GreedFall 2’s Prequel Status May Be Making a Red Dead Redemption Gamble

Highlights

• GreedFall 2 is a prequel to its predecessor, with a minimal connection to the original game’s story and characters.
• Similar to Red Dead Redemption 2, GreedFall 2 may face the dilemma of having to kill off its protagonist for continuity.
• If GreedFall 2’s protagonist does meet their demise, it must be meaningful and significant so that the game’s narrative avoids a lackluster motive of killing its main character purely to preserve continuity.

GreedFall 2: The Dying World, the upcoming sequel to Spiders’ cult classic, GreedFall, has officially been confirmed to enter Steam Early Access this summer. In a way, GreedFall 2 is Spiders’ first real sequel, as although The Technomancer is technically a sequel, it doesn’t continue the story of Mars: War Logs. At the same time, GreedFall 2 isn’t a sequel at all and is instead a prequel set three years before the events of the first game.

Despite GreedFall 2: The Dying World launching after GreedFall, Spiders has confirmed that the next installment is indeed a prequel to its predecessor and that it will have a very minuscule and insignificant connection to GreedFall‘s story and characters as well. That being said, GreedFall 2 could still potentially run into a continuity problem with its protagonist, much like the problem that Red Dead Redemption 2 (also a sequel-prequel) faced with its protagonist, Arthur Morgan. To prevent this from happening, GreedFall 2 will likely need to follow in the footsteps of RDR2. However, it’s a rather tight rope to walk, as even RDR2‘s approach to this dilemma has proven to be a divisive and controversial decision.

Like RDR2, GreedFall 2 May Need to Kill Its Protagonist

The Death of RDR2’s Arthur Morgan Was a Divisive Decision

Red Dead Redemption 2‘s Arthur Morgan is by far one of gaming’s best protagonists, simply due to the complexity of his character established through internal conflict and layers of moral ambiguity. This, along with his profound loyalty and reliability, all contribute to why it was so hard for many fans to let go of him at the end of Red Dead Redemption 2‘s story. Depending on the player’s honor, Arthur dies in one of two ways, and this decision was more than likely set in motion by it being a prequel to its predecessor and the fact that Arthur is neither seen nor mentioned in Red Dead Redemption.

Because Red Dead Redemption 2 is a prequel and Arthur is nowhere to be found in the story of Red Dead Redemption, he essentially had to die for continuity reasons. It has long been debated whether his death needed to happen, as RDR2‘s developer, Rockstar, may have been able to find ways around it. Due to the nature of his relationship with John Marston (Red Dead Redemption‘s protagonist), however, that likely might have been very difficult to do. Regardless, GreedFall 2 now finds itself in a similar predicament, as its protagonist cannot be found in GreedFall‘s story.

If GreedFall 2’s Protagonist Dies, It Needs to Mean Something

To be fair, it may very well be that GreedFall 2‘s protagonist is still alive at the end of its story. Perhaps Spiders has already surmised a way to ensure the player character survives the onslaught of continuity issues. But if the protagonist is an integral part of the game’s narrative, as GreedFall‘s De Sardet was, they will more than likely meet their demise by the time the credits roll. If they are killed off in the end, it needs to mean something, as simply ending the protagonist’s life to preserve continuity has already proven to be a lackluster motive in prequels.

In GreedFall 2, players will step into the shoes of a native of Teer Fradee who has been uprooted from their home and taken to the Old Continent of Gacane, where they must decide whether to allow “one man” to conquer the Old Continent and the island of Teer Fradee. Apart from that, at least regarding the protagonist, not much else has been disclosed by Spiders. With not much to go on at this point, it’s difficult to tell just how much the story of GreedFall 2‘s protagonist will lean into GreedFall‘s, but the hope is that the conclusion of their journey will mean something of significance for the first game and pay off in the end.