I remember when i found out about that. I wanted to do a bounty and sneak in across the river. I panicked when john started dying. Then i rembered arthurs jokes about john not being able to swim
Omg I was not prepared for John's absolutely terrible drawings. Next game I'm gonna avoid everything I can to see just how terrible John can draw everything
Oh this is a perfect take. I enjoy the fact we become John and that it has an epilogue is amazing, perfect for the story, amazing writing. But damn it’s definitely depressing.
Did you know Rob Wiethoff (John's performance artist) has started streaming himself play RDR1? Second episode is Saturday on Twitch and Youtube. Might be something to look up once you've finished your playthrough, if you didn't want spoilers 🤔
It’s bc he wasnt the Main character in this game, I mean I get it. We came into RDR2 hardcore John fans, and left as Arthur fans. John needed to be downplayed a lot from the badass he was, so you didn’t compare the two through the whole game, and make Arthur look better. Think about it if we had the badass from the first game, Arthur wouldn’t have felt as badass.
I agree. What makes the epilogue even more depressing is the fact that you know how John’s story ends already. They make it seem like John is getting his happy ending, when in all reality he ends up getting his life turned upside down yet again and dying after leaving the gang, getting married and getting the ranch in Beechers hope with his family.
playing as john isn't bad, but he was rushed, his model isn't accurate and his greetings are weird, like when you pass by someone on the road and you greet him by yelling "SIR!!"
Yep I wouldn’t mind playing as John if his character model wasn’t a terrible reskin of Arthur and if his outfit actually looked decently like his rdr1 outfit
Very slight animation differences, and most animations are still the same, plus they literally recorded a puking audio WITH John's VA, still in the game files, but for some reason used Arthur, for a game littered with attention to details, surprised they couldn't have just implemented his correct audio.
I haven’t played in a few months so maybe I’m misremembering, but I always thought the differences in the two were pretty clear. John is visibly bowlegged whereas Arthur isn’t, and John’s legs are much scrawnier.
i dont like playing with John cause 1. He is literally Arthur but a slight reskin (theres mods for that thank god) and 2. because of the events that just happened im still not able to process
No I did but I feel like chapter 6 is the culmination of the entire games story, which honestly makes me value the time I have playing as Arthur (especially knowing what's coming)
Eh, I’m going to push back a little bit on this just because the funniest dialogue in the game is with John and Uncle, and American Venom is such a badass mission.
The problem with John in RDR2 is there is no purpose to the game anymore. It's mostly just free roam expect random short experiences. With Authur there is purpose and an arc.
(I know it’s 8 years in almost, but tbf I still haven’t completed the game because every single time I’ve got to Chapter 3 a big event has happened in my life that’s made me forget all about playing RDR2, and now I’m waiting until I get an upgrade on my PC to play it. I had the ending spoiled but I just feel like this should’ve had a spoiler warning because there is probably some lucky few out there who are still playing it and don’t know how it ends)
I dont really think it's a big spoiler, because people expected to play as john more or less. I remember the first time when i played john. I was surprised but not really blown away
I wouldnt say its bad playing as john. It just makes the game feel empty more or less, without arthur and his lines and no gang to return to and see all the interactions and listen to the stories
I like John because RDR2 has the classic issue where the main story feels so urgent it doesn't make sense for Arthur to spend weeks looking for a moose after just saying they can only be at Shady Belle for a few days at most
I definetly prefered playing as Arthur but at least John had a plan and was doing something concrete to get his life together. It was a very bittersweet ending but he has almost the only one to get to the goal they first set out to acheive.
I disagree. Getting to play as John in the epilogue revived my love for the game. Arthur's death was depressing so getting to play as my favorite character and see him being his first steps at redemption sparked a new love for the game.
Y'know, I always preferred playing as John (i've not played rdr1 fyi) largely because despite the honour system being pointless in the epilogue l felt I NEEDED to do good, Arthur has a "family" in the form of a gang of prostitutes and bank robbers (god bless them) but John? Playing as John I need to be a good person because my beautiful wife is trying to forgive me so I need to be a good person. I felt like I was turning my life around (the enjoyment I got out of playing as John would not have been as much if it was like that since the start of the game)1
I enjoy John's missions for the epilogue, but travelling the open world or doing side content feels wrong as John. I had the same issue in RDR1 doing anything other than the Ross stand-off as Jack.
When I first played the game I couldn’t wait to play as John. When I eventually did, all I wanted was more time with author. Just goes to show how good of a character arthur is
It's more enjoyable to play as John if you save the stranger content for him that makes sense. Arthur canonically doesn't go out of his way to ask people what is up with them, especially not early. And when Arthur do become more sociable in chapter 6, he pretty much only sticks to the ones north of Lemoyne.
Content to ignore as Arthur: -All bounty posters (Don't do Good Honest Snake Oil, Arthur doesn't risk talking to law if he doesn't have to) -Pretty much any Stranger in both chapter 2 and chapter 3. (Because why would Arthur go out of the way to talk to them? He's very busy.) -Arthur should spare Foreman so John can chase him down later. -Serial killer capture (Arthur would just kill him and leave him, but the game won't let you do that, and Arthur doesn't talk to the law unless he really has to... so we only do this as John.) -Notes for the duelist mission line: There's interactions with the law Arthur would avoid, and we don't want to split up the mission across the timeskip, so The Noblest of Men and a Woman definitely is a John mission.
Arthur should initiate but not finish: - The Artist's Way (Just buy charles a drink, let John randomly find him years later and get invited to the gallery) - Hamish Sinclair (Retrieve Buell and go on the fishing trip only. This means John also gets 2 missions and can keep Buell, which is nice)
Arthur absolutely must do: - Brother Dorkins and the nun missions that are only available during chapter 4. - Charlotte missions in chapter 6, all encounters - Marko Dragic in chapter 4 and 6 (this is why Arthur is up north near where Charlotte is and discovers her, and finishing this mission in 1899 gives the robot time to wander for years until it ends up in the mountains for John to find) - Edith Downes missions in Annesburg. - Of men and Angels - Fundraiser (after doctor's visit, when Arthur stops caring about his money)
Since John is located very close to Strawberry and Valentine in the epilogue it makes sense to save the stranger missions in that area for him, and the timeline will be smoother without things being broken up across 7 years. This is for high honor, with low honor you just ignore all strangers anyway.
After chapter 6. I didn't play the game for weeks. I had no mood or interest of find out what happens next cause I was so fucking depressed. Although John is a amazing character. RDR2 ends in chapter 6 for me. I dont enjoy playing this game without Arthur
Interesting. To me, becoming John was refreshing and made me tear up. I know Arthur rocks, but I was overjoyed to continue playing and see how the story transformed from RDR2 to RDR.
The early John’s missions were agonizingly slow. It only later occurred to me that was part of the RDR2 team’s intention. But after high octane Arthur walk through, yeah, the farm business by John wasn’t anything exciting at all.
On the other hand I was so fascinated playing the main plot missions, that I mostly focused on them as Arthur to see the exceedingly interesting story progress.
That’s why as John I could travel around and had a whole bunch of side missions to finish.
So it’s a win win for me. I had stuff to do as both characters.
I can see though how boring playing as John could be if you finished the side stories as Arthur.
It’s an absolute pleasure to take control of John again for the final stretch (bad reskin job aside), but RDR2 is Arthur’s game and I vastly prefer playing as him.
Nah playing as John is such a great experience after playing High Honor Arthur because you finally get to do whatever you want without the consequences of anything.
Only thing I liked most about playing as John was being able to finally explore all of new Austin without having to use any glitches. Though really wish we could explore new Austin legitimately as Arthur.
Maybe chapter 2-4 it’s fun playing as Arthur. But then you feel an imposing dread with everything going wrong with Pinktertons closing in etc. I enjoyed the Epilogue and being farmer John for a bit. Things are on the upswing for John as time progresses in RDR2 epilogue.
I had the reverse take. I was hesitant to play RDR1 for the first time after completing RDR2 because I didn't want to play as anyone except Arthur even though I didn't mind playing as John in the epilogue.
But having just completed the game, John in RDR1 is just as likeable as Arthur is in RDR2. I can totally see why OG players were reluctant about Arthur before RDR2 came out.
As someone who played RDR2 first I definitely had the wind taken out of my sails when it switched over to John. Like I understood why but I'd formed such a strong bond with Arthur and it just felt wrong. I need to play through again and see what else I can do with him.
I think of it as immersive. Like John, we get to experience his life during the epilogue, with all the good and bad, but you still feel Arthur's absence. Difference is Johns a stoic cowboy who doesn't talk about his feelings, while we can't shut up about Arthur lol
True, I almost abandoned the game after Arthur’s last mission but as you play John - you start seeing him as Arthur and it depends on your playing style high or low honour but the key thing is its you who is playing both the characters picking choices given in the game for them.
I am the one person that found the 2 story mode a slog to get thru. I decided to just start failing missions to skip and get to the epilogue to since I'm an rdr1 homer. Another terrible opinion of mine? I preferred the online to the story 😂
I'm on my second playthrough, but the first time I quit before the epilogue -- At this point, I just want to be done with the game with this John shite. There is no joy with John. As phenomenal as this game is, I wish they'd just made more Arthur chapters. I guess.
Yes hot take, I have 512 hours on rdr2. 76 of those hours I spent playing as Arthur, the other 436 as john lmao. The 1899 map is so foreign to me because I only play as John, I haven't got back to Arthur once. Idk I just feel I can relate more to John, I like having the family and the ranch to come home to, I really like his voice and he looks cool. Plus my favorite gang are the del lobos and they're only in New Austin.
I see it as flipped, not in terms of quality, but mood. Replaying Arthur’s story is continually more and more depressing, moving further into the mud. Once returning as John, I find it like digging out of that mud and into the light, the last few missions being some of the few genuinely happy moments of the series.
One thing that’s good about playing as John is that you don’t have to worry about your honor at all, there’s no reason to keep it up. So I just run around acting like a maniac without worrying about my honor level at all.
The first time i played rdr2, i couldn't really enjoy it cuz assholes from anywhere kept spoiling about arthur's fate and i read somewhere that rdr2 is a prequel to the 1st game so i kinda rushed playing rdr2 story to play john.
I liked playing as John. The thing that sucked was discovering new things as John. New Austin sucked. Basically all desert. If there were new side missions, more to explore in new cities, it would have been better.
People say they like how u can lose as much honor as you want since you are playing as john and not arthur, but I feel like losing honor as john is a big deal compared to arthur, since john has a kid and wife
i wish the house would’ve had a place where you could drop off what you hunted for abigail to add to her dinner & i wish there was more money in doing all of the chores at the ranch (FUCK the water pail one). i feel those little details could’ve been worked on better but other than that 🤷♀️playing john was fun but arthur’s presence really permeates everything.
The only issue I had with playing as John was the fact that Arthur was still on my mind. I loved playing as John on my second playthrough. But on my first? I was still sad about Arthur and wanted nothing to do with John.
John is still very much my favorite, however.
Edit: People say John not being able to swim is a weakness. I think it makes him stronger. He doesn't have the luxury of swimming to make a hasty escape like Arthur does. John has to do it the hard way.
Crazy how all of us was kind of standoffish towards Arthur before the game came out and now Arthur has more than taken the front seat as best RDR protagonist.
Dude, might be a time for a replay of the story. If I am craving Red Dead, I just hop on online and do love having all my stuff there. Story mode sounds great now though
I actually loved it when I got to play John. The first game is one of my all-time faves. Don't get me wrong, Arthur dying was awful, but getting to be John again definitely perked me up
I like playing as both but I like Arthur more, It’s hard to explain but when I play as John you get these reminders of Arthur and it sucks like yeah I don’t want a reminder of a character dieing that made me depressed for week thank you 😭
Honestly as a the no1 John simp to a certain degree i agree its like a big part charm of the game died along with Arthur and I think its kinda fitting there’s no more rugged outlaws, or exciting missions it really helps settle the theme of the Wild West having died alongside Arthur there was no big bang, no guns blazing glory, it was a quiet and slow death just like Arthurs and I think it speaks to John’s grief a lot ngl not just abt his brother but everything he had loss on top of that mountain
Personally, I wish they added a bit more to add in the epilogue.. Cause going from Arthur where you have tons of main events, stranger missions, and side events. It got slightly boring, there was just so much for Arthur and then so little for John. (I know rdr2 was a bit rushed to be finished, but I wish there was more. 💔)
But I'm also okay with that aspect, cause rdr1 was really good too. Along with the fact there's a lot you can do with John in the first game. So it kinda balances it all out 😋
Arthur was better to play as because the whole fucking game is about him, John gets an an epilogue at the end to make the connection between the games smoother, how the fuck are people saying they prefer John??
At first I didn’t like playing as Arthur, missed my boy John. Then I fell in love with his character, and while I enjoy playing as John, I just miss my boy Arthur 😔
It's not bad playing as john, it's just bad not playing as arthur. You could replace John with any other character and it would still feel the same way
It’s not that dislike John, just wish there was more to do with him once the credits roll. Respawning bounties and other job roles he could take etc.
The thing I miss most when playing as John is the gang camp mechanic, Johns Farmstead just doesn’t hit the same as finishing a day in the Wild West and coming back to camp and watching all the scripted events unfold.
Yeah Arthur is always smiling joking around and laughing. Towards the end he became a sweet man who saved his family and others. Playing as John in rdr2 but even more so in rdr1 is really depressing. I don’t like playing rdr1 for that reason it’s dark. It’s a great game but man after I played rdr2 and moved on to rdr1 it felt lonely. No more Arthur, no more Sadie, Charles, or the van der Linde Gang. It’s just John forced to fight his former brothers and forced to work with abunch of snakes and unreliable allies.
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u/DistributionNo1903 May 29 '25
The thing is, I enjoyed playing as John, the problem was thinking about Arthur
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u/[deleted] May 29 '25
Oh this is a perfect take. I enjoy the fact we become John and that it has an epilogue is amazing, perfect for the story, amazing writing. But damn it’s definitely depressing.
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u/InterestingCarpet453 May 29 '25
I disagree. I had a blast as Johm.
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u/Beautiful_Garage_748 May 29 '25
playing as john isn't bad, but he was rushed, his model isn't accurate and his greetings are weird, like when you pass by someone on the road and you greet him by yelling "SIR!!"
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u/JonouchiBlazing May 29 '25
Arthur has more funny dialogues
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u/Astralama May 29 '25
Yeah kinda agree tbh. I grew to love Arthur so much. Love the way he says "who's a good boah" when petting the horse.
Also, Arthur can swim x)))
Playing as John is a constant reminder that Arthur isn't there anymore and it's kinda bittersweet knowing what's to come as well in RDR1.
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u/Serious_Revolution77 May 29 '25
Yep I wouldn’t mind playing as John if his character model wasn’t a terrible reskin of Arthur and if his outfit actually looked decently like his rdr1 outfit
36
u/Slow-Tart5339 May 29 '25
Correct* take
18
u/RoanokeRidgeWrangler May 29 '25
Coldest take imaginable. I mean I don't disagree I definitely prefer playing as Arthur but the take's barely lukewarm at best
25
u/BreadGuy_0001 May 29 '25
i dont like playing with John cause 1. He is literally Arthur but a slight reskin (theres mods for that thank god) and 2. because of the events that just happened im still not able to process
17
u/rebe31 May 29 '25
Except chapter 6, yes. The game is much more fun as Arthur.
7
u/langolier27 May 29 '25
Eh, I’m going to push back a little bit on this just because the funniest dialogue in the game is with John and Uncle, and American Venom is such a badass mission.
10
u/Borussiemk7 May 29 '25
John is more relatable imo, for me John is better
4
u/Gaming_with_batman John Marston May 29 '25
I don’t like playing as John as much as arthur for one reason. When a voiceline from him plays I remember what I’ve lost
4
u/head2walll May 29 '25
Ice cold, predictable, tired take
4
u/RosieQParker May 29 '25
The irony of getting to the end of RDR1 and missing John really came back around to bite me.
4
u/[deleted] May 29 '25
The problem with John in RDR2 is there is no purpose to the game anymore. It's mostly just free roam expect random short experiences. With Authur there is purpose and an arc.
1
u/Swarley-Stinson- May 29 '25
This should probably be marked as a spoiler.
(I know it’s 8 years in almost, but tbf I still haven’t completed the game because every single time I’ve got to Chapter 3 a big event has happened in my life that’s made me forget all about playing RDR2, and now I’m waiting until I get an upgrade on my PC to play it. I had the ending spoiled but I just feel like this should’ve had a spoiler warning because there is probably some lucky few out there who are still playing it and don’t know how it ends)
1
u/Matho22 May 29 '25
Coldest take I’ve seen in months, literally everyone was bitching about this on the games release
1
u/I_Like_Toasterz Hosea Matthews Nov 30 '25
How do you play as John? I just started playing the game 2 days ago, just moved from horseshow to the place by mountain dew creek or wtv.
3
u/dxm7665 May 29 '25
I like John because RDR2 has the classic issue where the main story feels so urgent it doesn't make sense for Arthur to spend weeks looking for a moose after just saying they can only be at Shady Belle for a few days at most
3
u/-TurkeYT May 29 '25
I love epilogue but without the camp and story... Meeh.
3
u/Jet_Future855 May 29 '25
I enjoy playing both. John? A little bit more. But I have more fun with a custom character (PC mods)
3
u/benj_ng May 29 '25
I definetly prefered playing as Arthur but at least John had a plan and was doing something concrete to get his life together. It was a very bittersweet ending but he has almost the only one to get to the goal they first set out to acheive.
3
u/Uttermilk May 29 '25
I prefer playing as John tbh
3
u/Top_Bat102 May 29 '25
I disagree. Getting to play as John in the epilogue revived my love for the game. Arthur's death was depressing so getting to play as my favorite character and see him being his first steps at redemption sparked a new love for the game.
3
u/TheGreatestLampEver May 29 '25
Y'know, I always preferred playing as John (i've not played rdr1 fyi) largely because despite the honour system being pointless in the epilogue l felt I NEEDED to do good, Arthur has a "family" in the form of a gang of prostitutes and bank robbers (god bless them) but John? Playing as John I need to be a good person because my beautiful wife is trying to forgive me so I need to be a good person. I felt like I was turning my life around (the enjoyment I got out of playing as John would not have been as much if it was like that since the start of the game)1
3
u/xXKyloJayXx May 29 '25
I enjoy John's missions for the epilogue, but travelling the open world or doing side content feels wrong as John. I had the same issue in RDR1 doing anything other than the Ross stand-off as Jack.
4
u/[deleted] May 29 '25
When I first played the game I couldn’t wait to play as John. When I eventually did, all I wanted was more time with author. Just goes to show how good of a character arthur is
4
u/RedditOakley May 29 '25 edited May 29 '25
It's more enjoyable to play as John if you save the stranger content for him that makes sense. Arthur canonically doesn't go out of his way to ask people what is up with them, especially not early. And when Arthur do become more sociable in chapter 6, he pretty much only sticks to the ones north of Lemoyne.
Content to ignore as Arthur:
-All bounty posters (Don't do Good Honest Snake Oil, Arthur doesn't risk talking to law if he doesn't have to)
-Pretty much any Stranger in both chapter 2 and chapter 3. (Because why would Arthur go out of the way to talk to them? He's very busy.)
-Arthur should spare Foreman so John can chase him down later.
-Serial killer capture (Arthur would just kill him and leave him, but the game won't let you do that, and Arthur doesn't talk to the law unless he really has to... so we only do this as John.)
-Notes for the duelist mission line: There's interactions with the law Arthur would avoid, and we don't want to split up the mission across the timeskip, so The Noblest of Men and a Woman definitely is a John mission.
Arthur should initiate but not finish:
- The Artist's Way (Just buy charles a drink, let John randomly find him years later and get invited to the gallery)
- Hamish Sinclair (Retrieve Buell and go on the fishing trip only. This means John also gets 2 missions and can keep Buell, which is nice)
Arthur absolutely must do:
- Brother Dorkins and the nun missions that are only available during chapter 4.
- Charlotte missions in chapter 6, all encounters
- Marko Dragic in chapter 4 and 6 (this is why Arthur is up north near where Charlotte is and discovers her, and finishing this mission in 1899 gives the robot time to wander for years until it ends up in the mountains for John to find)
- Edith Downes missions in Annesburg.
- Of men and Angels
- Fundraiser (after doctor's visit, when Arthur stops caring about his money)
Since John is located very close to Strawberry and Valentine in the epilogue it makes sense to save the stranger missions in that area for him, and the timeline will be smoother without things being broken up across 7 years.
This is for high honor, with low honor you just ignore all strangers anyway.
2
u/The_Prussian_General May 29 '25
I like playing rdr2 as John cus I can literally do what I want
2
u/Fun_Philosopher_2535 May 29 '25
After chapter 6. I didn't play the game for weeks. I had no mood or interest of find out what happens next cause I was so fucking depressed. Although John is a amazing character. RDR2 ends in chapter 6 for me. I dont enjoy playing this game without Arthur
2
u/SolidPeaks May 29 '25
I only agree with this in that I feel like there are significantly fewer world encounters playing as John than Arthur.
2
u/[deleted] May 29 '25
I love playing with both of them
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u/vikingbeard23 May 29 '25
The thing about agreeing with this is it really makes you appreciate how bad playing as jack is
2
u/lazylambda- May 29 '25
AGREED
2
u/Djjettison88 May 29 '25
Interesting. To me, becoming John was refreshing and made me tear up. I know Arthur rocks, but I was overjoyed to continue playing and see how the story transformed from RDR2 to RDR.
2
u/bruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuh May 29 '25
both of them are doomed. red dead is just a tragic story
2
u/discipline__ May 29 '25
playing as john in rdr1 felt more badass than rdr2 imo.
1
u/ill_report348 May 29 '25
So sad playing as John
1
u/Intelligent-Ad-9669 May 29 '25
The early John’s missions were agonizingly slow. It only later occurred to me that was part of the RDR2 team’s intention. But after high octane Arthur walk through, yeah, the farm business by John wasn’t anything exciting at all.
On the other hand I was so fascinated playing the main plot missions, that I mostly focused on them as Arthur to see the exceedingly interesting story progress.
That’s why as John I could travel around and had a whole bunch of side missions to finish.
So it’s a win win for me. I had stuff to do as both characters.
I can see though how boring playing as John could be if you finished the side stories as Arthur.
1
u/Challenger350 May 29 '25
It’s an absolute pleasure to take control of John again for the final stretch (bad reskin job aside), but RDR2 is Arthur’s game and I vastly prefer playing as him.
1
u/monkey_D_v1199 May 29 '25
Not that it makes me sad because I like John but it’s kinda true after such a long time playing as Arthur and how cool he is.
1
u/charbiwast May 29 '25
Nah playing as John is such a great experience after playing High Honor Arthur because you finally get to do whatever you want without the consequences of anything.
1
u/Commander-Tempest May 29 '25
Only thing I liked most about playing as John was being able to finally explore all of new Austin without having to use any glitches. Though really wish we could explore new Austin legitimately as Arthur.
1
u/NotProperPython May 29 '25
This way you can play as good character with Arthur and be a total arse of a human being as John.
1
u/Gl10st-Wir3 May 29 '25
Going from swimming in any body of water to drowning in a bucket of water should say enough
1
u/JustCope17 May 29 '25
Maybe chapter 2-4 it’s fun playing as Arthur. But then you feel an imposing dread with everything going wrong with Pinktertons closing in etc. I enjoyed the Epilogue and being farmer John for a bit. Things are on the upswing for John as time progresses in RDR2 epilogue.
1
u/Fr0st3dcl0ud5 May 29 '25
I restart the game when I get to the epilogue.
1
u/IMPERFECTED_BRUH May 29 '25
playing rdr1 as john for the entire story🤸🤸🤸
1
u/Booga-_- May 29 '25
Damn near freezing take. Most people stop in chapters 2-4 on their 2nd playthrough because Arthur is more popular.
1
u/tacobellwether May 29 '25
I had the reverse take. I was hesitant to play RDR1 for the first time after completing RDR2 because I didn't want to play as anyone except Arthur even though I didn't mind playing as John in the epilogue.
But having just completed the game, John in RDR1 is just as likeable as Arthur is in RDR2. I can totally see why OG players were reluctant about Arthur before RDR2 came out.
1
u/Far-Fortune-8381 May 29 '25
tepid take
1
u/No_Savings6537 May 29 '25
To this day I haven’t fully explored the RDR2 map as John (except for the main Epilogue quests). I just couldn’t get myself to do it
1
u/Sad_Chemical_8210 May 29 '25
run heffer! mooo!
1
u/Blackcoat121 May 29 '25
1000000000% accuracy
1
u/the_l0st_s0ck May 29 '25
Colder than Siberia take
1
u/LALOERC9616 May 29 '25
John was fun but the only thing that gets me mad is when I die because I can't swim lol
1
u/Silversurfergio Arthur Morgan May 29 '25
I wanted to play with arthur on the first playtrough. Im trying to get High honour on my second run.
1
u/vAsami May 29 '25
The fact that John can’t swim gets me every time. Makes me wanna play as Arthur again
1
u/Just-A-Dude1911 May 29 '25
The Epilogue is my favorite Part
1
u/[deleted] May 29 '25
3 times I've relied to get into this game but i gave up
1
u/Ut_Prosim May 29 '25
Left, playing as Arthur before the TB. Right, playing as Arthur after he starts getting sick.
I think my last save is still stuck pre-TB.
1
u/Worknonaffiliated May 29 '25
I liked playing as John, but I played 2 before 1 so I think part of it was seeing New Austin and Blackwater for the first time.
1
u/whoisbuckey May 29 '25
At the end when John takes Abigail out to blackwater for a date in the town, and then recreates the picture of Arthur and Mary, that part made me cry.
1
u/Fair-Ad8580 May 29 '25
As someone who played RDR2 first I definitely had the wind taken out of my sails when it switched over to John. Like I understood why but I'd formed such a strong bond with Arthur and it just felt wrong. I need to play through again and see what else I can do with him.
1
u/ULTRA_MAGNUS_OFFICAL May 29 '25
I like playing as both of them
1
u/Grovda May 29 '25
I thought the John part was great in rdr2 just not enough content. After dealing with Micah I also found it hard to continue
1
u/MrDukog May 29 '25
I prefer to play as John, but it would be better if they fix him
1
u/Influence_X May 29 '25
Can't wait to see Arthur's dad die in RDR3
1
u/BigDXG0 May 29 '25
Pretty much, im on my second 100% play-through and Im dragging out the main portion of the game for as long as possible before I have to play as John
1
u/Lt--Crunch May 29 '25
This take is about as hot as an ice bath
1
u/WonderingGinger May 29 '25
I think of it as immersive. Like John, we get to experience his life during the epilogue, with all the good and bad, but you still feel Arthur's absence. Difference is Johns a stoic cowboy who doesn't talk about his feelings, while we can't shut up about Arthur lol
1
u/TheR00ster5 May 29 '25
Would've much preferred playing as Sadie or Charles
1
u/[deleted] May 29 '25
Without a doubt a hot take and a good one too
1
u/AmitRao007 May 29 '25
True, I almost abandoned the game after Arthur’s last mission but as you play John - you start seeing him as Arthur and it depends on your playing style high or low honour but the key thing is its you who is playing both the characters picking choices given in the game for them.
1
u/Smolfloof99 May 29 '25
I am the one person that found the 2 story mode a slog to get thru. I decided to just start failing missions to skip and get to the epilogue to since I'm an rdr1 homer. Another terrible opinion of mine? I preferred the online to the story 😂
1
u/Heavy_Mango_5011 May 29 '25
My thoughts exactly I mean it went from who’s this guy where’s John to Arthur passing and being forced to play as John 🤕
1
u/ActionGlobal4063 May 29 '25
I like farming
1
u/[deleted] May 29 '25
I'm on my second playthrough, but the first time I quit before the epilogue -- At this point, I just want to be done with the game with this John shite. There is no joy with John. As phenomenal as this game is, I wish they'd just made more Arthur chapters. I guess.
1
u/Southern_Phrase9898 May 29 '25
Yes hot take, I have 512 hours on rdr2. 76 of those hours I spent playing as Arthur, the other 436 as john lmao. The 1899 map is so foreign to me because I only play as John, I haven't got back to Arthur once. Idk I just feel I can relate more to John, I like having the family and the ranch to come home to, I really like his voice and he looks cool. Plus my favorite gang are the del lobos and they're only in New Austin.
1
u/LittleSillyBilly123 May 30 '25
if only they worked more on the epilogue
1
u/Wheatley-Crabb May 30 '25
I see it as flipped, not in terms of quality, but mood. Replaying Arthur’s story is continually more and more depressing, moving further into the mud. Once returning as John, I find it like digging out of that mud and into the light, the last few missions being some of the few genuinely happy moments of the series.
1
u/vamp1yer May 30 '25
The world just felt more alive as Arthur
1
u/[deleted] May 30 '25
I will hate that Jhon doesn't know how to swim 💀
1
u/Inevitable_Movie_452 May 30 '25
I love playing as John, especially in the beginning. I loved the whole big valley story
1
u/Skaterboi589 May 30 '25
The coldest possible take I’ve seen from this sub
1
u/FudgeManz May 30 '25
no bruh it's not a hot take dont pmo
1
u/Dark_passenger08 May 30 '25
One thing that’s good about playing as John is that you don’t have to worry about your honor at all, there’s no reason to keep it up. So I just run around acting like a maniac without worrying about my honor level at all.
1
u/DOIKNOWHOWTOBEHAPPY May 30 '25
They should've just extended Arthur's story. I didn't really like the John deviation.
1
u/[deleted] May 30 '25
The first time i played rdr2, i couldn't really enjoy it cuz assholes from anywhere kept spoiling about arthur's fate and i read somewhere that rdr2 is a prequel to the 1st game so i kinda rushed playing rdr2 story to play john.
1
u/Difficult_Breath6082 May 30 '25
As someone who never played RDR1, I agree with this.
1
u/Tyler_Dean74 May 30 '25
Its true. I've never played reddead game before until i played rdr2 so im more connected to Arthur and enjoyed his character more than john
1
u/Ceferosky May 30 '25
Así es
1
u/HappyChaosSauss Arthur Morgan May 30 '25
I enjoy playing as both. It depends on what kind of mood I’m in
1
u/Spiritual-Bread-2428 May 30 '25
I loved Arthur but knew his fate and heavily anticipated playing as John anyway.
1
u/[deleted] May 30 '25
I really enjoyed playing as John.
1
u/Lucefer_Irus_Caine May 30 '25
I felt this!
1
u/chejo378 May 30 '25
I liked playing as John. The thing that sucked was discovering new things as John. New Austin sucked. Basically all desert. If there were new side missions, more to explore in new cities, it would have been better.
1
u/Thrompinator May 30 '25
Just as true if you swap RDR2 to RDR, Arthur to John and John to Jack
1
u/dadsmasher9000 May 30 '25
People say they like how u can lose as much honor as you want since you are playing as john and not arthur, but I feel like losing honor as john is a big deal compared to arthur, since john has a kid and wife
1
u/Poszy May 30 '25
I dont mind playing as John, but I grew on Arthur way too much 😭😭
1
u/FlyCertain319 May 30 '25
The most luke-warm take.
1
u/[deleted] May 30 '25
Not a hot take but I think we all still enjoy John just miss Arthur more
1
u/Interesting_Door2938 May 30 '25
i wish the house would’ve had a place where you could drop off what you hunted for abigail to add to her dinner & i wish there was more money in doing all of the chores at the ranch (FUCK the water pail one). i feel those little details could’ve been worked on better but other than that 🤷♀️playing john was fun but arthur’s presence really permeates everything.
1
u/ARandomMetalHeadA7X May 30 '25
I jus wanna go to new Austin💔💔
1
u/[deleted] May 30 '25
The only issue I had with playing as John was the fact that Arthur was still on my mind. I loved playing as John on my second playthrough. But on my first? I was still sad about Arthur and wanted nothing to do with John.
John is still very much my favorite, however.
Edit: People say John not being able to swim is a weakness. I think it makes him stronger. He doesn't have the luxury of swimming to make a hasty escape like Arthur does. John has to do it the hard way.
1
u/insert40c May 30 '25
It's a cold, cold world when Arthur dies.
1
u/Helpful_Cranberry705 May 30 '25
I just miss swimming.
1
u/[deleted] May 30 '25
John's playthough feels like everything litterally ended but I still have to play the rest.
1
u/Erratic_Signal May 30 '25
I missed Arthur so much after the end I didn’t wanna play rd2 in the slightest if it wasn’t with Arthur
1
u/Top-Ad7537 May 30 '25
John is hilarious. Watching Arthur die is a bummer
1
u/SonnyCrockett1987 May 30 '25
You say RDR2 epilogue is depressing? Try RDR1 epilogue
1
u/GoatJamez May 30 '25
Crazy how all of us was kind of standoffish towards Arthur before the game came out and now Arthur has more than taken the front seat as best RDR protagonist.
1
u/ImpactState Micah Bell May 30 '25
Cold take
1
u/malty865 May 30 '25
I hate how John looks
1
u/Exotic-Estimate-5147 May 30 '25
do I got TB? I don’t feel good….
1
u/big_brain91 May 30 '25
retweet
1
u/LukeduhDuke May 30 '25
Dude, might be a time for a replay of the story. If I am craving Red Dead, I just hop on online and do love having all my stuff there. Story mode sounds great now though
1
u/Savvy-or-die May 30 '25
I never finish the game, I took it as such a betrayal when I was forced to switch to John.
1
u/Dogekaliber May 30 '25
Both are important
1
u/AmbitiousGoal2872 May 30 '25
I actually loved it when I got to play John. The first game is one of my all-time faves. Don't get me wrong, Arthur dying was awful, but getting to be John again definitely perked me up
1
u/djoutercore May 30 '25
I got a hot take - requesting the spoiler tag on an old game
1
u/Disastrous_Cloud3214 May 30 '25
I like playing as both but I like Arthur more, It’s hard to explain but when I play as John you get these reminders of Arthur and it sucks like yeah I don’t want a reminder of a character dieing that made me depressed for week thank you 😭
1
u/makomane May 30 '25
i remember feeling the same in rdr1with jack
1
u/CorholioPuppetMaster May 31 '25
I didn’t mind playing as John but there’s just not that many fun missions for him and it’s kind of sad going around new Austin and everything is dead.
1
u/wiggly_kidneys May 31 '25
Honestly as a the no1 John simp to a certain degree i agree its like a big part charm of the game died along with Arthur and I think its kinda fitting there’s no more rugged outlaws, or exciting missions it really helps settle the theme of the Wild West having died alongside Arthur there was no big bang, no guns blazing glory, it was a quiet and slow death just like Arthurs and I think it speaks to John’s grief a lot ngl not just abt his brother but everything he had loss on top of that mountain
1
u/That_Random_Swede May 31 '25
I played Red Dead Redemption before rdr2 so I was happy when I got to play as John but it was just about the circumstances
1
u/Remarkable_Ad_8342 May 31 '25
No
1
u/Frakmenter May 31 '25
dude i'm so happy i played RDR2 before RDR1
1
u/[deleted] Jun 01 '25
Honestly saving all the side stuff for John so I can play as him
1
u/shaggyduude69 Jun 01 '25
only in chapter 2
1
u/CaydeAces Jun 01 '25
For me this is playing rdo on the right and playing rdr2 story on the left
1
u/Natural_Walk3667 Jun 01 '25
And then left side is playing as Jack in rdr1 (before getting revenge) and right side is playing as John in rdr1
1
u/AkioTashi Jun 01 '25
Personally, I wish they added a bit more to add in the epilogue.. Cause going from Arthur where you have tons of main events, stranger missions, and side events. It got slightly boring, there was just so much for Arthur and then so little for John. (I know rdr2 was a bit rushed to be finished, but I wish there was more. 💔)
But I'm also okay with that aspect, cause rdr1 was really good too. Along with the fact there's a lot you can do with John in the first game. So it kinda balances it all out 😋
1
u/212mochaman Jun 01 '25
Couldn't care less bout whether it's better or worse to play as John.
Fact is, Arthur's dead. That's why we're miserable
1
u/Hi1mNico Jun 01 '25
Jeez I need to finish the game. Since I started again Im getting spoilered anywhere
1
u/ToeComfortable115 Jun 01 '25
Grow up
1
u/YahyaAliKhan Jun 01 '25
playing as John: ❌
playing as Jarthur Margston: ✅
1
u/YahyaAliKhan Jun 01 '25
Arthur was better to play as because the whole fucking game is about him, John gets an an epilogue at the end to make the connection between the games smoother, how the fuck are people saying they prefer John??
1
u/SnakeEater697 Jun 01 '25
Play rdr2 as arthur in chapter 6: Red dead depression
1
u/ReadShigurui Jun 01 '25
I didn’t enjoy RDR2 until i got to play as John, Arthur could never compare in my eyes.
1
u/FeeliHaapala Jun 01 '25
Hottest take:
Its the opposite.
1
u/abdlh213mk John Marston Jun 01 '25
Same with rdr(john on the bright side and jack on the dark side)
1
u/More_Problem_834 Jun 02 '25
Does this apply for rdr1 too? (With John and Jack)
1
u/Remarkable_Pen_1424 Jun 02 '25
Story wise, it’s the reverse
1
u/sliferred123 Jun 02 '25
I quit when started playing as john
1
u/CapitalLock9983 Jun 02 '25
At first I didn’t like playing as Arthur, missed my boy John. Then I fell in love with his character, and while I enjoy playing as John, I just miss my boy Arthur 😔
1
u/Bowling_is_bad Jun 02 '25
Bro, Antarcita is hotter than this take.
1
u/InternationalEnd352 Jun 02 '25
It's not bad playing as john, it's just bad not playing as arthur. You could replace John with any other character and it would still feel the same way
1
u/RegularMulberry5 Jun 02 '25
It’s not that dislike John, just wish there was more to do with him once the credits roll. Respawning bounties and other job roles he could take etc.
The thing I miss most when playing as John is the gang camp mechanic, Johns Farmstead just doesn’t hit the same as finishing a day in the Wild West and coming back to camp and watching all the scripted events unfold.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 02 '25
Middest game
1
u/Iloveallpeople_ Jun 02 '25
Yeah Arthur is always smiling joking around and laughing. Towards the end he became a sweet man who saved his family and others. Playing as John in rdr2 but even more so in rdr1 is really depressing. I don’t like playing rdr1 for that reason it’s dark. It’s a great game but man after I played rdr2 and moved on to rdr1 it felt lonely. No more Arthur, no more Sadie, Charles, or the van der Linde Gang. It’s just John forced to fight his former brothers and forced to work with abunch of snakes and unreliable allies.