Red Dead Redemption PC Performance Review
Conclusion – It’s here and it’s great!
Red Dead Redemption is finally on PC, and we love it
It may have arrived 14 years late, but Red Dead Redemption is finally here. PC gamers can finally enjoy this classic Western experience, and I can report that the game’s PC version is solid. This isn’t a repeat of Rockstar’s GTA Trilogy fiasco. The game runs well, looks great, and gives us very little to complain about here.
While most gamers would prefer a remake over a simple re-release, it is worth noting that the new PC and PlayStation versions of Red Dead Redemption do feature graphical enhancements over its original console versions. Draw distances are extended, support for higher framerates is available, shadows are enhanced, and stronger anti-aliasing is available. There are even some higher-resolution textures (though this game could benefit from a high-resolution texture pack!).
On PC, FSR 3 and DLAA are available as anti-aliasing and upscaling options. This allows the game to look crisp on modern displays and allows users of older GPUs to play it at higher resolutions. Even an RTX 2060 can run this game at 4K 60+ FPS at maximum settings with DLSS. While the game is more demanding than many would expect a 14-year-old console game to be, it still runs incredibly well on modern PC hardware.
CPU-limited performance
CPU-wise, we were a little shocked to find that our i9-13900K couldn’t run this game at a locked 144 FPS (the game’s maximum framerate cap). We could keep the game at over 100 FPS at 4K with today’s high-end GPUs, but a locked 144 FPS wasn’t possible due to CPU-limited performance. Dropping some draw distance settings did make this possible, but PC gamers should know that this game can be CPU-limited on PC. Like most games of its era, Red Dead Redemption wasn’t designed to utilise high core count CPUs.
Overall, we are impressed by Red Dead Redemption’s PC performance. The game runs well, looks great, and does everything we’d expect from a remaster like this. While we think the game’s £39.99 asking price is a tad high, this is the first time this game has been available on PC. Oddly enough, Red Dead Redemption 2 is currently available for a lower price on Steam. If you think this price is too high, perhaps you should wait for a sale?
PC gamers can now enjoy this classic western, and that is a good thing. Perhaps other developers will follow suit and bring their console classics to PC soon. What if Microsoft brought all their original Gears of War games to PC? Could Sony bring their original God of War games to PC? As always, a Bloodborne PC version is worth a mention. There is plenty of demand for console classics on PC, and we know that game publishers love releasing remasters.
You can join the discussion on Red Dead Redemption’s PC version on the OC3D Forums.
