Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of the most successful and critically acclaimed games of this last generation of consoles, and Rockstar has continued to add to the game through Red Dead Online with updates and special events. As the amount of DLC produced for the game slows down two years after its release, there is a recent update which may interesting many fans of the franchise.
Recently, models have been found in the game files which suggest that Red Dead Redemption 2 could be addressing one of the biggest requests fans have had since the release of the game: zombies. However, the feature may not be being implemented in the way many fans might have expected or hoped for.
Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare is one of the most successful video game DLCs to date. It took the original Red Dead Redemption and transformed the game into a zombie apocalypse western. Set in a non-canonical alternate timeline, the game saw John Marston hilariously confronted with modern zombie apocalypse tropes as he tried to find a cure for his wife and son’s zombification, leading to iconic lines like “Jack, be kind to your mother. Abigail, teach the boy right from wrong. Both of you, stop biting chunks out of people.”
The concept for Undead Nightmare was originally conceived by Rockstar developers who wanted to make a zombie game on the same scale as the Grand Theft Auto games, but after some discussion, it was decided that Red Dead Redemption’s frontier setting could prove both a more original and more terrifying choice of locale. After all, if there’s anything scarier than trying to escape a horde of rampaging zombies, it’s trying to escape a horde of rampaging zombies on the already hostile Western frontier.
The add-on also transformed the animals in Red Dead Redemption into zombie versions of themselves, as well as adding some spooky new supernatural creatures that wouldn’t have fit into the main game, at least outside of one of Red Dead Redemption’s famously creepy mysteries. Wolves, bears, and cougars all got zombie versions, and John could even ride each of the horses of the four horsemen of the apocalypse, with each steed having its own supernatural bonus. Returning Red Dead characters like Nastas and Professor Harold MacDougal also fall victim to the zombie plague.
Rockstar set a standard for video game DLC with the original Undead Nightmare, as well as GTA DLC like The Lost and the Damned and The Ballad of Gay Tony. This has led many of fans to hope that Rockstar is developing a spiritual successor to Undead Nightmare in Red Dead Redemption 2 that allows the sequel to experiment with some serious silliness in a low-stakes non-canon adventure.
Recently, those hopes appeared like they might finally be realized, or so it seems. Fifty new models were found in the game files for a new zombie update for Red Dead Redemption 2, including 29 new unique male zombie models and 19 female zombie models that led many fans to think Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare 2 might be just around the corner. However, that may not be the case.
The new zombie model variants are all labeled in the game files as part of the “Army of Fear” which makes it likely that they will be used in Red Dead Redemption Online’s Halloween “Fear” event this Fall. Twitter user Muztuber also found audio files related to a “Fear of Us” event that could be coming up and would likely use the new models.
It appears that the zombies are being introduced for a limited Halloween event and not for a sequel to Undead Nightmare. Many of the new zombie models wear variants of red robes and talismans around their necks, which could imply that they are linked to some sort of undead cult that could still connect them to the Undead Nightmare zombies. The zombies in the original DLC were found to be caused by a man named Abraham Reyes when he stole an ancient mask from an Aztec tomb, and it is possible the zombie cult or the Army of Fear are in some way related.
However, the red robes could be an indication that the Red Dead Online event will have its own take. The second game hasn’t shied away from its own strange supernatural goings on like the vampire of Saint Denis, and may try to tell a different kind of zombie story this time around.
Though the zombies will likely be introduced as part of a limited event, the existence of zombie models in-game could still be great news for fans who are hoping that Rockstar will develop Undead Nightmare 2. If the models are already in-game, it would make developing the add-on cheaper which could make a possible sequel more likely.
However, the original Undead Nightmare released in October of 2010, just 5 months after the release of Red Dead Redemption for Xbox 360 and PS3, which could mean that if Rockstar was interested in producing more sizable DLC it would have done it nearer to the original release of Red Dead 2 in order to maintain momentum. It’s possible that the existence of Red Dead Online and its relatively stable community has done some of that work for the studio, which could mean Red Dead Redemption Undead Nightmare 2 is still on the cards, perhaps in time for the next generation of consoles.
Some fans will be disappointed to see that the new zombie models are not part of Undead Nightmare 2, but their existence could still foster hope among those fans still holding out for a sequel to the first game’s horror-themed adventure. Where Rockstar Games decides to go with it remains to be seen, but for now, fans can look forward to a Halloween event which could see the return of some familiar faces, or what’s left of them.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is available now on PC, PlayStation 4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
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