Ah, Armadillo. It’s hardly an idyllic vista – more a dusty, bandit-filled boomtown of trouble and hard liquor – but it has its charms. Appearing in 2010’s Red Dead Redemption as a fully-fledged settlement with a saloon, shops, and sheriff, Armadillo doesn’t fare so well in the western game’s prequel Red Dead Redemption 2 – but, one modder has now changed all that.
As you might know if you’ve played Rockstar Games’ western epic, Armadillo’s in a bad way in 1907. Seeing an outbreak of disease, the town’s been mostly abandoned and its buildings shuttered by the few remaining folk, while fires rage in the streets and a town crier warns you to stay away. However, creator Says101YT has posted a new mod that makes Armadillo “fully populated and prosperous” – so, it restores the settlement to its, er, future glory.
The mod makes Armadillo “prosperous and experiencing a golden age, with tons of people coming in, advancement in technology, and such”, the modder says. From a clip showcasing the mod in action (included below), we can see RDRS plague-stricken town transformed: the hardy folk of Cholla Springs wander its dust streets again, and it appears its buildings are open.
Sure, piles of rubble still pepper Armadillo’s roads, but, hey, its residents only just returned and they’re getting to it, ok? You can get an idea of the mod below (note: there are potential spoilers about Red Dead Redemption 2 in the clips – you’ve been warned! ):
There’s another clip of the mod on YouTube here, too, but in that one our favourite cowboy goes very rogue so it’s more an idea of Armadillo under siege than restored to prosperity.
If you’re keen to see Armadillo return to the good, uh, new days, head on over to Nexus Mods at that link to pick it up. Says101YT has also been busy restoring and overhauling the open-world game’s Shady Belle, Saint Denis theatre, and Tumbleweed, in case you’re keen to give any of those locations a new lease of life, too.