'Red Dead Redemption' is a game that will stand the test of time no matter what...The West will always hold a special place in my heart and life.
I grew up in a world of the Wild West. Not literally, I was born in 1997 with helicopter parents. However, I was a child of the spaghetti western. The worlds of Dodge City, Kansas, and the Ponderosa ran on the TV like clockwork. Heroes of ‘The Rifleman’ and Matt Dillon shined in their black and white portrayals. Louis L’Amour novels sat on the shelves from when my dad would read more. Westerns were a part of my life, and despised it. Until one faithful date in 2013, just after I had just gotten my Xbox 360. My then-friend loaned me a copy of ‘Red Dead Redemption.’ I fell in love. Now…and as I’m writing this ten years later…Rockstar Games have rereleased the game to PS4 and PS5. So, does my romantic ideal of the virtual Wild West hold up?
OK, if for some reason you’ve lived under a rock or someone that has only played the prequel ‘Red Dead Redemption 2’ let me get you up to speed.
You’re over ten years removed from the actions of the prequel, and sadly, you’re still facing the repercussions. Now you play as John Marston. After trying to live his life as a rancher, his family has been taken, and forced to hunt down his former gang members that are left. Bill Williamson, Javier Escuella, and former leader Dutch van der Linde are still out and wild. Willamson works to terrorize the folks of Armadillo, Escuella is working on the wrong side of a revolution in Mexico, and Dutch is back in the Blackwater area robbing and killing.
You learn fast that Marston will do whatever it takes to bring his family back. Working with a wide array of characters to take out your former gang members, including helping citizens of the West, saving a country, and doing way more good than expected for a wild world.
The story is still a breathtaking and well-written piece of media. I recently learned that during this time for motion capture, Rockstar could only do one take for each scene. If someone broke character or issues happened, then they’d have to restart. The acting, interactions, and the narrative. It’s still one of the best I’ve had the chance to play. Even the world, while incredibly smaller and not as dense as the second one, is still a world to get lost in.
It is important to note that this is NOT a remaster. This version is just a port. Just an upgraded version to help run on newer consoles. Gameplay is…well where things start to go awry for me in some forms.
It’s a 13-year-old game, and since it hasn’t been retooled, it still has some issues. Horse controls are still cumbersome in tight situations. Riding in packs or along narrow trails and around cacti or trees, your horse may turn around suddenly or bounce off and go crazy. A lot was learned between the first and second games, which is a good path of evolution. Just going back to the world of the first game and it can be frustrating.
Ragdoll physics and most character controls are still solid and hold up well. During combat, a few weaknesses can show through. Turning in behind objects of cover or even taking cover at times can cause your character model to move to other spots that you didn’t mean to travel to. Again, this is a 13-year-old game, and I can remember facing these problems and having this aggression back then. This warning is for those who haven’t played or only played the second one. It’s a big difference.
Growing up on a farm in rural Kentucky was an experience, but one of the fun parts was night. The fact that I was in the woods with no light pollution was honestly the best. Seeing the stars and the moon as clearly as possible is such an experience. ‘Red Dead Redemption’ threw me back to that time at one point. Riding around at night near Hennigan’s Stead and seeing the moon, stars, and the plateaus to the valley at night just made me stop to look and take in.
Not everything, however, holds up as well as the night vistas. The rerelease allowed for an upscale in graphics to run 4k. You’ll notice that during some cut scenes you can see some shaper edges on a hairline or character’s clothing. Other textures tend to get grainy at times when close up. While it is noticeable at times, you have to really look and pay attention to see it. It’s a small part and really the only knock I can give the game.
Back when I was playing this for the first time in high school, I would always get an unsettling feeling, not like anything before when playing an open-world game. I was never sure why until I came back to it ten years later. It’s the atmosphere Rockstar created. You have a faint fiddle tune playing and then just the noise of the world.
Wind blowing, animals yelling, your horse snorting, and you ride through the countryside. This is a world, a setting that pulls you into the game as to just playing the game.
‘Red Dead Redemption’ is a game that will stand the test of time no matter what. Similar to the westerns of the past like ‘The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly’. It’s a 13-year-old game, but the charm is still there. Well-written characters, an open world full of exploration, and good gameplay are enough to hold up strong. The West will always hold a special place in my heart and life. ‘Red Dead Redemption’ will always be a masterpiece.
