After waiting eight long years for a sequel, fans were finally rewarded with one of the best-selling games of all time, Red Dead Redemption 2, and we're still loving the story-based cowboy simulator. A lot of that is due to the multiplayer Red Dead Online and its ongoing updates, but it's largely just because the main game really does have that much to explore.
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Rockstar Games is known for its large open-world maps that we've seen in franchises like Grand Theft Auto, and RDR2 featured a number of towns that players could visit throughout the story, with some towns leaving more of a mark than others. So today we will explore a few of the best and worst towns in Red Dead Redemption 2 to see which town comes out on top.
Updated August 4, 2021 by Tom Bowen: The world of Red Dead Redemption 2 is full of interesting towns and settlements for players to explore, many of which could also be found in the previous game. Though not quite as picturesque as some of the more scenic locations found throughout the game, these settlements still have a lot to offer, both in terms of the activities that can be carried out in them and the parts that they each play in Arthur's epic story. Whether playing the base version of the game or Red Dead Online though, some of them are a lot more fun to visit and explore than others.
10 Armadillo
Type: Settlement
State: New Austin
Region: Cholla Springs
Amenities: General Store, Saloon & Stagecoach
Notable Inhabitants: Clay, Dewey, Rose, Woody & Sheriff Palmer
While the small town of Armadillo is the first settlement that players visit in Red Dead Redemption, when John Marston arrives in the town during RDR2 it is a fiery apocalyptic mess. Players soon learn that the town has been hit with a series of plagues, with the latest Cholera outbreak either killing or driving away most of the town's residents.
While there are some intriguing mysteries regarding Armadillo, Herbert Moon (proprietor of Armadillo's General Store) and the Strange Man that beg for more exploration, there just isn't that much to do in Armadillo to get answers, and the town is best to be avoided during your travels through New Austin.
9 Van Horn Trading Post
Type: Settlement
State: New Hanover
Region: Roanoke Ridge
Amenities: Fence, Hotel, Post Office, Saloon, Stable & Stagecoach
Notable Inhabitants: Samuel, Joseph, Silas & Josie
The Van Horn Trading Post sits in Roanoke Ridge on the Lannahechee River and looks like it was at one time a healthy growing community. Unfortunately, when Arthur and the rest of the gang reach Van Horn it's a grungy dying town with very little to offer players.
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The Post Office is the largest draw of Van Horn, though its saloon does offer Blackjack. Aside from a Fence and a few story missions, there's not much for players to do in Van Horn, though it is 1 of only 2 towns where players can get in duels. There are also no Lawmen in Van Horn, though the citizens won't hesitate to shoot if a crime is committed.
8 Lagras
Type: Settlement
State: Lemoyne
Region: Bayou Nwa
Amenities: Bait & Tackle Shop
Notable Inhabitants: Thomas & Jules
The small settlement of Lagras isn't much of a town, but the small group of buildings located in the bayou does have a very important Bait & Tackle Shop for players looking to catch a few Legendary Fish and does feature exciting missions that introduced players to the Legendary Bullgator that can be hunted down post-mission.
However, the main reason that Lagras sits higher than a few other towns with more stores is that the bayou and area around Lagras is the only place where players can encounter the Night Folk. The Night Folk are cannibalistic humans/monsters who live in the swamp and brutalize their victims, and it's an easy mission to miss if you don't wander around the bayou at night.
7 Annesburg
Type: Settlement
State: New Hanover
Region: Roanoke Ridge
Amenities: Gunsmith, Newsstand, Post Office & Stagecoach
Notable Inhabitants: Andreas, Didsbury, Schultz, Etta & Sheriff Jones
While we do spend a lot of time in Annesburg near the end of the main story, there is a sense of dread that falls over the town. It's very likely this is because of the issues between Arthur, Dutch, and Micah that have been steadily building for the last few chapters, and any beauty or fun found in Annesburg is drowned out by the gang's troubles.
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Regardless of the feeling of the town, it does allow players a sense of closure with Arthur's dealings with the Downes family, and the mine can offer a fun distraction for players. However, we just didn't find ourselves visiting Annesburg much if the story didn't call for it, unlike some of the other towns on this list.
6 Tumbleweed
Type: Ghost Town
State: New Austin
Region: Gaptooth Ridge
Amenities: Butcher, General Store, Gunsmith, Saloon, Stable & Stagecoach
Notable Inhabitants: Brenner, Mavis, Henrietta & Sheriff Freeman
Much like the town of Armadillo, Tumbleweed is in New Austin and also appears in the first Red Dead Redemption. However, in the first game Tumbleweed isn't much more than a ghost town/gang hideout, which shows just what a few bad years can do to a town.
It's interesting that Armadillo and Tumbleweed seemed to trade places for each game, with Tumbleweed flourishing in the second while Armadillo prospered in the first. Tumbleweed offers a number of amenities as well as a few bounties for players to check out post-game, extending the game just a bit further for those players looking for more.
5 Saint Denis
Type: City
State: Lemoyne
Region: Bayou Nwa
Amenities: Barber, Bank, Butcher, Doctor, Fence, General Store, Photography Studio, Police Department, Post Office, Saloon, Stables, Stagecoach, Tailor, Tavern, Theater & Trapper
Notable Inhabitants: Mayor Lemieux, Guido, Angelo, Cleet & Chief Lambert
Let's get real for a minute, the industrial city of Saint Denis sucks. Like, a lot. The polluted city may look pretty at night, but the busy streets, cramped marketplace, overabundance of Lawmen, and way too many bounties for "Disturbing The Peace" or "Assault" for walking too fast in a crowd can start to add up, even if the player likes to defuse things with the police.
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This feeling of claustrophobia and close spaces and tight crowds is, of course, intentional, as this is the showcase of the civilization that Arthur and the Dutch van der Linde gang have been running from. Arthur and the player feels not just out of place, but trapped, and the city will punish you very quickly for any "uncivilized" misstep.
4 Blackwater
Type: Settlement
Territory: Commonwealth of West Elizabeth
Region: Great Plains
Amenities: Bank, Barber, Butcher, General Store, Hotel, Newsstand, Photography Studio, Police Office, Post Office, Saloon, Stable, Stagecoach, Tailor & Theater
Notable Inhabitants: MacDougal, Worthington, Muriel, Fannie & Officer Sterling
It might seem crazy to see Blackwater so high on the list considering we aren't able to visit the town until the epilogue, but there is a different feeling in the large town that possibly colors Blackwater in a different light than some of the other towns of the sequel.
While it is stocked with police like Saint Denis, we didn't find we were having as many problems in the town because we just weren't playing the same after Arthur's death. Blackwater in the sequel is a town of new beginnings, and our missions to build Beecher Hope reflect that. Still, Blackwater features quite a few shops and story missions that keep us visiting.
3 Strawberry
Type: Settlement
Territory: Commonwealth of West Elizabeth
Region: Big Valley
Amenities: Butcher, General Store, Hotel, Newsstand, Post Office, Sheriff's Office, Stables & Stagecoach
Notable Inhabitants: Mayor Timmins, Jesse, Floyd, Hobbs & Sheriff Farley
While there isn't actually as much to do in Strawberry as the Mayor would have you believe, it still serves as an early gateway to the northern Big Valley area of the game, which features Legendary Fish, Animals, a few Stranger missions, and even the exciting Mount Shann UFO.
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The town itself features the basic luxuries of other towns but its importance to the game lies with Arthur and Micah's breakout, and later leads to their final matchup in the epilogue. Strawberry is also the only town in RDR2 where players can commit their own hanging instead of watching in the crowd, though it doesn't have much to offer for additional missions beyond finding a lost dog.
2 Rhodes
Type: Settlement
State: Lemoyne
Region: Scarlett Meadows
Amenities: Butcher, Church, Fence, General Store, Gunsmith, Newsstand, Post Office, Saloon, Sheriff's Office, Stage Coach & Station
Notable Inhabitants: Doctor Paulson, Olive, Willy, Josiah & Sheriff Gray
The town of Rhodes is located in the Scarlett Meadows area of Lemoyne, which is home to the Confederate Lemoyne Raiders, whose criminal activities are always fun to interrupt. Scarlett Meadows is also home to one of the Gang's best camps, and a weird side business at the Gunsmiths that can be… experienced.
Rhodes gives players the chance to see Dutch's gang in action as they attempt to play the competing Gray and Braithwaite families against each other, and our time in Rhodes remained enjoyable even when things began to fall apart. Rhodes' lasting mark on the gang is proven when players can find Pearson running the general store there in Rhodes.
1 Valentine
Type: Settlement
State: New Hanover
Region: The Heartlands
Amenities: Auction Yard, Bank, Barber Shop, Butcher, Doctor, General Store, Gunsmith, Hotel, Post Office, Saloon, Sheriff's Office, Stagecoach & Station
Notable Inhabitants: Tommy, Mickey, Moira, Jon & Sherriff Malloy
The lovely town of Valentine is the first actual town players visit in Red Dead Redemption 2, though they do initially set up camp in the former town of Colter. While Valentine offers the majority of stores and even introduces players to the lucrative act of robbing side businesses, it remains our favorite town for a number of reasons.
Not only is Valentine the easiest place in the game to cause a bit of mayhem considering the low level of lawmen and multiple quick escape routes out of town, but it features a number of fun missions and stranger encounters, including the hilarious "A Quiet Time" mission with Lenny and the competitive twin brothers Proteus and Acrisius that are not to be missed.
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