Best Video Game Westerns (That AREN'T Red Dead Redemption Games)

Rockstar’s Red Dead Redemption series is one of the most well-known western video game franchises around, but with that being said, there are plenty of other cowboy-themed games worthy of attention. The Red Dead Redemption franchise wasn’t the first to tackle the wild, wild west, and it certainly won’t be the last.

In the first Red Dead Redemption, players assume the role of the cowboy outlaw John Marston as he’s blackmailed by the government to hunt down his old gang members. The second game in the series acts as a prequel to the first, and follows the adventures of both John and newcomer Arthur Morgan, as well as other members of the Van der Linde gang.

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Between the realistic graphics, exciting combat, and incredibly detailed stories and missions, it’s not surprising that the Red Dead Redemption games make up one of Rockstar’s most successful franchises next to Grand Theft Auto. But for players who’ve made it through the stories in both Red Dead Redemption games and have explored enough of their open worlds, then they can scratch their itch for a western game through these equally-thematic titles.

The nineties saw a lot of western-themed video games, but none stood out quite like 1997’s Outlaws. The first-person shooter, available on PC, may not have been as lucrative as LucasArts would’ve liked, but it has since established a strong cult following. In the game, players assume the role of a retired U.S. Marshal who is seeking revenge against a group of outlaws responsible who stole his daughter after murdering his wife. The game is notably one of the first titles to include a sniper zoom. It also featured a gun reloading feature, which was ground-breaking in video games at the time.

2005 was a strong year for western-themed video games. Oddworld: Stranger’s Wrath was developed by OddWorld Inhabitants and released for Microsoft Xbox. The action-adventure game allows players to gear up as Stranger, a bounty hunter in a strange western-themed world who must complete a series of bounties to advance further in the game. Another excellent western game from the same year is Gun, developed by Neversoft for PS2, Xbox, GameCube, and Microsoft Windows. By 2008, Gun had sold over 1.4 million copies in America alone. Similar to the Red Dead Redemption games in both setting and gameplay elements, this western title features an open world, multiplayer, and a variety of side quests.

Call of Juarez, released a year later in 2006, is another title players should put on their bucket list. It tells the tale of Ray McCall, an outlaw-turned-preacher out to avenge the untimely killing of his family. The game is a first-person shooter and was developed by Techland, leading the developer to establish the Call of Juarez franchise alongside Ubisoft.

Finally, one of the newest games fans of Red Dead Redemption should check out is Steamworld Dig 2, which puts a steampunk-twist on the classic western title. Set in a western city filled with robotic citizens, gamers get to play as Rusty, following his disappearance at the end of the original game. This title earned IGN’s "Best Action-Adventure Game" Award in 2017, among other accolades.

There are countless western video games that fans of Red Dead Redemption will also be obsessed with, but the only question is which one to play first.

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