Summary
- Fans are disappointed by the recently announced Nintendo Switch port of Red Dead Redemption, as it is not a remake or remaster but a standard port with minor upgrades.
- A video comparison shows minimal graphical differences between the Xbox 360 version and the Nintendo Switch port, with subtle improvements in fidelity and lighting.
- The $49.99 price tag for the port seems high considering the lack of substantial graphical and mechanical upgrades.
A video compares the Xbox 360 version of Red Dead Redemption’s graphics to those of the recently announced Nintendo Switch port. Fans have been dismayed to hear that the long-rumored remake/remaster of the classic western game by Rockstar Games was neither a remake nor a remaster, but rather a standard-issue port of Red Dead Redemption with minor technical upgrades.
Red Dead Redemption was originally released in 2010 for the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3. It was a critical and commercial success that eventually spawned a technically ambitious and hugely successful sequel, Red Dead Redemption 2, in 2018. Word of some kind of rerelease of the 2010 classic has made the rounds for months, with some suggesting it would be a full remake more in line with Red Dead Redemption 2’s graphical and mechanical style while other rumors hinted at a simple remaster.
After the trailer dropped on August 7, fans were letdown upon learning that while the long-rumored re-release of Red Dead Redemption tips more into remaster territory, the graphical differences between the original 2010 Xbox 360 release and the announced 2023 Nintendo Switch port were slight and hardly perceptible. A video released by YouTube channel GameXplain pits the two versions separated by 13 years against one another in a side-by-side comparison, which was easy enough to do since the same trailer was used for both releases.
There are differences between the versions to be sure, but it’s easy to see why fans who had hoped the beloved original would get a graphical upgrade on par with its sequel were letdown. Fidelity has been upped a notch, with many of the game’s finer details like facial features and the distinction between blades of grass or tree leaves being more visually apparent. But graphically, Red Dead Redemption remains largely the same. Perhaps the biggest difference is in the lighting. Scenes depicted on the Nintendo Switch side of the split screen have a warmer, slightly more stylized hue than the original. Other than that, though, the two versions are nearly identical.
The port of Red Dead Redemption and its zombie-themed DLC Undead Nightmare, both of which are also coming to the PlayStation 4 but, strangely, not to PC, will retail for the startling price of $49.99 even though it lacks serious graphical and mechanical upgrades and is, in essence, the same game released for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in 2010. Red Dead Redemption will release digitally at first with a physical release slated for October 13.
Red Dead Redemption is available now for PS3 and Xbox 360 with PS4 and Switch versions coming August 17.