Rockstar still hasn’t made the most obviousRed Dead Redemption 2move, and at this point, it might be too late. Winner of more than 175 Game of the Year awards in 2018, with a score of 97 on Metacritic, and widely regarded among the greatest video games of all time,RDR2is a modern classic in every sense of the word.
But, perhaps to its credit,Rockstar hasn’t really capitalized on it, at least not to the extent you’d ordinarily expect. It’s brought support forRed Dead Onlineto an end, and has seemingly overlooked the easiest way to make some money off the nearly decade-old game, while still satisfying a lot of players' demands.
Why RDR2 Is Still So Beloved
Red Dead Redemption 2is a generation-defining game. That’s partly because of theunprecedented level of graphical detail it includes- even for Rockstar, therealism of its horses, environments, character models, and more were stunning when it first came out, and few games have equaled it since.
At least for me, though,what really stands out aboutRDR2is the story. It can be difficult to pull off a narrative where the ending is inevitable - asRed Dead Redemption, chronologically the sequel, ensuredRDR2’s ending would be.
But the prequel portrays its characters with such unflappable empathy, and develops them so engagingly that it’s impossible to look away. It’s easilyone of the most memorable narratives in gamingas a whole.
Screen Rant’s review calledRDR2"a true achievement in gaming," which is accurate, but perhaps an understatement.RDR2is a modern classic, and with its near-200 GOTY awards and 97 Metascore, has a serious claim asone of the greatest games of all time.
Besides its other accolades,RDR2is beloved by almost anyone,perhaps even your favorite actors. The likes of Jack Black and Timothée Chalamet have professed an appreciation forRDR2, the former calling for a movie adaptation, and the latter saying its narrative form makes it impossible.
But regardless of what you think about adapting it, it’s clear thatRDR2is an excellent game. But despite all this fanfare,Rockstar has yet to bring it to modern consoles.
RDR2 Doesn’t Have A Current-Gen Upgrade
RDR2 Could Use A Refresh
Yes,technicallyyou can playRDR2on PS5 or Xbox Series X/S - butyou can only do that through backwards compatibility. What you’re playing is still the PS4/Xbox One version, and, although it runs much better on current-gen hardware, there’s a lot more it could be doing.
The lack of a modernRDR2port meansit’s a lot harder to play the game in native 4K. Don’t get me wrong - textures still look excellent, borderline realistic at times, but a current-gen port would make it look and run even better.
Beyond that, I have to imaginea current-genRDR2port would sell pretty well. (I still think it should be a free upgrade for those who already own the original, though.) It’d definitely sway some first-time players, and, if Rockstar did put out a fancy collector’s edition, some of its superfans would almost certainly spring for it a second time.
Although Rockstar continues remastering andre-releasingGTA 5, it’s never done the same forRDR2. At this point, it’s more odd than anything. Lots of fans have demanded a modern port, butit’s probably already too late. We’re past the mid-generation refresh, and likely to see a PlayStation 6/Xbox Whatever reveal within the next couple of years.
Why would anyone buy a current-genRDR2release knowing that another console generation - which likely means another remaster and perhaps even anotherRed Deadgame - is only a couple of years away? We’ll probably never have aRed Dead Redemption2port for modern consoles, but even so, the old game holds up perfectly well.
