Based on everything we’ve seen so far, we already know that Red Dead Redemption 2’s protagonist Arthur Morgan is a hard man . He’s a killer, a thief, and comfortable with a host of other jobs that are just as dirty. But that doesn’t necessarily make him a bad man - at least, not the complete jerk that some might think he is as after his debut in Red Dead 2’s second trailer. After seeing a day in Arthur’s life and talking to his creators at Rockstar, it seems that despite his rough exterior, Mr. Morgan has the potential to be one of this year’s more compelling protagonists.

Loading Above: Arthur's debut trailer.

In addition to being the Van der Linde gang’s chief enforcer and burliest muscle (seriously, we watched the guy deadlift a 5-point buck like it was nothing), Morgan is also Dutch’s right-hand when it comes to leading the crew. When he’s not robbing trains or running from the law, he can be found providing the outlaw’s camp with much needed food or supplies. While he doesn’t necessarily have to shoulder these burdens, it’s with a good-natured (and charmingly drawled) “Well, alright then,” when he does.

“ Sometimes you have to put family first, and this is the closest thing to family that he's ever known.

He often finds himself the de facto mediator in disputes between members of the gang, as well - when he’s not involved with them directly, that is. Even then, he shows himself to be a reasonable and fair-minded leader. We saw an instance wherein Arthur found himself the target of Bill Williamson’s ire after a stick-up gone wrong, calling him out on the fact that “every time I get in trouble, I’m called a fool and an idiot, but when you get in trouble, ‘ohhhh, it’s just one’a them things.’” Despite the fact that anyone who’s spent time around Bill can tell there’s probably a great deal of difference between the two scenarios, Arthur puts the solidarity of the camp before his own pride and agrees to help Bill with a favor. He knows that sometimes you have to put family first, and Dutch’s band of gunslingers, runaways, and outcasts is the closest thing to family that Arthur’s ever known.

The Van Der Linde Gang, from left to right: Dutch Van der Linde, Bill Williamson, Javier Escuella, Arthur Morgan, unknown, Micha Bell, Sadie Adler, unknown.

At a young age - we don’t know exactly when - Arthur was brought under Dutch’s wing. While we’re not sure of the circumstances that led a boy to take up with a group of dangerous criminals, it’s clear that the years he spent riding alongside Dutch led him to claim the outlaw life as his own, along with Dutch’s vision of a life lived free from the governments rule of law. This loyalty makes Arthur one of the few people Dutch really trusts - and I’m interested to see how these bonds will be tested. The game appears to chronicle the fall and fracture of the Van der Linde gang, and Arthur’s clearly a man caught in the midst of an existential crisis as it goes. How will a man like Arthur, one who will clearly do anything to protect the people he’s adopted as his family, react after their leader, as John Marston put it in the original Red Dead Redemption, “went crazy, and suddenly family didn’t mean so much anymore”?

16 New Red Dead Redemption Screenshots 16 IMAGES

Part of that is, of course, up to you. As we saw in our demo, Rockstar is focusing heavily on how we as players can interact with the world, and this includes spending time living and working with the other members of the gang, along with the relationships we forge therin. “We try to give you options within a lot of these missions to choose how you approach it, whether you'll send your buddies in first or whether you'll go in first,” says Rob Nelson, Co-Studio Head at Rockstar North, speaking to how players choices can affect interactions and missions.

“ We're really interested in is feeling that everything you do is consistent with what Arthur would realistically do

Arthur doesn’t have to put the team first, or keep the camp fed and supplied - though he may earn an invite to a job or mission if he does. If he just wants to fend for himself and spend time hunting and exploring the wilderness alone, those choices will be recognized by the other gang members. “[We’re] always trying to reinforce who Arthur is in this gang, in this group of people.”

It may not affect the final outcome of the story (we don’t yet know how or if our choices can change major events in the narrative), but how we interact with the other outlaws and civilians will provide important context for Arthur’s set actions throughout different playthroughs.

Red Dead Redemption 2: Meet the Van der Linde Gang 23 IMAGES

“We're really interested in is feeling like that everything you do is consistent with what Arthur would realistically do,“ Nelson says. Take, for instance, the scene in trailer 2 with Arthur grabbing someone by the collar and screaming “Where’s our money?!” or the moment where Micah Bell reminds him that “Sometimes brothers make mistakes.” If my Arthur spends very little time at camp, never talking to anyone and generally leaving the gang to fend for themselves (which they will, though they may have a harder time without me), those scenes will mean something very different to me than to someone whose Arthur does care for these people, and desperately wants to keep them safe.

We’re sure to see more of Arthur and the rest of Dutch’s gang in the remaining months leading up to launch, but for now, have a look at what we thought of our exclusive first look at the game in action, and how Red Dead Redemption 2 is more than just a prequel.

JR is an editor at IGN, and when he's not up to his eyeballs in wikis , he's desperately looking for people to play RDR multiplayer with on Xbox One. You should offer to posse up with him on Twitter