Red Dead Redemption PS4 vs Switch vs Xbox 360
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VOICE OVER: Ty Richardson
WRITTEN BY: Ty Richardson
With "Red Dead Redemption" now on Switch and PS4, it's time to compare those to the original Xbox 360 version! For this installment of Versus, we'll be comparing all three versions of Rockstar's celebrated Western. We'll be judging the games across categories that include Content, Visuals, Controls, and more!
Script written by Ty Richardson
Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’re taking a look at the new ports of “Red Dead Redemption” and comparing them to each other, as well as to the original, commercially available on Xbox version - it’s “Red Dead Redemption: PS4 vs. Switch vs. Xbox 360”! We’ll be judging these three ports more on how they play and what they offer. Feel free to buy whichever version you prefer, though. Did you get all three or just one? Let us know down in the comments.
It’s kind of hard to judge any of these versions on visuals, really.
The PlayStation 4 and Switch versions both do an excellent job of rendering characters and textures in great detail. We’re especially surprised by the Switch due to how many games with high visual fidelity have had to make sacrifices just to be playable. Even in handheld mode, “Red Dead Redemption” looks just as fantastic on Nintendo’s little engine that could as the game did back in 2010. The only problem is that both versions are locked to thirty frames per second and 1080p resolution (the PS4 version can run with a higher resolution of 4K on PS4 Pro, but we didn’t really notice a visual difference, to be perfectly honest).
Now, the Xbox 360 version might seem like the lesser when it comes to visual fidelity. Indeed, it might be a bit rough to look at on Xbox 360 with a more unstable framerate, which can affect certain aspects of the game. Sure, it still looks good in some regard, but it may not be the best version to play.
So, why are we giving this round the Xbox 360 version? Well, the ancient machine has an ace up its sleeve in the form of Xbox Series XS. As many of us are probably aware, Microsoft spent a number of years tweaking various Xbox Original and Xbox 360 titles to function on Xbox One and Xbox Series XS. Not only that, but some of these titles come upscaled and with a boost in framerate. “Red Dead Redemption” is among those titles, bringing the game to 4K on Series X and 1440p on Series S as well as boosting the framerate from an unstable 30 to a smooth 60. And it looks sexy on just about any TV.
WINNER: PS4 0 / Switch 0 / Xbox 360 1
Controls were a bit of a weird part of our criteria, specifically because of just how long it has been since we played “Red Dead Redemption” on original hardware.
On the Xbox 360, it felt roughly the same as we remembered it - a bit janky, takes some time to get used to, but is overall manageable. Using the newer Xbox controller on XS made it much easier to aim and shoot, but with the controller being noisy with clicky inputs, it can make the game a little less enjoyable and take you out of the experience.
The Switch was a bit more improved than the Xbox version. Only problem we had was the use of the Joy-Cons in general. It’s the same complaints you might have heard from other players - Joy-Cons being too small, drift being a common problem for some, and the overall layout means you might need some time to adjust.
On PS4, however, things felt somewhat natural. With the structure of the DualShock (and DualSense, if you’re playing it on PS5), repetitive actions like increasing your horse’s speed feel a bit less annoying. Still annoying, but at least there aren’t any loud clicks from the buttons. So, even though there is no support for the DualSense’s haptic feedback or adaptive triggers, the PS4 version is much better when it comes to controls.
WINNER: PS4 1 / Switch 0 / Xbox 360 1
Now, we could have lumped this in with visuals, but this is where we do want to talk more about stuff like rendering and immersion, not just the look of the game.
Unfortunately, this is where the PS4 and Switch kind of suffer the most. To their credit, the load times are on par with modern hardware (even on Switch when in handheld mode). But when it came to rendering, things started getting kind of rough. It wasn’t uncommon to see a rock or canyon wall suddenly change texture details after walking a few steps forward. Gotta love draw distance, right? And shadow quality kind of comes and goes every now and again, even on the PS4 version. Some scenes are unnaturally sharp in some areas. For antialiasing, you’re basically caught between super pixelated resolution or a resolution with a slightly faded filter on the screen.
As for the Xbox 360, well, it’s not much better. It does feature many of the same problems where visual upgrades aren’t really there. The shadow quality is arguably messier here than in the PS4 and Switch versions. However, it almost works in its favor in terms of believable lighting (in some scenarios). It just barely beats the PS4 and Switch as a result.
WINNER: PS4 1 / Switch 0 / Xbox 360 2
This aspect of the new ports has been perhaps the biggest point of contention among the gaming community.
The PS4 and Switch versions of “Red Dead Redemption” come with just about every piece of content that was ever made for the game. Thing is that it isn’t as much as you might think. While you do get “Undead Nightmare” bundled with the game, all that Game Of The Year content is kind of absent since multiplayer isn’t included. All those maps and playable characters are pretty much gone. So, really, the GOTY content is just some outfits, a few new weapons, challenges for those weapons, and some hunting grounds.
The Xbox 360 version doesn’t come with any of that. Instead, you can buy “Red Dead Redemption” for thirty bucks or pay about a hundred for that and “Red Dead Redemption 2”. “Undead Nightmare” is sold separately for ten smackaroos and can be played separately.
If convenience is your thing, well, maybe the PS4 and Switch versions are more appealing. Therefore, we have a two-way win for Sony and Nintendo.
WINNER: PS4 2 / Switch 1 / Xbox 360 2
We’re separating this from content because budget is just as important as “value”. And if you want to save as much money as possible, well, you may have your answer here.
As we mentioned earlier, the Xbox 360 version of “Red Dead Redemption” costs $30 USD for just the base game. If you want the “Undead Nightmare” expansion, you’ll be tacking on another ten to your bill. Luckily, almost all of the other DLC is free. So, in total, you will only spend a little over forty dollars. Oh, and you get 60fps on Series XS along with 1440p and 4K resolution, not to mention access to multiplayer.
The PlayStation 4 and Switch versions of “Red Dead Redemption” demand fifty dollars from you. What do you get for this heftier price tag? Normal HD resolution with a locked thirty frames per second, the “Undead Nightmare” expansion, and no multiplayer, which served as a big focus for all that Game Of The Year content.
Considering the Xbox 360 version goes on sale somewhat regularly, well, do we really have to do the math on who wins this round? You can use that extra money to grab “Red Dead Revolver” or even “Red Dead Redemption 2” in another sale.
WINNER: PS4 2 / Switch 1 / Xbox 360 3
With upscaling, a boost in framerate, and more bang for your buck, the Xbox 360 version of “Red Dead Redemption” comes out on top. But at the end of the day, this game is excellent on its own merits regardless of what you’re playing it on. So, let us know in the comments where you’re playing it and what you think of the game, whether it’s your first time or your dozenth, and check out some of our “Red Dead” videos while you’re at it!
Welcome to MojoPlays, and today, we’re taking a look at the new ports of “Red Dead Redemption” and comparing them to each other, as well as to the original, commercially available on Xbox version - it’s “Red Dead Redemption: PS4 vs. Switch vs. Xbox 360”! We’ll be judging these three ports more on how they play and what they offer. Feel free to buy whichever version you prefer, though. Did you get all three or just one? Let us know down in the comments.
Round 1: Visuals
It’s kind of hard to judge any of these versions on visuals, really.
The PlayStation 4 and Switch versions both do an excellent job of rendering characters and textures in great detail. We’re especially surprised by the Switch due to how many games with high visual fidelity have had to make sacrifices just to be playable. Even in handheld mode, “Red Dead Redemption” looks just as fantastic on Nintendo’s little engine that could as the game did back in 2010. The only problem is that both versions are locked to thirty frames per second and 1080p resolution (the PS4 version can run with a higher resolution of 4K on PS4 Pro, but we didn’t really notice a visual difference, to be perfectly honest).
Now, the Xbox 360 version might seem like the lesser when it comes to visual fidelity. Indeed, it might be a bit rough to look at on Xbox 360 with a more unstable framerate, which can affect certain aspects of the game. Sure, it still looks good in some regard, but it may not be the best version to play.
So, why are we giving this round the Xbox 360 version? Well, the ancient machine has an ace up its sleeve in the form of Xbox Series XS. As many of us are probably aware, Microsoft spent a number of years tweaking various Xbox Original and Xbox 360 titles to function on Xbox One and Xbox Series XS. Not only that, but some of these titles come upscaled and with a boost in framerate. “Red Dead Redemption” is among those titles, bringing the game to 4K on Series X and 1440p on Series S as well as boosting the framerate from an unstable 30 to a smooth 60. And it looks sexy on just about any TV.
WINNER: PS4 0 / Switch 0 / Xbox 360 1
Round 2: Controls
Controls were a bit of a weird part of our criteria, specifically because of just how long it has been since we played “Red Dead Redemption” on original hardware.
On the Xbox 360, it felt roughly the same as we remembered it - a bit janky, takes some time to get used to, but is overall manageable. Using the newer Xbox controller on XS made it much easier to aim and shoot, but with the controller being noisy with clicky inputs, it can make the game a little less enjoyable and take you out of the experience.
The Switch was a bit more improved than the Xbox version. Only problem we had was the use of the Joy-Cons in general. It’s the same complaints you might have heard from other players - Joy-Cons being too small, drift being a common problem for some, and the overall layout means you might need some time to adjust.
On PS4, however, things felt somewhat natural. With the structure of the DualShock (and DualSense, if you’re playing it on PS5), repetitive actions like increasing your horse’s speed feel a bit less annoying. Still annoying, but at least there aren’t any loud clicks from the buttons. So, even though there is no support for the DualSense’s haptic feedback or adaptive triggers, the PS4 version is much better when it comes to controls.
WINNER: PS4 1 / Switch 0 / Xbox 360 1
Round 3: Tech
Now, we could have lumped this in with visuals, but this is where we do want to talk more about stuff like rendering and immersion, not just the look of the game.
Unfortunately, this is where the PS4 and Switch kind of suffer the most. To their credit, the load times are on par with modern hardware (even on Switch when in handheld mode). But when it came to rendering, things started getting kind of rough. It wasn’t uncommon to see a rock or canyon wall suddenly change texture details after walking a few steps forward. Gotta love draw distance, right? And shadow quality kind of comes and goes every now and again, even on the PS4 version. Some scenes are unnaturally sharp in some areas. For antialiasing, you’re basically caught between super pixelated resolution or a resolution with a slightly faded filter on the screen.
As for the Xbox 360, well, it’s not much better. It does feature many of the same problems where visual upgrades aren’t really there. The shadow quality is arguably messier here than in the PS4 and Switch versions. However, it almost works in its favor in terms of believable lighting (in some scenarios). It just barely beats the PS4 and Switch as a result.
WINNER: PS4 1 / Switch 0 / Xbox 360 2
Round 4: Content
This aspect of the new ports has been perhaps the biggest point of contention among the gaming community.
The PS4 and Switch versions of “Red Dead Redemption” come with just about every piece of content that was ever made for the game. Thing is that it isn’t as much as you might think. While you do get “Undead Nightmare” bundled with the game, all that Game Of The Year content is kind of absent since multiplayer isn’t included. All those maps and playable characters are pretty much gone. So, really, the GOTY content is just some outfits, a few new weapons, challenges for those weapons, and some hunting grounds.
The Xbox 360 version doesn’t come with any of that. Instead, you can buy “Red Dead Redemption” for thirty bucks or pay about a hundred for that and “Red Dead Redemption 2”. “Undead Nightmare” is sold separately for ten smackaroos and can be played separately.
If convenience is your thing, well, maybe the PS4 and Switch versions are more appealing. Therefore, we have a two-way win for Sony and Nintendo.
WINNER: PS4 2 / Switch 1 / Xbox 360 2
Round 5: Price
We’re separating this from content because budget is just as important as “value”. And if you want to save as much money as possible, well, you may have your answer here.
As we mentioned earlier, the Xbox 360 version of “Red Dead Redemption” costs $30 USD for just the base game. If you want the “Undead Nightmare” expansion, you’ll be tacking on another ten to your bill. Luckily, almost all of the other DLC is free. So, in total, you will only spend a little over forty dollars. Oh, and you get 60fps on Series XS along with 1440p and 4K resolution, not to mention access to multiplayer.
The PlayStation 4 and Switch versions of “Red Dead Redemption” demand fifty dollars from you. What do you get for this heftier price tag? Normal HD resolution with a locked thirty frames per second, the “Undead Nightmare” expansion, and no multiplayer, which served as a big focus for all that Game Of The Year content.
Considering the Xbox 360 version goes on sale somewhat regularly, well, do we really have to do the math on who wins this round? You can use that extra money to grab “Red Dead Revolver” or even “Red Dead Redemption 2” in another sale.
WINNER: PS4 2 / Switch 1 / Xbox 360 3
With upscaling, a boost in framerate, and more bang for your buck, the Xbox 360 version of “Red Dead Redemption” comes out on top. But at the end of the day, this game is excellent on its own merits regardless of what you’re playing it on. So, let us know in the comments where you’re playing it and what you think of the game, whether it’s your first time or your dozenth, and check out some of our “Red Dead” videos while you’re at it!
