Fourteen years after its initial release, Red Dead Redemption has finally landed on PC. The PC port is, without a doubt, the best way to play Rockstar’s open-world Western. Rockstar and co-developer Double Eleven have added a handful of graphical features and improvements that make this the smoothest and most beautiful version of Red Dead Redemption to date. These visual improvements accentuate an already excellent tale that has unquestionably withstood the test of time.
I’ve spent roughly 20 hours exploring each of the game’s major regions on max settings with an ultrawide monitor, and it is sublime. Red Dead Redemption was praised in 2010 for its impeccable atmosphere, and that remains intact after all these years. The rhythmic thumping of hooves echoing throughout the plains as the early morning sun peeks through the clouds is just as intoxicating as it was in 2010. Moments like this are frequent in Red Dead Redemption and the improved visuals and performance further enhance these highs.
The most obvious upgrade is the extended draw distances. While impressive at the time, the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of Red Dead Redemption look as though anything outside of protagonist John Marston’s immediate vicinity has a blurry filter over it. Like 2023’s PS5 version, the PC port uses the extra horsepower to fill out those details to create a much cleaner image. When paired with the PC port’s native 4K resolution, Red Dead Redemption hardly looks its age. Eagle-eyed players may notice a few objects and textures that still look a little muddy, such as a couple side characters or the collectible herbs that dot the frontier, but it’s easy to forget when you’re riding through the golden plains of West Elizabeth.
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