Red Dead Redemption For Xbox Series X Makes A Great First Impression

For whatever reason, I didn’t play much Red Dead Redemption for the first decade of its life. It was only really when Red Dead Redemption 2 came out in 2018 that I felt like it was time to go back, and by that point it was playable with backwards compatibility on Xbox One, Series X and Series S – albeit with the drawback of running at 30FPS.

It never really made sense that a classic like RDR would be locked to 30 frames on Microsoft’s most powerful consoles, so it’s great to see Rockstar Games finally implementing a free upgrade (for digital owners) that introduces 60FPS, enhanced image quality and HDR support. Based on first impressions, this is the version I’ve always wanted!

With the Xbox Series X and S version not technically releasing until this Tuesday, I naturally haven’t spent much time at all with the new Red Dead Redemption release yet. That said, the bits I’ve experienced so far suggest this is going to be a worthwhile upgrade (fingers crossed for no bugs!).

Going back and comparing with the Xbox 360 version, you can definitely notice the enhanced level of detail, significantly reduced pop-in, and just a cleaner look to the graphics that you don’t even get with the backwards compatible release – a version that already ran at 4K on Xbox Series X. Side-by-side pictures suggest the back compat XSX version might sometimes have the edge in still shots, but the new upgrade looks better in motion and feels more enjoyable to play.

Don’t go expecting miracles here — the cutscenes in particular can look dated at times — but they’ve undoubtedly done more than just boost the frame rate. Some will inevitably say they’ve done too much and the original version has a grittier and more authentic look to it (which I can understand), but personally I think most of the changes are for the better. Loading screens are basically non-existent as well, which is a nice bonus.

And yeah, the frame rate is so smooth now! We’re talking a locked 60 frames per-second on Xbox Series X (which apparently is the same on Xbox Series S), and it absolutely makes a big difference. It’s particularly nice when you’re on horseback and riding at high speed, as well as in shootouts where you feel more in control of your weapon.

There’s just something about playing an old title at 60FPS that suddenly makes it feel fresh and new, and it’s certainly giving me the desire to go through Red Dead Redemption properly for the first time. Now if only Red Dead Redemption 2 could get the same treatment as well… and even GTA 4 could really do with a glow-up like this.

For those who have been asking, it does seem like you get to unlock the Xbox achievements all over again in this version of RDR, but you can’t bring your old save file from the Xbox 360 release to this one. I’d forgotten this when I started it up, questioned why it couldn’t find my file, and then resigned myself to having to start over. Oh well!

So, those are my very initial thoughts on the upgrade. Red Dead Redemption for Xbox Series X and S will be available free to owners of the digital Xbox 360 version this Tuesday, while it’ll be 50% off for everyone else and also available via the GTA+ subscription service. It’s annoying that I have the 360 version on my shelf and still have to fork out for it, but based on first impressions I think it’s still worth the money.