Improved image quality over Xbox back compat, but we had hoped for so much more.
Red Dead Redemption is one of the highest-profile games that has been stuck on seventh-gen console hardware.
(Our work continues on the Nintendo Switch version but - spoilers!
- it does run at native 1080p when docked.)
Image quality comparisons for each PlayStation system stacked up against their Xbox equivalent reveal a much more stable image.
It’s unusual for sure, but that seems to be the situation.
Curiously, the PlayStation code also includes a toggle to switch to FXAA, a post-process AA method.
There’s a lot more image breakup in this mode, with near-constant shimmering in general gameplay.
Expect to see a lot of very rough edges, especially on buildings and other sharply angled geometry.
Beyond image quality, the list of enhancements is quite sparse.
We really should be getting some extra enhancements on PS5 here, but the improvements are meagre.
One notch in favour of the PS5 comes down to shadow quality.
Additionally, the PlayStation code does have a slightly different gamma presentation relative to Xbox versions.
The rest of the game looks much the same between the two consoles.
Models still have a sharp, slightly blocky character, with seventh-gen polygon budgets.
This includes the main character, whose muddy face should have been a high priority to improve.
That means the PS3 release’s LOD compromises haven’t migrated over to the updated PlayStation versions.
Unfortunately, the game’s UI also hasn’t been updated to match its new output resolution.
The exception is the button icons, which do appear to have been redrawn at 4K.
It’s perfectly fine, but some of the character has definitely been lost in translation.
The Series S back compat version is also a bit questionable.
Performance in Red Dead Redemption across all tested PlayStation consoles is straightforward, for the most part.
Both FSR2 and FXAA seemed to perform exactly the same here.
That said, it’s not a totally even 30fps output.
This doesn’t apply to all cutscenes, but when it is present it can be quite annoying.
The Xbox versions of the game don’t appear to suffer from this issue.
Curiously, this is quite similar to the animation issues that afflict theGTA 5re-releases on current-gen and last-gen consoles.
Plus, Red Dead Redemption operates without any significant form of motion blur.
Red Dead Redemption is still a great-looking game in a lot of respects.
It’s far from the kind of premium remastering effort that this game deserves, especially for the price.
