The Mysteries of New Austin Explained

Rockstar has always loved putting obscure, mysterious, and sometimes downright creepy Easter eggs in its open worlds. As the most ambitious open-world game the studio has created to date, Red Dead Redemption 2 was no exception to this. Spread all across RDR2’s five states are secrets hidden throughout the wilderness that range from humorous Easter eggs to downright bone-chilling mysteries that may or may not get any sort of resolution.

New Austin is the primary setting of the very first Red Dead Redemption, and fans were shocked to see it return in Red Dead Redemption 2’s extensive epilogue. In perhaps one of the most surprising twists of the game, Rockstar had managed to hide from players that it had incorporated most of the first entry’s map into the already extensive open world already created for the sequel. And while the desert’s status as an endgame location means there’s not quite as much content there as the other four states, that doesn’t mean there aren’t some secrets hidden away in the rolling dusty plains.

1 Familiar Faces in Armadillo

Returning players of the first Red Dead Redemption will be all too familiar with the sleepy little town of Armadillo. During the events of the prequel, the town is stricken by a severe cholera outbreak that’s left it on the verge of becoming a ghost town. Of course, the town pulls through by the events of the original game, but as of 1907, things are looking pretty grim for the little community.

It’s clear that some folks stuck with the town through thick and thin. Players can enter the local general store and see it being manned by none other than Herbert Moon. The shopkeeper’s eclectic and all around rotten demeanor made him one of the more memorable NPCs in Red Dead Redemption. Moon doesn’t have as large a role in Red Dead Redemption 2 and his shop is largely the same as it would be years later during the events of the original, but inquiring eyes will notice another familiar face behind his counter.

Herbet Moon has a framed portrait of the Strange Man on the shelf behind him. The exact nature of the Strange Man is widely debated to this day; the only thing certain about him is that he is definitely not of this world. It could be that Moon’s connection with the Strange Man may be what allowed this elderly man to survive a devastating outbreak of a deadly disease. Or it could all just be one big, eerie coincidence. As with all things involving the enigmatic man, there are likely never going to be any firm answers here.

2 Man in a Treehouse

Located on a grassy hill in Hennigan’s Stead, there is a relatively unassuming tree. At a distant glance, it might even go unnoticed entirely. But getting closer will reveal that someone has built a treehouse in the higher branches. Getting even closer for a more in-depth look will alert the treehouse’s sole occupant; an inexplicably angry, fully grown man.

He’ll yell and bark at John the entire time, telling him and the player to leave the area at once. Which is certainly an option. Or, if the player gets tired of being accosted for no reason, they can shoot up the floorboard of the treehouse, which will cause the aggressive occupant to fall to the ground, dead. There’s not much by way of information about who this guy is or what his deal is, making it one of the weirdest encounters in Red Dead Redemption 2.

3 Cholla Springs Explosion

The wide open plains of Cholla Springs are relatively empty, making any structure immediately eye-catching for anyone riding through the desert’s expanse. So, when a small house peaks it’s way over the horizon, it instantly becomes a prime target for some quick exploration – that is, until it explodes in a ball of fire.

The building is always scripted to explode before the player can get too close to it, but investigation of the burning wreckage sheds some light on what exactly caused the fireball. The remnants of chemistry gear litter the crater. The sophisticated equipment and the isolated locale point to this fireworks show being a moonshine operation gone terribly wrong.

4 Brother Rodolfo’s Ill-Fated Mission

Near the Sea of Coronado, the furthest west location on RDR2‘s map, players can find the corpse of a man who’s clearly been dead for quite some time. John will note the man in his journal as a poor soul who had been there for quite some time, and looting the corpse will shine a light on exactly that the story of this individual is.

A note on the body will identify it as the remains of one Brother Rodolfo, a Spanish missionary from Madrid who was emboldened to take the good word to the New World in the year 1797, a full one hundred years before the events of Red Dead Redemption 2. The note on Rodolfo is from one of his superiors, Cardinal Blanco. Blanco was supportive of Rodolfo’s zeal, but urged him to stay put in California until someone could get out there and join him on his missionary duties. Evidently, Rodolfo was a little too eager to start preaching and the harsh elements of the New World got the better of him.

5 Zhou Yi’s Camp

Just outside the town of Armadillo, there’s a simple campsite whose owner has passed away. The body is wearing some unique clothing which is the first thing that’ll catch the player’s eye and indicate that this isn’t some run of the mill cowpoke. Searching the camp will yield the unique Chinese Skull Cap hat and a note that gives some further context as to the site’s greater context.

The man at the campsite is named Zhou Yi, a Chinese immigrant who’s come to America in pursuit of his cousin, who himself came to the country in pursuit of his love interest Zhi Ruo. Fans of the original game will recognize the name Zhou as the central figure in the Love is the Opiate sidequest in Red Dead Redemption. It seems Zhou had a family that was looking for him and trying to bring him home. Given the state John finds Zhou in Red Dead Redemption, which is addicted to opium and conspicuously single, it’s clear his romantic endeavors didn’t exactly pan out the way he’d hoped.

6 The Donkey Lady Returns

Northwest of Lake Don Julio is an abandoned ranch that’s clearly been left to the elements for a good long while. There’s not much of note around here except for one bizarre corpse of a woman with a donkey skull replacing her head. The mind immediately goes to the likes of the New Hanover manbearpig mutant, but the real story behind this unusual body is a lot more humorous and rooted in a decade-old glitch.

The original Red Dead Redemption featured a well-known glitch where a very specific NPC could be made to adopt the coded properties of one of the game’s animals. This allowed John to ride this woman around as if she was one of his horses, creating a wonky and frankly hilarious looking little glitch that the original Red Dead Redemption community dubbed “The Donkey Lady.” What apparently looks like the remains of a bizarre monster is in reality just Rockstar having some fun at its own expense by poking fun at one of its game’s more memorable glitches.