'Red Dead' Players Share Stories Of How The Game Helped Them Through Tough Times

Video games are powerful things. Not only have countless studies suggested that they can have a super positive impact on people’s brains, but they can offer a level of escapism often unparalleled by other forms of media, and give players a sometimes much-needed break from reality.

Over on Reddit, a number of Red Dead Redemption 2 players have been coming together to share their stories of how Rockstar’s action-adventure helped them through difficult periods of their lives, and there’s some really touching tales.

“I suppose I could say it saved me from anxiety. The RDR2 world is the only time I have ever been able to wind down. Most of the time [I’m] wound up tight and never relaxed, so I suppose in a way it saved me some sanity too,” wrote jcowurm.

“I got the game right after my mom, my only family member left died. Really helped me work out some s**t. I love the theme of your past always catches up to you,” OptionalFTW added. “I grew really attached to some of them. Hosea for instance. Losing them was embarrassingly difficult for me. I almost stopped playing.”

“The game came out right before what would have been my brother's 32nd birthday. He died that summer, and I was stuck in a job I hated at the time. Throwing myself headlong into the world of RDR2 gave me a quiet place to go where I could be someone else, somewhere else, doing something else, whether that was just riding my horse around the map for some peace and quiet or taking out my anger on some unfortunate NPCs. I don't know if it saved me, but it sure as hell didn't hurt me,” commented yeehawsoup. “It's been four years and the wounds are scars now, but this game and its world are like a security blanket. Any time I need a place to go, to be somewhere, someone, something else... it's there. Maybe it's dumb to say about a video game, but it's true.”