Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC – Incredibly beautiful, but not without problems
It’s amazing how quickly we forget. Since Red Dead Redemption 2 raised the bar in several ways, several games came out where we thought ‘this is Red Dead 2 level’. That usually applied to individual parts of those games, and therefore not to the overall picture, but in our opinion the high level was approached quite a few times. In that respect it is nice that a year after the release there is suddenly a good reason to visit the Wild West again. It took a while, but now PC gamers can also get started with Red Dead Redemption 2.
GTA in the Wild West
Before we continue, we will briefly describe the basics, for those who do not know the game or do not know it well. Red Dead Redemption 2 is an open world adventure game similar to Grand Theft Auto but set in the Wild West. The player takes on the role of Arthur Morgan, a member of criminal gang, Arthur and the others try to put together a fortune that will allow them to flee their problems for good, although of course it turns out more difficult than they hope. During this adventure, you as a player are free to explore the world and carry out assignments for all kinds of characters. In addition, it is up to you whether you do so in an honorable way, or whether you go completely on the bandit path and rob everyone you meet. In this way, the game keeps players busy for many tens of hours, after which an extra adventure can be taken on in the online game mode Red Dead Online with a completely new character, but in a game world with other players. For more information on Red Dead Redemption 2, aside from the PC-specific parts, check out theread the original review again.
The introduction of the PC version of Rockstar’s successful game did not go smoothly. In fact, in the first period after the release, the problems piled up. Gamers complained about all sorts of bugs and technical issues, with some even being unable to launch the game at all due to problems with the Rockstar Launcher used for it. In the game itself, several meters ran out too quickly because the time went too fast. The engine is built for gameplay in 30 frames per second, but on the PC that number is higher. This was evident in the speed at which time passes. That problem – like many other problems – has now been resolved, but it does not alter the fact that Red Dead Redemption 2 on PC had a pretty false start. In addition, some problems are still not fully resolved.
Anyway, these are minor flaws that we would rather not see, but to which we are actually quite used to in 2019 – sad as that may be. Because which game is still completely unproblematic in the shops these days? Rockstar is partly forgiven, especially since we ourselves have not encountered any ‘game-breaking’ bugs and problems.
Technical superiority
If you are and remain safe from technical difficulties, it is time to take full advantage of the technical superiority of the PC as a gaming platform, provided you have the right hardware. We played the game on a PC with an Nvidia 2080 Super and logically achieved excellent results in every area. Of course we are talking about beautiful images, but in addition, the loading times in the PC version are clearly shorter than on consoles. Where even on a PlayStation 4 Pro you sometimes spend quite a long time looking at a loading screen, that hardly plays a role on the PC.
The graphic splendor is generally of course one of the plus points of a PC game compared to a console game. Red Dead Redemption 2 is certainly no exception. The PC version is capable of much more, of course there are choices that influence the balance between graphic quality and performance. Simply setting everything to Ultra and the highest possible settings led to an average frame rate of about 45 frames per second. Certainly not bad, after all, many gamers played Red Dead Redemption 2 in 30fps, but it could of course be better.
Smart choices
With some smart choices, a better result in fps with minimal loss of graphic quality is achievable. For example, choosing TAA instead of 4x MSAA provides a significant performance boost. The heavier anti-aliasing techniques are disabled by default, even if you choose the highest preset. A little playing with the quality yields some extra profit here and there. For example, Reflection Quality and Volumetric Quality can be turned down a bit to quickly gain a few frames, without huge loss of quality. It is important not to adjust the Global Illumination Quality too much. This is the effect that causes the environment to be illuminated by a general light source such as the sun or moon, with associated effects. The removal of that effect is clearly noticeable and causes the game to lose atmosphere.
At the bottom of the line it should be clear that the PC version visually takes a significant step forward compared to the previously released console versions. Comparisons show that even the Xbox One X version falls short of the PC version’s ‘Low’ or ‘Medium’ settings in many areas. Now, many PCs with slower video cards won’t necessarily get much higher than that, because this is a solid game. Even when we scaled back many settings, the game still appealed to around 4 GB of video memory. Red Dead Redemption 2 is therefore rightfully a heavy game, which is of course no surprise.
The switch from console to PC also brings other changes. This way you are stuck with the Rockstar Launcher to play the game. We had no problem with that, but there are known bugs where the Launcher refuses to start games. In addition, there is of course a question mark in terms of input. Logically, the game is playable with keyboard and mouse, but we’d advise using a controller, or at least having that option available. The layout of the buttons you need on the keyboard is manageable in itself, but more awkward than how the same layout works on controllers. In addition, it is a problem that looking around with your mouse also determines the direction of travel of your horse. You can compensate for that changing direction with WASD, but even then your horse occasionally unintentionally rides in the wrong direction. It is workable, but certainly not ideal.
In addition, shooting is more difficult than you might think. Of course it is always easier to aim with a mouse than with a controller, but the game helps players with a controller extra by applying a little more ‘target snap’. The old trick of ‘snap to target’ and then tap up a bit with a thumbstick to get a quick headshot doesn’t apply when playing with a mouse. That makes the game a bit more difficult in practice.
In terms of further content, there are some minor adjustments, but we have not encountered them ourselves. According to lore, new missions, characters, and Treasure locations have been incorporated into the game. Perhaps a nice extra, especially for people who have already played the game, but it does not change the general quality much. That remains undiminished high. Red Dead Redemption 2 was not very successful last year, so it makes sense that this PC game is also of very high quality. For details, we refer you to last year’s review , which discusses substantive matters such as the characters, the story and the missions.
A final point that we do not want to leave undiscussed for the PC version is the mod support. Although the game currently does not support mods, there are some nice additions to be found. For example, you can install a mod that lets you adjust the duration of days, or add photorealistic shadow effects. In addition, you can of course download some tools such as trainers and ‘Cheat Starts’ that make the game easier and let you skip the somewhat slow start of the game. Whether you should want the latter is another question. The beginning of Red Dead Redemption 2, which sees Arthur and the gang roaming the snowy mountains, is slow indeed, but it does lay the groundwork for the story. The first meeting with the O’Driscolls, the train robbery… you want to skip that? We don’t think so.
Conclusion
Red Dead Redemption 2 offers the best gaming experience on PC. If your fingers have grown together with a keyboard and mouse, that works well enough in itself, although a controller is preferable. The real gain, however, lies in the technique. Even at lower settings, the PC version is soon more beautiful than the console versions of Red Dead Redemption 2. There are lighting effects that cannot be found in those old versions at all and that make the game even more beautiful and atmospheric. And of course the level of detail is much higher. There is a price tag attached to that, because you need a pretty powerful PC to see Red Dead Redemption 2 in all its glory on a PC, but then you also have something. The other side of the coin is that the PC version has been struggling with technical problems since its introduction. Most of these have now been rectified, but not all. That is a blemish, all the more because it requires quite serious measures from some gamers. However, as long as the problems do not seem insurmountable, we see no reason to prefer another platform to the PC version for this game.
Pros
- Superb graphics
- Well scalable
- Mods
- Keyboard/mouse combo works ok…
- Further game remains good
Cons
- Technical problems
- … but controller is secretly very nice