Red Dead Redemption PC Review: The White Whale

For 14 arduous years, Rockstar’s seminal Western Red Dead Redemption has been the equivalent of an elusive white whale for PC gamers, and me in particular. If you had stalked my social account profiles around 2010-2011, chances are that you’d see my feed filled with Red Dead Redemption promotional artworks and wallpapers. Not a day went by without me relentlessly searching online for any potential news, leaks, or rumors regarding the PC port of the smash-hit game. Even though I’d go on to play and complete the game on the 360 a decade later, I never gave up on the PC port. If there was even a slight whiff of rumor, I was there at the forefront.

So, as you can imagine, the eventual announcement and release of Red Dead Redemption on PC 14 years after its original debut was nothing less than catharsis. But there is always a catch. In this case, it’s 3799 rupees, the poorly calculated regional pricing equivalent of $50 for a game you’ve spent half your lifetime waiting for an amount that seems completely unreasonable for a basic port of a 14-year-old game in a third-world country, a price that is simply unaffordable for the average working-class person. Thanks to Rockstar Games’ Asian PR department, I was given the opportunity to try out the game and see if the asking price is worth it. At the end of the day, I am still an Indian video game enjoyer advocating for regional pricing in the country. No punches will be pulled.

Red Dead Return

The plot setup and the writing of Red Dead Redemption need no introduction. Rockstar’s rendition of a revisionist, dying old-west is the stuff of many an-accolades. Even to those who have only played Red Dead Redemption 2, the (former) Outlaw and (former) butt-monkey John Marston is a familiar name. Contrary to its spiritual predecessor, Red Dead Redemption takes itself very seriously and tells a tale of betrayal, vengeance, justice, and ultimately, redemption. Rockstar San Diego’s grounded and nuanced storytelling, not fully devoid of eccentric characters and bombastic moments, ensures that the game’s writing holds up incredibly well. 

John Marston himself is a very compelling character and the textbook definition of an anti-hero. While I believe that Rockstar butchered John’s character a bit in the prequel, in Red Dead Redemption, he is a force to be reckoned with. Expertly portrayed by Rob Wiethoff, John is a charming and likable lead with a rather eloquent vocabulary who goes to extreme lengths, fighting countless crooks, bandits, and even the Mexican army to save his family. Of course, the writing isn’t all doom and gloom, unlike the prequel. Weird and eccentric characters like the snake oil salesman West Dickens and the grave robber cum treasure hunter Seth provide a peculiar type of dark humor. Even the carcass of the ol’ Wild West is a character in and of itself, with a major theme of the story being the formation of the New Americana and the desperate struggle of its denizens to hold on to the old ways.

The sense of change is immediately apparent in the intro cutscene itself. John, a retired outlaw and gunslinger, is escorted onto a train and listens to two elderly ladies talk optimistically about the advent of civilization. and that is followed by the scene of a motor car being dropped off. The picturesque Western towns are being abandoned in favor of cities, the government has started to intrude into the private sphere, and automatic firearms are on the rise. Everywhere you go, these big and small changes are present in one form or another, resulting in a touch of melancholy, a feeling of nostalgia, and John himself feeling like an outsider in the more “civilized “parts of the map. Red Dead Redemption once again proves Rockstar’s hallmark attention to detail and the ability to Craft a convincing open-world-something that doesn’t go out of style.

Red Dead Retribution

The Red Dead Redemption fandom can be generally categorized into two: 

a) Those who prefer the gameplay of the original 

b) Those who prefer that of its prequel

I consider myself a part of the first camp. Don’t get me wrong, I adore Red Dead Redemption 2. But there is something magical about the GTA-styled arcade gameplay of the first game that pulls me in. The narrative-laden RDR2 demands a lot out of the player, making it a chore to replay. RDR, in comparison, is a much simpler game that’s effortless to pick up and put down. The same goes for replayability. There are no Sim mechanics or immersive RPG systems that drag the game down, and yet, RDR feels visually and mechanically distinct. The shooting, horseback riding, and side activities all hold up exceptionally well and are complimented by the RAGE physics engine.

Despite its sense of loneliness and isolation, there is plenty to do in RDR. The side activities range from bounty hunting and stranger missions (popularised by GTA IV) to gambling and hunting wildlife. The mechanics in play pale in comparison to the gameplay depth offered by RDR 2, but that doesn’t stop the action-packed side content from being any less fun. Moreover, the PC version comes pre-packed with Undead Nightmare, widely considered to be one of the greatest expansions ever made. That’s another 30 hours of fun guaranteed.

Red Dead Resolution

But let’s address the Bison in the room. What enhancements are the buyers receiving over the original? Well, nothing much, other than 4K resolution support, unlocked framerates, and upscaling options. Sure, there are some minor graphical changes like increased draw distance, a slight boost to LOD, and higher resolution shadow maps and filtering. But these are barely noticeable unless you go out of your way to scan each pixel. On PC, the game doesn’t even include Dualshock/Sense icon prompts. Such a missed opportunity.

However, UK-based porting studio Double Eleven aced the job they were given. The port looks good, runs well, and there are a wide variety of graphical options to tweak. The game even runs amazingly well on the Steam Deck out of the box. But above all else, what makes the PC version the definitive way to experience Red Dead Redemption are the mods. The nexus page for RDR is already filling up with all sorts of cool mods to customize the Western experience as per your needs.

Real Talk

Rating the Red Dead Redemption PC port proved to be a painful process for me. On the one hand, you have a basic but solid port of one of the most requested and highly rated games of all time. On the other hand, the pricing of the PC port is one of the most egregious this year. What’s even worse is Rockstar’s utter disregard for regional pricing. With pricing the way it is now, I cannot in good conscience recommend Red Dead Redemption to our Indian audience.

FINAL RATING: 75/100