Red Dead Redemption Review (PC) – Wild West Windows

It’s a little odd to be reviewing Red Dead Redemption in 2024. Rockstar’s rather successful cowboy sim landed on consoles way back in 2010 to obvious critical and commercial acclaim, changing the landscape of open world adventure games in the same way GTA IV did just two years before it (remember when Rockstar released video games?). Now, just fourteen years after the console release, PC players finally get a chance to play through John Marston’s masterpiece for the first time. 

It’s perhaps somewhat cliche to say but Red Dead Redemption now looks how I thought it did fourteen years ago on my Xbox 360, the poor thing struggling to keep up with the huge western landscapes. My delightful gaming laptop had no such issue running RDR – the built in GeForce 3060 probably helps matters – and as such I was able to run the game on max settings with a pitch perfect 4K HDR resolution in 120 FPS without a hitch.

It goes without saying but this version is the very best way to experience this game, period. Dazzling sunsets, glorious character models and so much more. It’s a dance Rockstar has had mixed responses to when shifting development to another house (this time Double Eleven of Minecraft Dungeons and Fallout ’76 fame), and after the rather terrible GTA ‘Definitive Trilogy’ you’d be fair in thinking this might be another cash-in job. Thankfully, there’s been a whole lot of care and attention put into Red Dead Redemption on PC, and bloody hell does it show.

It’s not just the technical side that Double Eleven have nailed, if you can remember as far back as fourteen years ago you’ll get a lump in your throat when you remember the utterly tremendous narrative of Red Dead Redemption. I mean, it’s been available to play for a long-ass time so I’m not going to go into massive details about what you’re up to here, safe to say it’s a narrative that lingers in the memory long after it’s over.

I’ve never quite agreed with the ‘GTA in the Wild West’ moniker, but if you’re looking for an easy way to explain the overall mechanics? Sure. Just don’t expect to be mowing down innocent civilians in your brand new Bollokan Envisage you just bought with a Shark Card you convinced your mum was for donating to Marine Conservation. 

Instead it’s 1911, and the days of the wild west are numbered. New fangled inventions such as the locomotive train and the dream of an automobile are negating the need for horses and carriages, and those just about hanging on to the idyllic cowboy life are struggling to see a way forward. You play as John Marston, an outlaw tricked by government officials to round up his fellow gang members.

When betrayed, he makes it his mission to take down its ringleader, and shenanigans ensue. And he might get a little bit of poker in also, just to keep his skills intact. And bounty hunter. And barkeep. Heavy drinker. Marston is a lot of things, and his story is so brilliantly moving and captivating. It’s been a real treat to relive it.

And boy did RDR feel like a huge step in the right direction for game narrative back in the day. There wasn’t much around so ambitious, so sprawling, so captivating. It caught the imagination of so many who fell in love with Rockstar through Grand Theft Auto, and we all know how utterly breathtaking RDR’s sequel was. Red Dead Redemption became ‘the’ game of the generation.

It was Rockstar taking a stab at their winning formula in a brand new setting (kind of, nobody really can tell you much about Red Dead Revolver from 2004), with ambitions in storytelling we’re now seeing play out in GTA V and RDR 2. Lord knows where GTA VI will take us, but for now it’s been a pleasure to remind myself why Rockstar are who they are. It’s all of their experience of GTA open worlds with a far more compelling protagonist than Nico Bellic in a world that is as beautiful as it is deadly. 

Of course, while it takes itself a little more seriously than GTA at its finest, it’s still darkly hilarious and expertly written to tread that fine line between drama and comedy that Rockstar do so well. RDR is just as jam packed as wacky, hysterical and horrifying characters as any GTA, and Rockstar clearly got a kick out of writing for these mad lads.

You may already be aware of the wonders of Redemption, but if not I won’t go into the story. It’s so full of joyous moments it would be a real shame to spoil them here, even if it’s a fourteen year old spoiler at this point. If the game is brand new to you, it’s worth savouring.

And no, I shouldn’t be surprised Red Dead Redemption runs so well on my gaming laptop. Hell, it is an Xbox 360 game after all. What did surprise me is just how great it now looks now it’s had a spruce up. I’ve talked about how the game runs above but it’s worth mentioning again that the download is less than 10GB and that includes the fantastic Undead Nightmare zombie DLC pack. It’s full of endless PC customisation so you can tinker until you’ve hit the sweet spot for your rig. It feels like a real PC experience and that’s well worth treasuring. From a technical standpoint every box is ticked.

There’s little else to add other than if you’ve been waiting all this time to experience John Marston’s story, you’re in for one hell of an experience. Already played Red Dead Redemption 2? See where it began. Where the blueprints were laid and the foundations built. This is not a better game than its incredible sequel by any stretch of the imagination, and if you go in comparing the two you’re only going to be disappointed, but this is a bold, hugely rewarding, ambitious, tremendous game which set the bar for everything that came after it, including Rockstar’s own output. 

It’s by far the definitive version of an excellent game. And yes, it’s absolutely worth that asking price.

See you in Armadillo, Mr. Marston. 

Red Dead Redemption + Undead Nightmate is now available for PC (reviewed via Steam)

Developer: Double Eleven
Publisher: Rockstar Games

Disclaimer: In order to complete this review, we were provided with a promotional copy of the game. For our full review policy, please go here.

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