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After a very long decade and a half, finally we have a pc port of the firstRed Dead Redemptiongame. Through a collaboration with Double Eleven, we now can mosey John Marsten around old favorite spots in 4K. But that’s not all, we also got a massive cosmetic uplift, extra support for keyboard and mouse, and the ability to finally tweak old bugbears like draw distance and shadows.
But was it all worth the wait? Well to answer that it’s worth breaking the port down to its component parts, trawling through what was inside, and evaluating if this was just another cash grab with a piece of nostalgia, or something worthwhile. So here’s a comprehensive look into whether the Red Dead Redemption pc port is worth it or not.
Off the bat you would expect the scores to be negative, considering the last time we got a port of a Rockstar game it was the GTA collection and that was an absolute trainwreck. But the PC port of this, now 14 years old game, is surprisingly solid.
At The Gamer there is unfortunately no review at time of writing, but we have scores to trawl through from other sources if you go hunting around for them. For example, the ports sitting on a critics score of 80 on Metacritic, with an average player rating of seven from a user base of over a hundred. A small pool, but it’s a metric to measure nonetheless, and it’s a positive one.
Over at sites like IGN, we have the game landing a nine point seven out of ten, and at time of writing the ports sitting on a Very Positive Steam rating from a pool of 7,331 reviews. Plus, every other user review piling on top since that last metric was taken seems to be a positive one. Open Critic also has it sitting around 79, which is an admirable score for a port.
Overall, general consensus is that the community thinks its a good port, but there are issues. Most notably performance is impacted substantially when in towns, but free roaming seems to be fine.
Whilst RDR2 is known now for being a massive wild west time sink, the first game thankfully is a much shorter and succinct affair. According to How Long To Beat, you’re looking at a satisfying 18 hours to finish the main story, 26 if you include sidequests and for a full-tilt completionist you’re looking at aplaytime of 46 hoursto finish the game.
What eats up all that time is the gameplay, there’s around 57 missions in the main game to blow through as you wander aroundthe wild westof America. Plus, if you dive into Undead Nightmare you’ll have another eight to sink your teeth into. Also, whilst the DLC is fairly short, it still puts a fun zombie survival spin on things and is a breath of fresh air after hours of the main game.
What Does It Cost?
Now the most important question when it comes to gaming, the price. In the case of the Red Dead Redemption port, you’re not going to be happy. They’re asking for full market price for a game over a decade old with some parts missing.
For those chipping out for this title, you’re able to expect the following costs:
£39.99
$49.99
€47.99
AUS
$78.99
So as you can see, it’s a bit steep for a port. Plus there’s no multiplayer, so you’re paying full price for a solely single player experience unfortunately.
Fans of the franchise were unhappy with the games price when it was announced. Many even said theywouldn’t be buying itbecause of the cost.
What Players Are Saying?
Now that we’ve amassed a mountain of data, it’s worth checking in with people that have had actual hands on time with the port.
Robert Edwards - Contributor
2010’s Red Dead Redemption solidified Rockstar’s place as the king of the open world game. A sprawling map, action packed gameplay as well as thoughtful central narrative all marinated in a deep and abiding love for the western genre.
This is not a remake or remaster as we’ve come to know them over the past few years, but a port of the 2010 game with higher resolution and visual upgrades.
John Marston’s tale of (you guessed it) redemption, in a world that’s left his kind behind, remains as engaging as it did in 2010. While not quite on par with the superlative sequel in many regards, this port might just be for those looking to wallow in nostalgia for a spell, or for those who missed this games first rodeo nearly fifteen years ago.
So it seems like the PC port is worth it if you’re a fan of the series and if you missed the console boat on the first game all those years ago. But if you’re desperate for a remaster of an old classic, then maybe wait.
Whilst the game is solid, it’s still a steep entry price for what’s basically just acosmetic uplifton a fairly small map compared to the sequel.
