Death, taxes, underwhelming re-releases of all-time classic Rockstar titles – some things in life seem inevitable. Last year, it fulfilled many players’ long-standing wishes by releasing Red Dead Redemption for “modern” platforms (read: PS4 and Nintendo Switch). Many had already made their peace with the lack of a remake, regardless of rumors over the years, but even by modern standards, it felt lazy.

Low-resolution maps and assets for the UI, locked to 30 frames per second, no new quality of life changes or bug fixes, missing multiplayer content – and most insulting, it retails for $50, even today. No, it’s not at the level of Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – Definitive Edition in terms of overall visuals and polish; it wasn’t the best deal either, given everything on offer. The fact that it received any positive reception is purely due to the quality of the game (which still suffered from long-standing bugs and issues).

"It’s tempting for PC players, especially those who want to effectively experience the continuation of the story from Red Dead Redemption 2, but are the extra bells and whistles worth it?"

Fast forward a year or so, and this version of Red Dead Redemption is now available on PC. It’s an auspicious occasion because this marks the first time the title has been available for the platform. However, while there are some new graphical features and options, this is pretty much the same game as last year, down to the price and available content (and lack thereof). It’s tempting for PC players, especially those who want to effectively experience the continuation of the story from Red Dead Redemption 2, but are the extra bells and whistles worth it?

Whether you’re new to the franchise or not, you’re probably familiar with Red Dead Redemption. Launched in 2010 for PS3 and Xbox 360, it’s about John Marston, who’s roped in by the Bureau of Investigation to hunt down the remaining members of the Van der Linde gang. Wild West fiction is typically associated with larger-than-life macho characters, and while the presentation calls to mind hallmark films from directors like Clint Eastwood, its themes go much deeper.

Rather than acting as a hero, a rugged gunslinger with nothing to lose, Marston is doing this to help his family and come to terms with his past. Of course, there’s also Undead Nightmare, an expansion where John must battle a zombie outbreak. As cheesy as it sounds, it’s played straight and offers a fun non-canon story.

While the open world of the base game pales in comparison to Rockstar’s latest (for obvious reasons), the scale and attention to detail still stand out among the best in the genre. Each town feels alive in its own way, and the world offers several activities to engage in – from bounties and treasure hunting to taming horses and random events. Honor tracks your moral and immoral deeds, which factor into your Fame and how townsfolk will treat you. It’s ideal to stay on the right side of the law and not go around massacring every single outlaw that you meet for the sake of near-universal cooperation. However, your infamy can lead to some interesting alternatives from society’s less savoury elements.

"Don’t get me wrong – you should play Red Dead Redemption for its story-telling, characters, and world design, but not at this price."

The combat is as straightforward as ever. Take cover and either blind fire at enemies or pop out for more accurate shots. Dead Eye slows down time and allows for marking targets to then summarily execute with stylish aplomb. You can awkwardly shift from cover to cover, but there isn’t much beyond that. However, by its very nature, aiming with the mouse and keyboard feels much better than the default auto lock from the console versions (being able to rebind keys and add alternate options is also great).

Even if the textures, animations, and character models are already up there in age and warrant a full-fledged remake, the art direction, music, and overall presentation are still worth appreciating. It’s enjoyable to just walk around and take in the sights, from the different signs to the other NPCs going about their day. The voice acting also remains top-notch, with Rob Wiethoff unsurprisingly standing out with his portrayal of Marston.

Don’t get me wrong – you should play Red Dead Redemption for its story-telling, characters, and world design, but not at this price. It was too high for last year’s version, which received significant blowback from fans. And while you would think Rockstar learned from this and thought to extend an olive branch to PC players, especially since they’ve been waiting much longer for a port. Nope. Pay $50, please.

And though Undead Nightmare is enjoyable, offering up a decent amount of additional content, the exclusion of the multiplayer content continues to rattle me. It’s not just the lack of some modes – multiple co-op missions and exclusive classes have been left by the wayside. Having something to compensate for that would have been ideal, but that would require additional effort, which Rockstar isn’t going out of its way for.

"Less of a commentary on Rockstar’s view of the PC platform and more of a demonstration of how it wants to present its classics to contemporary players, Red Dead Redemption is still borderline highway robbery at this price on PC."

At the very least, Red Dead Redemption is a solid PC port. Handled by Double Eleven, it features options for 144 frames per second, HDR, up to 16x anisotropic filtering, and sliders to adjust the shadow quality, softness, and blend alongside the level of detail for geometry, terrain, trees (including draw distance), and grass. FXAA returns, but you also get AMD FSR 3 and Nvidia DLSS support, with Frame Generation and DLAA included. It can also achieve native 4K, supports Ultrawide and Super Ultrawide displays, and features Nvidia Reflex Low Latency.

Is this the most extensive range of graphical options in a PC port ever? No, but it’s certainly a step up over last year’s console versions, resulting in more fluid gameplay with higher image quality. The fidelity differences are minimal and not enough to justify the price tag, but alas.

Despite the gameplay, which hasn’t aged as well but is still functional enough, Red Dead Redemption still holds up as an exceptional title. Very few offer this level of story-telling and presentation, combined with an open world that feels lived-in and organic, backed by systems that react to the kind of outlaw you want to be (in simplistic ways, sure, but they’re still noteworthy). Moreover, John Marston’s tale endures, even after all these years, presenting the Wild West in a different, more emotional light.

However, time is a flat circle, and despite putting more effort into this PC port (which is relative, given how little went into the re-releases), you’re still advised to pick it up on the cheap. Less of a commentary on Rockstar’s view of the PC platform and more of a demonstration of how it wants to present its classics to contemporary players, Red Dead Redemption is still borderline highway robbery at this price on PC.

This game was reviewed on PC.