Red Dead Redemption is out now on the PS4 and Nintendo Switch and unsurprisingly, it is a barebones upgrade to the revered Western odyssey. During the initial announcement, Rockstar Games never revealed any technical specifications, simply calling it a ‘conversion’ that didn’t mention anything about visual improvements or support for 60fps. That seems to be the case, judging by the new press release — dropped launch day — which states that regardless of the platform, the game is locked to 30fps. The new bit of information, however, is that the port from Double Eleven Studios runs at 1080p resolution on the Nintendo Switch and PS4, going up to 4K resolution on the PS4 Pro and PS5 (playable via backward compatibility).
Bear in mind, this is a port of a 13-year-old game, so it’s not surprising for the Switch to run it on a full-HD resolution. The handheld console has proven itself worthy to run newer open-world titles like The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt at 720p when the console is docked. Meanwhile, Digital Foundry claims that while Red Dead Redemption’s PS5 port doesn’t come with any worthwhile enhancements, the image and shadow quality is better than the Xbox Series S/X version, albeit the latter is running the original Xbox 360 version via backwards compatibility with no extra work done on it. The lack of 60fps seems to be a major compromise for players, considering it is the gold standard for modern console gaming, which is not helped by the expensive $49.99/ Rs. 3,639 price tag.
The version comes with all the bonus features from the Game of the Year Edition, including the Tomahawk, Explosive Rifle, and Golden Guns, alongside unlockable trophies. There’s also some new localisation support and the package comes included with the Undead Nightmare zombie add-on. The port reeks of a cash grab attempt (much like the remastered GTA trilogy), despite parent company Take-Two CEO’s comments about how $49.99 is the ‘commercially accurate‘ price for a standard port. The pricing doesn’t make much sense either, considering Take-Two previously remade Mafia from the ground up with an expanded story and gameplay, which is only priced at $40/ Rs. 2.199, whereas this simple port with nary an upgrade goes for $50.
A PC version is nowhere in sight either and it’s ironic, considering you can run Red Dead Redemption at 60fps via the Xenia emulator. Others are miffed by the events leading up to the reveal, where the port received a new title: ‘Rockstar Games Presents: Red Dead Redemption,’ causing them to believe that a remaster was imminent. The game follows former outlaw John Marston as he journeys across the sprawling American West to locate the last remaining members of the notorious Van der Linde gang. The game also introduced the Honor system, wherein NPCs would react kindly if John had performed positive acts, and harshly if his morality was flawed. This version also doesn’t include multiplayer.
Red Dead Redemption is now available on the PS4 and Nintendo Switch.