The Red Dead Redemption series has players take on the role of John Marston and Arthur Morgan. These two go through a lot in their lives and their character models show it. One player decided to show those exact differences and match up John Marston from the original game to him as an NPC in Red Dead Redemption 2 and a playable character as well.
The series begins in 1899 and carries through to 1914 in a fictionalized version of the American Wild West. As outlaws, John Marston and his companions go through quite a lot of change and hardship during Red Dead Redemption and Red Dead Redemption 2. As such, their character models change to show the wear and tear of life on the other side of the law.
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Reddit user Environmental-Pen-13 shows off three images of John Marston's face side by side. The first noticeable difference across all three is the odd hair styles Marston has throughout the game. But, aside from that, the Marston from Red Dead Redemption and the NPC from the second game look quite similar. The transition of age can clearly be seen as the fresh marks on his face as an NPC form proper scars by the time the first game begins. In general these two look like a natural transition of a person over this time period. What stands out are the irregularities between the first two and the playable John Marston in Red Dead Redemption 2. His neck and head are in general thicker than the other two and he almost looks like a different person.
The comments are full of thoughts and theories to explain this comparison. Many players believe that the developers placed John Marston's skin on Arthur Morgan's character model. The build of this version of Marston does looks very similar to that other protagonist. And it doesn't seem unreasonable as dozens of players report mistaking the John Marston of the epilogue with Arthur Morgan. Unfortunately there isn't a clear answer for this question at the moment.
Players of Red Dead Redemption and the second game in the series follow John Marston through over a decade of time. During the numerous gun fights, struggles to survive, and trips through the wilderness, Marston's body goes through a lot. The character model does a great job in conveying what those difficult years did to him. By the time the original Red Dead Redemption comes along, Marston looks beat up and weathered.
But his character model during the epilogue really sticks out. Whether or not Rockstar just layered the skin of Marston onto Arthur Morgan's body something looks off. There are a number of players that see it as well. Either way, this look at John Marston throughout the Red Dead Redemption series provides an interesting comparison between pre-1900 John and the John players got to know first.
Red Dead Redemption 2 is available now for PC, PS4, Stadia, and Xbox One.
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