So far ahead of the curve was it when it released thirteen years ago that even a straight port to modern consoles does holds up – this is very well a game that you can pick up for the first time today and you will still fall in love with it and appreciate the intricacies of its mechanics and narrative, though, of course, where it stood alone at the top when it first came out, it has since been surpassed by a number of games (most notably its own sequel) and is now just one of many excellent open world and narrative driven games.

Ahead of the reveal and quick release of this port, expectations were running high and people were hoping for a Red Dead Redemption remake or at least comprehensive remaster. That this release was not even a bare minimum remaster and just a straight port, for almost full price, drew a lot of ire. And very honestly, at the very least on PlayStation, Rockstar could and should have done a whole lot more.

But on the Switch, this straightforward port sings, and we end up with a fantastic way of playing an all time classic. Like many others, I find myself wishing we got a full Red Dead remake (or at least a proper remaster); and yet, with how well the game holds up, and how well it lends itself to the Switch, this still ends up being a worthwhile release. For Nintendo-only players who have never played Red Dead Redemption before, or for those who want to revisit it portably, the Switch release of Red Dead Redemption still comes recommended.

When I say it’s a straight port, I mean it. There is literally little to no remastering or enhancement work here. This is the original game, as you remember it, running on the Switch as is. The frame rate holds up much better (it maintains a good, healthy 30fps, barring some infrequent dips), and there is some form of more sophisticated anti-aliasing; it also looks like some bugs and glitches (including the infamous headless zombie glitch in Undead Nightmare) have been cleaned up. Other than that, this is pretty much Red Dead Redemption, as it was.

"Red Dead Redemption as it was is still a great game, and it lends itself particularly well to the Switch."

But Red Dead Redemption as it was is still a great game, and it lends itself particularly well to the Switch. On the handheld screen (particularly if you have the OLED model), this game can still look stunning – particularly in some of the cinematic sweeping shots (you know the ones I am talking about, don’t you? The ones where the music swells as you get a shot of the vistas).

A lot of the graphical shortcomings that stand out more on modern PlayStation and Xbox consoles, given their more advanced hardware, are much less noticeable on a Switch, particularly in handheld mode. It looks great and performs well – a great version of a great game.

And what a game it is. The classic story of the outlaw turned bounty hunter John Marston is still one of the great tales in video gaming canon. The voice work, dialog, writing, cinematography, use of music, pacing, and plotting was top notch when the game came out, and is still hugely compelling and immediately arresting – even with the game’s infamously slow start, it draws you into its richly realized setting from the get go, and never relinquishes its hold.

And that setting is remarkable – the American Wild West setting is rich and ripe for video games, but very few games have attempted it, and fewer still have done it as well as Red Dead Redemption did. More than anything, the game establishes the tone, aesthetic, and mood for a proper Wild West story from the first frame and uses that to keep the player engaged while slowly setting up the story and ramping up the gameplay systems.

On the gameplay side, the game’s age shows a bit more than on the storytelling side. The open world itself is still magnificent – it is massive, full off gorgeous vistas, and full of content, random dynamic events, and so many things to find, so many things to do, that all feed into an interlocking mesh of systems. The Honor and Fame systems (Honor functioning as a morality system, that also decides how other characters in the game respond to you, and Fame simply being how aware the world is of you and your exploits) still hold up, and it’s actually remarkable that they are this fleshed out and this nuanced and reactive, given that this was a game made for hardware that had very limited resources to work with.

The open world itself is one you can lose yourself for hours in. Simply going hunting, collecting flowers, camping, trying to track down treasure, saving the random strangers you find along the way – all of that holds up. What holds up less well are the controls (we’ll come back to this in a moment), the mission design (we’ll come back to this in a moment too), and most of all, the combat.

"On the gameplay side, the game’s age shows a bit more than on the storytelling side."

Let’s talk about the combat. Look, I’m going to come out and say it – Rockstar sucks at proper gunplay. Max Payne 3 was, miraculously, one of the greatest playing third person shooters of all time, but that aside, the gunplay in their games has never been good, and that is very much the case here. The entire combat here is reliant on a fairly rudimentary cover system, and an auto aim where you more or less have to trust that the aiming is automatically locking on to someone you want to shoot, because you sure as heck won’t be able to do that yourself with how poor the controls are.

There was a Fallout 3 VATS style Dead-Eye mechanic included, where time slows down and you can aim more finely, but again, all of that just reinforces how clunky the combat was in the game to begin with. It is just about functioning enough to not detract from what it’s going for – in part because the use of music and cinematography during gunfights is excellent and does a lot of heavy lifting – but this is definitely one of the areas the game shows its age.

The controls in general do. While they are not as infamously clunky as they were in Red Dead Redemption 2, they are pretty damn bad. They’re easier to palate in the more intimate handheld play setting of the Switch, absolutely, but again, this is an area where I wonder why Rockstar couldn’t have added some improvements or QoL options to this release – they don’t even have a gyro assisted aiming setting here. The mission design is also an area that sticks out like a sore thumb. As open world games have grown more and more popular, their mission design has grown and evolved with that popularity. Most modern open world games allow the player to approach their objectives in any number of ways, and depending on what the player does, even allow them to bypass the objectives entirely.

Red Dead Redemption is not like that, having extremely linear and guided mission design for its main missions that stands in stark contrast to how systemic and rich its open world is. In a way, you get it, Rockstar have prioritized their cinematic storytelling here in the main story missions, which is obviously at odds with, and limits, player agency. It’s a different set of priorities and approach to open world design, but it does stick out like a sore thumb relative to other modern entrants in the genre, and while it is a valid approach to designing an open world games, it can be a bit of an adjustment period.

"It’s hard to tell if Rockstar will ever put in the time and money needed to do justice to a Red Dead re-release. But even if they don’t, at least we now have the original classic playable on all modern consoles."

So, Red Dead Redemption, as is, on the Switch. One of the most immersive and beloved open worlds ever, now on a screen in your hands. Is the port worth it? It very much is, at least on the Switch. While the game has aged a little, and those aspects stick out, and while there is a case to be made that Rockstar could have made some effort at polishing things up, the core game remains brilliant, and if you are playing it for the first time, it will still pull you in. If you are replaying it on a portable, it is an excellent way to revisit it. And, while Rockstar has sadly excised the excellent and underrated multiplayer mode from the Switch and PS4 releases, you do get the even better Undead Nightmare included here (and as mentioned, that one does see its bugs and glitches cleaned up).

I think, on a broader level, it is fair to expect Rockstar to do more, and to wish that a game as important and beloved as Red Dead Redemption was being treated better. But taking this release for what it is – a straight port of a beloved classic to the Switch – it holds up well, and is worth revisiting, worth recommending. If you have never played Red Dead Redemption before, or the idea of revisiting it on a portable appeals to you? This port comes hugely recommended. But if you were hoping for a more robust re-release, sadly, this isn’t that. It’s hard to tell if Rockstar will ever put in the time and money needed to do justice to a Red Dead re-release. But even if they don’t, at least we now have the original classic playable on all modern consoles.

This game was reviewed on Nintendo Switch.

Rockstar games are usually ripe for modding, and enjoy a healthy community of fans and creators doing all sorts of weird things with them. Such will presumably be the case for Red Dead Redemption 2, which launched on PC earlier this month, and gets the Steam release next month.

There have already been a whole lot of mods for the game—and that number is only slated to go up once the Steam version is out—and if you’re having trouble keeping track of them all, there is some good news. User Bilbao has created an online Red Dead Redemption 2 mod manager. It’s actually a port of their popular GTA5 mod manager, so it works the exact same way.

You can download the mod for yourself over at Nexus Mods. There, you will also find instructions on how exactly to use it. Let’s be honest, though, it’s only useful until you decide that the only mods you are going to use will be the ones that replace all in-game characters with Thomas the Tank Engine.

Red Dead Redemption 2 may be a stunning masterpiece that ranks as one of the best games this generation, but its PC launch wasn’t exactly smooth, owing to the game not running well even on some of the most high specced machines around.

Rockstar has put out several patches for the game since then, and things have gotten better. The newest patch, 1.14.1, is another one squarely aimed at fixing a lot of the specific issues that exist with the PC version, including stability when running using the Vulcan API, fewer crashes, better performance, and so on. This patch also has some more general fixes for the Xbox One version of the game. PS4 owners get left out (maybe Xbox has patch-exclusivity for Red Dead).

Jokes aside, though, hopefully this helps bring the level of performance and stability for the game on PC up to more acceptable levels. It’s a great game—but people need it to actually run without killing their machines before they can get to recognizing its brilliance.

The full patch notes are below:

Red Dead Redemption 2 Update 1.14.1 Release Notes

[November 25, 2019] General / Miscellaneous – PC

• Improvements to address an issue that resulted in a crash when changing Windows audio devices/settings while the game was running
• Improvements to address an issue that resulted in a crash when launching the game after switching between Vulkan and DirectX 12
• Improvements to address an issue that resulted in a crash when graphical settings were changed and applied while close to the VRAM limit
• Improvements to address an issue that resulted in a crash during loading screens when launching Story Mode or Red Dead Online
• Improvements to address an issue that resulted in a crash when attempting to quit the game
• Improvements to address an issue that resulted in a crash when switching between several input devices
• Improvements to address an issue that resulted in a crash during gameplay when using keyboard and mouse controls
• Improvements to address an issue that resulted in a crash when transitioning between Story Mode and Red Dead Online
• Improvements to address an issue that resulted in a crash when entering Photo Mode while the player was in cinematic camera mode
• Improvements to address an issue that resulted in a crash during certain weather conditions on systems with multiple graphics cards
• Improvements to address an issue that resulted in graphical errors and other instability when using Vulkan with multiple graphics cards
• Improvements to address an issue that resulted in a random crash during gameplay when using DirectX 12
• Improvements to address issues that resulted in random crashes during gameplay in Story Mode and Red Dead Online

[November 25, 2019] General / Miscellaneous – Xbox One

• General fixes and improvements to stability and performance

FromSoftware and Hidetaka Miyazaki in particular are known for their gameplay and mechanics-driven games, with the narrative taking a backseat and imparted to the player almost wholly via environmental storytelling and cryptic hints. This is the formula that has made Demon’s Souls, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, and now, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, so beloved- even though Sekiro often employs a much more direct and focused style of storytelling.

However, it looks like in the future, Miyazaki may want to try something different. Speaking at Reboot Develop, an event in Croatia (via VG247), Miyazaki said that he would one day want to work on a game with a narrative focus, specifically naming Red Dead Redemption 2 as an example. Amusingly enough, he also pointed out that sometimes his own team doesn’t understand the story of the games they are working on.

Given that for many FromSoftware fans, something like Red Dead Redemption 2 is anathema to what they like about the Souls series, this is probably going to make them blanch. Then again, if there’s anyone who can balance great mechanicals finesse with a narrative focus, it’s Miyazaki. But given how successful Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice has been, it may be a while before Miyazaki gets to doing something like that.

While GTA Online has buoyed Grand Theft Auto 5 to being one of the most popular games in the world (with over 100 million units sold, it’s the highest selling game of all time), it seems like Rockstar may not have been able to replicate that level of success with Red Dead Online in Red Dead Redemption 2.

Market analysis firm SuperData reveals that Red Dead Online is on average making five times less money than GTA Online. Combined revenues from GTA Online and Red Dead Online in January were flat over GTA Online revenues alone from last January, which is worrisome, because it indicates that GTA Online is beginning to lose steam at last, but that Red Dead Online is not an adequate replacement for it.

More worrying still is the study’s revelation that the game is losing monthly average users (MAUs), indicating that players are losing interest in the game and not continuing to play it.

This is, of course, one month’s worth of data; it’s entirely possible Rockstar can and will see better interest in Red Dead Online in the coming months, especially given the magnitude of the update they launched earlier today. GTA Online also took a few months to find its footing before it became the beast that it is now—something like that could happen with Red Dead Online, as well.

However, in the here and now, the signs are less than auspicious for Red Dead Online. Maybe this will prompt Rockstar to launch a PC version of the game soon…

Rockstar’s newest update for Red Dead Online will actually end up being a fairly substantial one. According to the company’s post detailing the update, players can expect new in-game mechanics such as posse feuds, daily challenges, additions to how the bounty system works, and new anti-griefing mechanics, including the option to toggle player visibility.

That last one is important. Rockstar claims it is in response to continued player feedback, and players won’t show up on other players’ maps from now on until they are within a radius of 150 meters, which should help in minimizing and containing grieving behaviour to a very large degree. Players who engage in griefing and hostility against other players will also find themselves marked so that other players know to steer clear of them.

On the whole, this should make Red Dead Online a much more fulfilling experience for players, and it indicates that Rockstar is willing to keep evolving and growing the game over the long haul, much like they did with GTA Online in its day, which led to GTA5 becoming the highest selling game of all time. You can see select patch notes below, or view them in full through the link at the top of this report.

Player Visibility

As part of our response to community feedback on how to minimize certain types of destructive player behavior, we’ve made some changes to the way player blips will appear on the map. We’re reducing the visibility of blips over long distances – your map position won’t display to other players unless you are nearby (within 150 meters). This should prevent players from being repeatedly targeted across the map at long distances.

We’re also introducing a new system that highlights overly aggressive players. If your style of play becomes more hostile, your map position (and the position of your Posse members) will become more visible to other players with a progressively darkening dot that incrementally shifts from blue to dark red. Shift back to a more righteous path and your visibility will fade over time.

Posse-Wide Parleys and Feuds

We’re also introducing Posse-wide Parleys and improving Feuds. You’ll soon be able to initiate Parley that applies to your attacker’s entire Posse after just a single kill. Alternatively, if you’d rather challenge your opponent, you can initiate a Feud, Posse Feud or Leader Feud after one kill, quickly turning a dispute into a timed mini-deathmatch for rival players to fight out amongst themselves in Free Roam, earning points for each kill on the opposing player.

The NPD Group has released its report for December 2018, which also includes year to date sales charts for the US. Thanks to these charts, we know that the best selling game of 2018 in the country was Red Dead Redemption 2. This marks the first time since 2013 that a Call of Duty game was not the best selling game of the year—when, ironically, Call of Duty: Ghosts got ousted by Grand Theft Auto V.

Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, which launched in December (and topped software charts for the month) ended up shooting its way all the way to number 5 on the year end charts, ahead of games such as God of War and Spider-Man. As a reminder, it did this without any digital sales being tracked for it (where they are in at least some capacity for most other games on the software charts).

“Annual dollar sales of tracked console, portable, and PC video game software reached $7.1 billion in 2018, growing 7 percent when compared to 2017,” NPD analyst Mat Piscatella told VentureBeat. “This is the highest annual total for tracked video game software spending since the $7.5 billion generated in 2012.”

You can check out the software chart for the full year for yourself below:

1. Red Dead Redemption 2
2. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
3. NBA 2K19
4. Madden NFL 19
5. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
6. Marvel’s Spider-Man
7. Far Cry 5
8. God of War 2018
9. Monster Hunter: World
10. Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
11. Grand Theft Auto V
12. Mario Kart 8
13. FIFA 19
14. Battlefield V
15. Super Mario Odyssey
16. Call of Duty: WWII
17. Dragon Ball: FighterZ
18. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
19. Super Mario Party
20. Pokemon: Lets Go Pikachu

Red Dead Redemption 2 was an immense critical and commercial success (it also won Game of the Year here on GamingBolt!), but it doesn’t feel like Rockstar is content to stop at that any time soon. Based on job listings posted by the studio, it seems like they have already begun hiring for a new project—and by the sounds of things, it will be a next generation project, too.

Based on a job posting on Rockstar’s official website, the developer’s studio in India seems to be hiring an environmental artist for a next generation game. Another job listing for Rockstar’s New York City studio is seemingly also hiring for a next generation game, specifically someone who will design better MoCap tools to improve the developer’s animation processes (though given how meticulous the animation in Red Dead Redemption 2 is, I think they hardly need more help in this specific area).

Hopefully, whatever the game is won’t take too long to come. Red Dead Redemption 2 came a full five years after Rockstar’s previous game. May we never have to wait as long for their next one.

Amazon has released its list of the best selling games of 2018, and, as you may have expected given previous similar reports in the lead up to the game’s launch, the highest selling title of last year on the site was Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. It beat out Red Dead Redemption 2, which came in at second place.

Nintendo exclusives in general seem to have performed extraordinarily well on Amazon last year, with six out of the top ten games being Switch exclusives (albeit only two of them being 2018 games). Sony didn’t do half bad either, with God of War and Spider-Man both charting. For perhaps the first and last time on a sales list, Call of Duty ranked towards the bottom, with Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 coming in at eighth place.

In general, this list is vindication of the motion that quality exclusives sell, and that Nintendo’s long term evergreen game strategy is working. That said, it’s not necessarily reflective of wider annual sales trends for even just the United States, let alone globally—while these ten games are likely to show in any similar list, I would expect the order to be shuffled around a fair bit.

You can check out the full list below.

1. Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
2. Red Dead Redemption 2 (PS4)
3. Super Mario Party
4. Marvel’s Spider-Man
5. Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
6. Super Mario Odyssey
7. Pokemon: Let’s Go, Pikachu!
8. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 (PS4)
9. God of War
10. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild

Red Dead Redemption 2 is one of the best received and best selling games of the year, and it managed that while coming out on only two systems—PS4 and Xbox One. It completely skipped a PC release, which isn’t surprising, because Rockstar usually holds PC versions of games for a staggered, later released—if they release at all.

However, now, our very first halfway-concrete indication of a PC version of Red Dead Redemption 2 may have surfaced. A brief video clip showing off an alleged PC version of Red Dead Redemption 2 surfaced online earlier today. That video was taken down, but was re-uploaded by YouTube channel Reupload Deleted Videos (you get what it says on the tin).

This video is very short, showing us the briefest glimpse of footage, as well as some graphics options in the settings menu. Most of the time is spent in the menu, which puts the veracity of the leak into doubt; on the other hand, the settings menu is the only way you’d truly be able to establish you were playing a PC version of the game.

For now, file this under “maybe, but unlikely”. Even if this leak is fake, however, we know a PC version of Red Dead 2 is only a matter of time—Rockstar have themselves admitted that the window is open for something like that, and some data from the game’s companion app suggests the same is under way, too.