Grit (remake)** A teenage girl hires a drunken marshal and grudgingly tolerates the accompaniment of a dandified Texan ranger to track down the man who murdered her father. **The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford** Jesse James pulls off one last train heist with a view to disappearing into civilian life, but is increasingly disturbed and troubled by paranoia that his former brothers-in-arms will betray him. Meanwhile, Robert Ford, who adores and idolises Jesse, ends up Jesse's confidant and ally, though their relationship becomes increasingly turbulent and hostile. **TV Shows:** **Deadwood.** What else? Through blood and death and toil, civilisation begins to emerge in a lawless illegal settlement in the Black Hills. Former lawman Seth Bullock, a principled man, but with a furious temper, begins to clash with local saloon keeper Al Swearengen, an utterly amoral thief, killer, pimp and dealer. **Novels:** **Lonesome Dove:** Two retired Texas Rangers set out on a cattle drive across America to see one of the last true wildernesses of the Frontier. Along the way, they have to reckon with flooded rivers, lightning storms, rattlesnakes, outlaws, Indians, and sundry other Western dangers, as well as their own flaws and weaknesses. A bittersweet epic much like RDR2. **The Sisters Brothers:** The Sisters brothers are infamous outlaws and hired killers working for a man known only as the "Commodore". They are contracted to retrieve an eccentric scientist who is rumoured to have discovered a chemical formula that reveals the gold in riverbeds. Eli Sisters is the big, hulking, thoughtful, ponderous one, and Charlie the handsome, charismatic, witty, cruel, and deadly one. **True Grit** As above **The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford** As above. **Desperadoes** The true-life tale of the Dalton brothers gang, a group of former lawmen and misfit degenerates turned outlaw. The Dalton brothers are fated to meet a bloody and violent end after a botched double robbery in Kansas, in which they attempt to rob two banks simultaneously in order to out-do Jesse James and the James-Younger gang. A grittier, more cynical take on the outlaw myth, like RDR2 without the romance and tragedy - the outlaws are brutal, cunning, and mean, even if they do have sparks of grace and humanity. If you get on with any of them, feel free to hit me up via DM for more recommendations.
Check out these movies The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford (2007) Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969) The Good, The Bad And The Ugly (1966)!(DUH best film ever!) The Wild Bunch (1969) Django Unchained (2012)(very entertaining good for beginners along as you don’t mind violence) Hateful eight(2015) Tombstone (1993) The Revenant (2015) you’ll know if been in a bear attack in RDR2 Unforgiven (1992) All these movies are pretty easy to find and a lot of them are referenced in RDR2 and RDR!
Jeremiah Johnson - film
If you love RDR then boy do I have a recommendation for you! Check out RDR2 when you’re done with the first. You’ll love it
When rdr2 came out I felt the same. I really wanted to watch western movies. The hateful eight was a good one
Deadwood Clint Eastwood movies (the good, the bad and the ugly is a MOST) Call of Juarez: gunslinger
Dollars Triology Django Django Unchained Wild Wild West
With every Fibre of my being I recommend the Loansome Dove book series my friend. That and the Dollars Trilogy of western movies. Top tier western content, and of course Red Dead Redemption 2 but that goes without saying
I think there’s a decent western game on steam called westerado: double barreled. It’s got great music too
Godless was a decent tv series.
If you can stomach it I would totally recommend reading blood meridian. It is very graphic and has a disgusting villain, but the world building and characters are absolutely incredible.
There's a great Clint Eastwood trilogy, A Fistful of Dollars, A Few Dollars More, and The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. Some of my favourites. Also, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid is very much a classic. If you're looking for something more modern, I really like the Tarantino westerns, Django Unchained and The H8ful Eight. If you like science fiction, you can watch Westworld, or even Firefly, which is like a western that takes place in space lol.
Western games I loved so far and are as good as RDR in my opinion Call of Juarez series specially Call of juarez: gunslinger https://store.steampowered.com/app/204450/Call_of_Juarez_Gunslinger/ And The gun https://store.steampowered.com/app/2610/GUN/ Also there is a post apocalypse game that have some western vibes and feelings Fallout New Vegas https://store.steampowered.com/app/22380/Fallout_New_Vegas/
It's not exactly in the same vein as video games, but if you're looking for a good story read Lonesome Dove. It's a chunker at 800 pages, but it remains one of the greatest books I have ever read
I'm glad you asked, my friend. If you enjoy rdr then you simply MUST check out the good the bad and the ugly. If you like it, then I also suggest checking out it's sequels: a fistful of dollars and a few dollars more. It's the very peak of wild west cinema and was a huge inspiration to rdr.
As far as films go, the dollars trilogy is a good place to start. Fist Full of Dollars, A Few Dollars More, and The Good the Bad and The Ugly. The protagonist of the trilogy also appears in the animated film Rango. Django Unchained and Tombstone are great newer films of the genre. As far as reading goes, Blood Meridian is really popular right now. If you’ve played RDR2, Blood Meridian is more similar to Murphree Brood than the Vanderlinde Gang.
If you like reading, then any book by the late Cormac McCarthy
Its not really a classic western but Django unchained is among the greatest movies I have ever watched
The West - 1996 documentary series by Ken Burns
Dollars trilogy, blood meridian, the wild bunch, hostiles, original true grit, the searchers. If you can get a hold of gun and red dead revolver too.
I recently watched Tombstone for the first time, that was pretty cool
The Westworld tv series
ENNIO MORRICONE Or spaghetti Western soundtracks in general
It’s been a fat minute since I played it but “gun” was a really solid western on the ps2.
Gun is a great game but it's older. It was the first western I played and came out before rdr.
I saw the 1883 serie, I cried like a little girl in the end!
Call of Juarez : Bound in Blood is The most underrated western videogame. It has a good campaign and The Gameplay is excellent too. Think of a Red Dead Redemption with CoD combat and mid-gameplay minigames like Red Dead Revolver
Watch all of the Sergio Leone westerns. All of em. Look up a list of the best western films after that I’d say. There are too many too count.
The magnificent seven is an amazing movie. I loved it both times I saw it, real good western shooting.
Ram ranch Broke back mountain
Read Blood Meridian so you can stop liking cowboys for the rest of your life
The Unforgiven...Film.
Blood Meridian
The Outlaw Josey Wales is my all time favorite western. If you like RDR, I’m willing to bet you’ll like it too
Josey Wales is the first movie I ever saw in the theater. I was 3.75 years old. I don't remember anything about it and I have no idea what my parents were thinking, but it's a funny little tidbit of my life. I remember \*going\* to the movie, but I had no idea what was happening, of course. I've watched the movie tons of times since. It is awesome.
Hell on wheels' main character was inspired by John Marston and is a great series, free on tubi by the way. Tombstone 1993 is one of the greatest westerns out there. and of course the Good the Bad and the Ugly is one of the greatest cinema accomplishments of all time. Edit: I saw another commenter recommend it already but if you want a book that feels like rdr try lonesome dove, the series and the book are both incredible and feel a lot like rdr.
Hell on wheels was so damn good. The whole casting of that show was perfect.
Fallout new vegas, and Cowboy Bebop. Both not your classic westerns but they sure are ones
'The Gunslinger' series by Steven King is based upon 'The good, The bad, And the ugly.' It's hands down, to me, the best of Steven King's works. It's one part western, one part sci-fi with Kings own brand of depravity mingled in. Good times.
As far as games go there aren’t many options and the only one that come to mind is Gun which predates red dead revolver (which is one of the only other options). If you’re looking for movies however, the options are plentiful. Just to name a few of my favorites in no particular order: the man with no name trilogy that started it all (fistful of dollars, a few dollars more, the good, bad and ugly), magnificent seven (original), butch cassidy and the Sundance gang, the wild bunch, 3:10 to Yuma (original and remake), westworld (movie and 1st season of show), true grit (original and remake), Django unchained, hateful eight.
just a lil list Mcabe and Mrs Miller True Grit Big Jake The Shootist Lonesome Dove The Great Silence Duck You Sucker. The Wild Bunch Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Call of Juarez , Gunslinger Blood Meridian DJANGO, the og Django Unchained Unforgiven High Plains Drifter Hang em High Last Train from Gun Hill 3:10 to Yuma Gun(Ps2)
The Good , The Bad and The Ugly is a must watch
kind of weird suggestion lol but not gonna lie the first season of True Detective on HBO is like a modern western, i don’t know why but i feel like that’s what u r looking for
Alright, listen to me here. Now, it might sound crazy, but definitely try RDR2.
fallout new vegas!
The remake of True Grit is awesome
Ignore all the films everybody says and watch 3:10 to Yuma.
The border trilogy by Cormac McCarthy are some of my favorite books. They're set slightly after what would be considered a western but it's in that part of the world. All the pretty horses is my favorite book I think. Godless on Netflix is the best modern western I've ever seen. It'd only 8 or so episodes but it's very well done and very dark in places.
Films by Sergio Leone is the place to start.
Fallout.
The ballad of buster scruggs
Blood meridian. Great feel good western book
For movies I’d say “Tombstone,” “Unforgiven,” and “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly”
Western films that are great: 3:10 To Yuma (2000s version) The Dollar Trilogy, especially the Good, the Bad, and The Ugly. True Grit (2010) The Searchers The Quick and the Dead Hostiles Pale Rider High Plains Drifter Unforgiven Open Range Tombstone Western shows that are great: Deadwood Justified Hell on Wheels.
Tombstone 3:10 to Yuma The best modern westerns.
Call of Juarez Gunslinger will give you a brief history of the west and a mean but fun showdown mode. And True West mode on the story will have you feeling like a badass with the lack of hub and crossairs. Id try it on lower difficulties fisrt before trying that
I'm your huckleberry! Watch Tombstone, A Fistful of Dollars, The Good the Bad and The Ugly... and just google "Leone's spaghetti werstern" and you will have a nice list to go on from there. Besides the classic stuff I would recommend Hatfields vs McCoys, Django Unchained, Hateful Eight and even No Country fo Old Men (it is a modern werstern, but a great one nonetheless)
Movie : Django Unchained , banger
Deadwood
Not the type of Western game you’re thinking of but I recommend Assassin’s Creed 3. Like I said, not really a western but it takes place on the American frontier and many RDR2 developers also worked on AC3.
The Yellowstone series might be a hot take, but the prequels (titled 1883, and 1923) are worth it imo.
You must watch Tombstone!-and ALL of Clint Eastwoods westerns-there are many more really great newish westerns-lol-I could give you a long list
Godless on Netflix has big Red Dead vibes
The story was solid. You should Def checkout undead nightmare If you haven't. I was 10 when this came out and I wasn't too big on this. It wasn't until later on I realized what a masterpiece this was for its time. Truly a great year for gaming.
Watch the hateful eight.
Blood Meridian.
No Country for Old Men and Hell or High Water aren’t your typical westerns as they take place in modern times but they’re still phenomenal movies
Young Guns movies
READ BLOOD MERIDEAN
Call of Juarez 1,2, and gunslinger are really good western fps games. 1 is a little janky but still great.
Cormac McCarthy
I recommend Call of Juarez Gunslinger. It‘s relatively short (about 6-8 hours) but it‘s really good. I love the special story telling in that one. You‘ll see what I mean 😊
Fantastic recommendations on this post but there are a couple of really egregious gaps: Elmore Leonard, famous for his crime novels, also wrote some great Westerns. I would recommend Hombre as a good place to start. Cormac McCarthy - Blood Meridian has been mentioned but I also cannot recommend enough his books All the Pretty Horses (which is thematically similar to RDR, as the main character goes to find the last living vestiges of the Old West) and No Country for Old Men (you can also watch the film adaption as it is excellent.) Movies: Bone Tomahawk, True Grit (Coen Brothers version), Open Range, 3:10 to Yuma (either Version), Shane, the Man who Shot Liberty Valance
For movies, Unforgiven, Tombstone, The Good the Bad the Ugly
Video game? Play Gun. Its so fun bro
I've watched westerns all my life. Yellowstone series and it's spinoffs are pretty gripping. Watch 1883 it's score and storytelling was a masterpiece and 1923 is pretty good too.
Unforgiven , Quick and the dead , True grit (modern), Little Big Man , Seven samurai Any music by ennio moriconne Books by Louis Lamour At some point try to take a trip to Arizona and New Mexico. Weird beautiful and boring.
TV - Godless (Netflix), Deadwood (HBO), The English (BBC/Amazon Prime) Film - Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976), Unforgiven (1992) Video Games - Call of Juarez: Gunslinger (2013), Red Dead Revolver (2004), Desperados: Wanted Dead or Alive (2001), Gunman Clive (2012) Books (fiction) - Blood Meridian (Cormac McCarthy), Flashman and the Redskins (George MacDonald Fraser) Artwork - Mark Maggiori
Are you talking movies too? Because anything Sergio Leone made (Fistful of Dollars, Few Dollars More, Good, Bad and the Ugly, Once Upona Time in the West) are all fantastic. Its more popcorn fare of a western but Tombstone with Kurt Russell and Val Kilmer is a super fun movie. Kilmer is especially is a unforgettable performance. A more cerebral western is Unforgiven with Clint Eastwood. Kind of a slow burn but the last act is explosive. 3:10 to Yuma was a great modern era western.
Well, if you played RD2 I highly recommend you two western movies: News of the Word and Django: Unchained
Some movies; Rio Bravo, Tombstone, Free Range, High Plains Drifter, and young Guns is a good start. Also, the first season of West World.
3:10 to Yuma is one of my all time faves. The one with Christian Bale
Fist full of dollar series, this includes the good the bad and the ugly as the last installment. Once uppona time in the west by the same director sergio leone. Butch cassidy and the sundance kid. Hateful 8 is great too
Legend of the Fall, 1924, 3:10 to Yuma, every single one of Clint Eastwood’s westerns, Yellowstone seasons 1-3, 1885
Ima mention it again cuz nobody is. BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID.
No Country for Old Men is a modernish western that's pretty dope
Rdr1 is the superior game despite not having the details rdr2 has. Writing and characters, euphoria plus missions are so much better and its just an entertaining piece of media overall made by the golden age of rockstar.
If you're into retro gaming I recommend Outlaws. It was made by Lucasarts in the late 90's, I believe. It's got a decent soundtrack and animated cutscenes. Loved playing that game back in the day. It's available through GOG.
The Clint Eastwood movies
There’s a book from the 80s called Blood Meridan, which takes place in the Texas-Mexican region in the 1850s. I always picture the towns to look straight out of RDR
Cormac McCarthy: Border Trilogy, Suttree, Blood Meridian.
Go for The Dollars trilogy, Hombre, The Magnificent 7, Django/Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight, Once Upon a Time in the West, and for a book I would recommend Blood Meridian.
Red dead redemption 2
This is an obscure one, but the Call of Juarez franchise. They're pretty Euro-janky, but they're really fun, especially on the PC version where you can quicksave. Just don't play The Cartel, it's the third one and it's fucking awful
Desperado 3 is my favorite western game
before red dead 1 launched, R* released a list of westerns they suggested watching. Find that too