Red Dead Redemption 2 vs Red Dead Redemption Graphics Comparison

Red Dead Redemption 2 vs Red Dead Redemption Graphics Comparison

Faces

One of the clearest improvements from 2010’s Red Dead Redemption to 2018’s Red Dead Redemption 2 is the facial animations and detail. While the original game certainly looked good for its time, it’s remarkable just how much clearer and more refined the character models are now. Looking at our old pal Dutch from then to now is a night and day difference.

The textures, in particular, are rendered at a much higher resolution, which allows for substantially more detail. It works in tandem with excellent ambient lighting, creating ultra-realistic shadows as characters gesture and speak against the backdrop of the environment.

The fidelity of facial movement and character animations really strikes home when you consider that their appearances change throughout the game. One of the tiny details we picked out as impressing us most was the need for Arthur to wash.

The state of his cleanliness and hygiene can actually be seen quite vividly, and it carries over to cutscenes where the camera pans in close to his face. It’s this level of texture detail that pushes Red Dead Redemption 2 beyond our expectations with respect to graphical fidelity.

If you liked this post, you can check out our other similar content, such as way RDR2 has perfected the wild west genre or hilarious graphical glitches from the game.

Red Dead Redemption 2 vs Red Dead Redemption Graphics Comparison

Horses

Riding horses is one of the most memorable parts of both Red Dead games but the upgrade in detail in the sequel is striking. While the first game had a fair amount of detail put into horses, it pails in comparison to Red Dead Redemption 2. Just look at the veins on the side of her face, the light reflected in her eyes and the detailed pattern of her fur. The level of care put into making these horses is impressive and it helps us grow attached. Buy the game here.

Red Dead Redemption 2 vs Red Dead Redemption Graphics Comparison

Roads and Towns

While Red Dead Redemption 2 shines in its beautiful vistas, one of the qualities that makes it’s world feel real is its high-trafficked towns. Rockstar has always known how to make environments feel lived-in and immersive, but this game takes it to a whole new level. The deep mud tracks, the way the light falls over them, the long shadows from the power lines. All of these meticulous little details are what turn a simple road in a simple town into something beautiful.

Red Dead Redemption 2 vs Red Dead Redemption Graphics Comparison

Landscapes

The desert landscapes of Red Dead Redemption largely hold up today, yet they still look many steps behind its sequel. While the original game looks a bit fuzzy, Red Dead Redemption 2’s environments are clear and vibrant, even at long distances. It’s hard to play this game without stopping every few minutes to gawk at the scenery.

Red Dead Redemption 2 vs Red Dead Redemption Graphics Comparison

Snow

The biting cold setting that Red Dead Redemption 2 begins in is brutal and lifelike. When compared to similar scenery from the original game, it looks even more impressive. The lighting effects and the way snow is scattered across hills is beautiful and makes Red Dead Redemption, a game we love dearly, look primitive.

We also love to see how realistically the snow deforms under foot. And no, not because we can draw silly shapes and take screenshots of it! Of course, not…

Red Dead Redemption 2 vs Red Dead Redemption Graphics Comparison

Skinning

Hunting and skinning animals is a big part of both Red Dead games. While the skinning animations might get tiresome in both games, Red Dead Redemption 2 has the benefit of detailed animations that change for each animal. The game also includes nice touches such as bullet wounds where the animal was shot. While maybe not perfect, it’s certainly an improvement over watching blood splatter on the camera while John carves into the air because he glitched out.

Red Dead Redemption 2 vs Red Dead Redemption Graphics Comparison

Dogs

Arguably the single best feature of Red Dead Redemption 2 is the ability to pet dogs and tell them how much of a good boy they are. Additionally, the worst feature is that you can hit the wrong button and accidentally scold them. The dogs of Red Dead are adorable and they are looking great these days. In a world of lies, murder, and greed, these happy bundles of joy are a nice change of pace.

Red Dead Redemption 2 vs Red Dead Redemption Graphics Comparison

Plants

One of the easiest ways of assessing a game’s graphics is to dive into the foliage. Even at a distance, Red Dead Redemption 2’s plant-life is far beyond what we saw from its predecessor. However, when you examine plants up close, you’ll see absurd levels of details like individual thorns, leaves, and berries. Most games wouldn’t bother going to this level of detail because they don’t expect you to look that closely at a patch of flowers. Apparently, Rockstar doesn’t buy into this mindset, and the result is a game about being a deadly outlaw that has some of the most lovely plants we’ve ever seen in a virtual space.

Red Dead Redemption 2 vs Red Dead Redemption Graphics Comparison

Water

Along with foliage and snow, water is a go-to for assessing graphics in a game. While Red Dead Redemption is impressive by 2010’s standards, the way that the water in Red Dead Redemption 2 reacts to your movements and reflects the sky, clouds and sun so perfectly is absolutely wild. We could say this about many aspects of the game, but the creation of such responsive effects surely took more time and effort than we could ever imagine.

Red Dead Redemption 2 vs Red Dead Redemption Graphics Comparison

Saloon/Indoors

Sprawling vistas and gorgeous water effects are great, but we all know the fun and shenanigans happen in the saloon. As central an element of the wild west as horses and rifles, Rockstar nails the look and feel of saloons and other buildings from this era. Of course, Red Dead Redemption 2 has better assets than the first game, but Rockstar also decided to make the colors a little more saturated and brighter. This enhanced color palette makes the indoor environments in the game pop and gives them as much character and personality as the other parts of the game. We believe it’s an improvement over the darker and duller colors used in the first game and most other games from its time.

Red Dead Redemption 2 vs Red Dead Redemption Graphics Comparison

Sunlight

The lighting effects in Red Dead Redemption 2 are something to behold. Watching how the sunlight changes throughout the day, wrapping around mountains and filtering through trees, is simply amazing. From a technical level, Rockstar’s ability to create realistic and adaptive environmental effects has grown tremendously and Red Dead Redemption 2 can easily hang with the most technically advanced games on the market.