The first Red Dead Redemption was an instant smash hit when it was released back in 2010. It was the game from the studio that produced the GTA series that realized all of the cowboy fantasies of countless gamers, allowing them to enjoy a realistic open-world wild west environment in the best cowboy life simulator ever made. After the original release for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, despite its popularity, this title did not receive a PC version nor any remaster for newer consoles – aside from the Xbox next-gen patched version as a part of the smart delivery feature. Only now, in August 2023, the first Red Dead Redemption finally arrived on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch.
Fans might have expected a full-blown remake for the PlayStation 5, but instead got a simple “remaster”. However, what is particularly interesting is the Switch version, which allows you to realize your cowboy fantasies on the go! You may be wondering how this 2010 title works on Nintendo’s console, so let’s find out if the performance of Red Dead Redemption on the Nintendo Switch is any good.
Is the Performance of Red Dead Redemption on the Nintendo Switch Good? – Answered
With a size of 11.4GB, the port of Red Dead Redemption for Switch brings more or less the same experience as on Xbox 360 – so this release can hardly be called a remaster. The native resolution of the 2010 edition of 720p is still there, and it will switch to 1080p in docked mode. We recommend that you play RDR on Switch in portable mode, where the game seems slightly sharper and more detailed than the original. When you transfer the image to a TV or monitor in docked mode the resolution gets a bump, but details and sharpness go down, so the difference from the PlayStation 4 version becomes even more visible.
Related: How to Take Care of Your Horse in Red Dead Redemption
However, if you only play in portable mode, the RDR experience on the Switch is pretty authentic. With the frame rate locked at 30, and without any major changes compared to the original, Nintendo’s now quite outdated hardware copes quite well with the ancient X360 title, so, in essence, there are not many FPS drops.
The biggest flaws of this reissue are not related to performance. The first is, of course, the high price for a pretty much bare-bones port, and the second is the lack of multiplayer mode, which is completely removed from this edition, which is a shame. At least the complete Undead Nightmare DLC is included that will give you an answer to an age-old question – cowboys vs zombies, who would win?
If you plan to play Red Dead Redemption again, or for the first time – check out some of our guides here on Prima Games, see our treasure-hunting tips, find out how to get more money in the game, and completely unrelated learn how to rob people. Have fun cowboys!
