Red Dead Redemption (Switch) Review

If you’re a Red Dead fan or, like me, have been waiting for the opportunity to play the original Red Redemption on the go, buy this game. Until now, you’ve either needed old hardware or you have backward compatibility through an Xbox. Have the long years been kind to this Western classic? Grab your hat and sixshooter; let’s ride and find out!

Set in the decline of the ‘Wild West’, former outlaw John Marston has been pressured into ‘one last mission’ to hunt down his old crew. If you’ve played Red Dead Redemption 2, you’ll be familiar with the former gang members you’re tasked with rounding up. In fact, if you played RDR2 first, you’ll know more about John Marston than players did 13 years ago. After nearly getting himself killed immediately, Marston needs to rethink his plan as he encounters all people who need his help. Will John make up for the many sins of his earlier life? I would love to go on about all the different story moments within the game, we would be here a while, but even for a 13-year-old game, I wouldn’t want to spoil it for those who couldn’t play it until now.

Red Dead manages to set itself apart from the Grand Theft Auto series by not needing to lean on such in-your-face satire and parody so much. Rockstar takes the Western theme, the romanticisation of the Wild West, and spends over 20 hours as John Marston meets characters all facing the winds of change as the wild west is tamed and brought to heel. Even though the seemingly lawless and wild times bring nothing but violence and death, those that remain are just as worried about the overbearing government stepping in.

The world of Red Dead can feel dry, bleak and cynical as the story goes down some twisted paths when meeting strangers throughout the land. This version of the Wild West is unforgiving. Fortunately, it remembers to add some levity, even if it’s usually from Marston defying others’ expectations. Even after all these years, the game still hits the same way. The culmination of story moments and perfect music tracks set out in a wild frontier. It might hit differently for newcomers, especially if you’ve played through the sequel, which already upped the ante.

One of the big departures from Rockstar games such as Grand Theft Auto is now everything is on Horseback (or horse-drawn carriages). You won’t be riding around gigantic cities, either. Most of the settlements are lucky to be more than a main street. There is a lot of long-distance riding between locations, and the game benefits all the more for it. Riding through the world can be nice to soak in the atmosphere. However, it won’t be for everyone. This is where your campsite comes in. You carry a campsite you can set up in the world (clear of towns and hideouts) and use it to save your game or set up a fast travel point. There are also carriages that will take you where you need to go. You can even sit and watch the whole trip if you want to watch the plains roll on by.

Along with plain ol’ shooting, there is the Dead Eye mechanic. When the meter is full, you can slow down time and mark multiple targets before returning to real-time and unleashing hell. Initially, it’s pretty limited, but once you are given better control over where you can place your markers, it makes you feel like an expert marksman. Red Dead also comes from the era of cover-based shooting, which you’ll need to utilise if you want to survive out in the West. With the hit of a button, Marston will pull up to a nearby crate, rock or wall, which allows for some back-and-forth standoffs between yourself and the bandits popping in and out of sight.

While riding around stopping random robberies or being ambushed by bandits, you can always stop and smell the desert sage. You can play a round of horseshoes, Poker, Blackjack, Liar’s Dice or Five Finger Fillet. In Five Finger Fillet, you must time your button presses as you stab the space between your fingers. You might have seen it as the game Bishop plays in Aliens. Depending on the location, you can help break-in wild horses, go on night patrols or pick up a wanted poster in town for a bounty to hunt down.

It’s not only the people of the Wild West you need to be careful of; the inexperienced can be quickly taken down by a sneaky snake or vicious cougar or get absolutely slaughtered by a bear. There are plenty of creatures that you can kill and skin for their pelts and other bits and pieces, or you can go on the lookout for the various wild flora to pick and collect.

On top of Red Dead Redemption, this bundle also contains the stand-alone expansion Undead Nightmare. The spooky western zombie fest takes familiar characters from the main Red Dead story. It puts a cheesy horror spin on it. From the start, it quickly shows its cards as a silly take on the cynical and harsh world of the main game.

Undead Nightmare is all about travelling to familiar locations and helping to take back towns by fighting through the zombies and clearing out the graveyard with some old-fashioned gunfire. There is a story to tie it all together, even side missions to take on, but don’t expect the same level of variety in activities as you will in the main game. Overall Undead Nightmare won’t keep you as busy for as long as the main game, but there are still a few hours to focus on the story, plenty more if you want to do everything. Finding the four horses of the apocalypse and the mythical creatures is worth sinking in the extra time.

Despite being 13 years later, Red Dead is still a beautiful game. You never tire of the world they’ve created when you’re out in the wide open plains or searching for a legendary horse in the red mesas. The character models look sharp and detailed. Some may be too detailed (I’m looking at your Seth). The visuals are still unmistakably from the 2010 era of gaming, especially the big empty spaces. The fact it still looks so good is a testament to the magic they worked back then to capture the feel of old Westerns.

In the lead-up to the game’s release, it has been clear that this isn’t a remake or necessarily a remaster. It looks and runs so well on the Switch it doesn’t matter. In handheld, the game looks great, too. No smudgy graphics here! If you were worried about the framerate too, don’t – it holds up most of the way through.

Along with the lovely scenery of the untamed wilds, the music plays a big part in tying the Western theme together. Drawing plenty of inspiration from Westerns, especially Ennio Morricone’s work, it still captures its own sound, which is weaved through the game. I still listen to the soundtrack occasionally, and the songs accompanying John Marston through important moments still stick in my mind.

If I do have a gripe here, it would be that there isn’t the original online multiplayer, allowing you and friends to tear up the place, taking on jobs and fist-fighting bears. Don’t get me wrong, between the main game and the expansion, there is already so much to keep you busy for a while. But there is still something to be said for the sheer fun of going around with friends and just mucking about in this expansive world.

The game does contain some offensive elements, especially in its racial stereotypes. Coming from Rockstar might not be a big surprise, especially around that time, but it sucked back then and still sucks now. Sometimes it could be demonstrating how someone is an asshole by being racist, and that’s how things were, but with the world how it is now, it feels a little extra gross. The game doesn’t bombard you with this stuff; be aware, like the warning before a show, that it contains outdated and offensive material.

It is great to see Red Dead Redemption back and available on more platforms, most importantly the Switch. Whether on TV or handheld, the game runs well and still looks good. It’s a shame you can’t jump into an online free roam with friends, but the main game and its expansion will keep you busy for many hours. As I said at the beginning, Red Dead fans should buy this game and have a Red Dead Revisit. Newcomers will find plenty to enjoy, even if to play one of the best open-world games of the 2010s.

Rating: 4.5/5