Pink Useless Redemption is without doubt one of the PS3 period’s greatest video games. But it surely has been roughly thrown within the county jail and the important thing has been buried someplace within the plains of Gaptooth Ridge due to the shortage of a PC port and Sony’s bumpy backward compatibility help. The latest Pink Useless Redemption PS4 port lastly frees it from its last-last-gen jail, however there are too many components that preserve it from being the unmitigated success it must be.
This port a minimum of clears the abysmally low bar set by Grand Theft Auto: The Trilogy – The Definitive Version in 2021. As an alternative of being a handy solution to relive classics, that janky bundle tarnished Rockstar Video games’ status with its downgraded visuals and appalling quantity of bugs (lots of that are nonetheless there even after a couple of patches). These three video games have been so pivotal to all the medium they usually have been handled like shovelware that needed to be ported to maintain up a licensing deal.
Pink Useless Redemption on PS4 is decidedly not that. It runs easily and appears higher than the unique with out sacrificing any of what made the PS3 model particular in 2010. It is a devoted port by way of and thru.
Nonetheless, that’s additionally a part of the issue; it’s primarily a premium upscaling with absolutely the naked minimal of options. It does run at 4K on PS4 Professional and PS5, however the texture high quality is actually the very same and infrequently doesn’t maintain up underneath scrutiny. Noticing the marginally stronger shadows requires zooming in on side-by-side comparisons.
The body price is probably the most egregious instance of its technical stagnation as a result of, regardless of it solely outputting at the next decision, it nonetheless runs at 30 frames per second. Enjoying a hardly remastered PS3 recreation from 2010 on PS5 at 30 frames per second is ridiculous and a big issue why it doesn’t really feel like a real improve.
Rockstar additionally refused to remark when requested about the potential for an replace that will allow the next body price, too, so there’s no indication this oversight will change. It’s arduous to see how this occurred as a result of, whereas not fairly the identical factor, Digital Foundry was capable of run an emulated model of the Xbox 360 port on PC at 60 frames per second with out inflicting an excessive amount of hassle. Rockstar video games typically have a heft to them and this bump would undeniably assist Pink Useless Redemption really feel extra responsive.
The gameplay and programs are additionally unchanged. Whereas its mechanics haven’t withered an excessive amount of since its first launch, there are not any extra options or accessibility settings to streamline the expertise. Moving into and out of the map takes too many button presses. Trying up challenges stays tedious. Being restricted to simply three save slots and having vestigial choices within the menu like enabling autosaves simply additional present how little this port was tailored for contemporary programs and sensibilities. There’s not even a half-assed Photograph Mode.
Rockstar treating this negligible improve as a premium launch is staggeringly smug, particularly since Xbox house owners received most of those enhancements totally free by way of backward compatibility. And but, regardless of all these miniscule tweaks, this port nonetheless has worth as a result of Pink Useless Redemption stays a traditional that must be extra extensively accessible. And this goes a bit of past yanking it from the PS3’s grasp since there are such a lot of points of this recreation which can be timeless.
Its ambiance is almost unparalleled and outclasses many modern titles. Loads of its map is empty plains and mountains, however, not like many trendy open-world video games, there’s a deliberate contact to all of it. Its ambient soundtrack filled with Spaghetti Western-esque music evokes the appropriate temper that superbly enhances strolling by way of its desolate areas the place encounters are extra particular due to their relative rarity. The dearth of Ubisoft-style icons additionally cuts down on the noise and makes all of it simpler to soak in. It’s not a guidelines, however a world meant to be lived in, one which doesn’t hit the simulation and animation-heavy extremes of its follow-up.
Pink Useless Redemption additionally has a few of Rockstar’s most elegant writing and is stuffed with well-realized characters with silver tongues. Protagonist John Marston, being a quick-witted man attempt to reform his life who superbly balances his capability for compassion and power, is the clearest instance of this. And whereas fade-to-black transitions are dated, cutscenes are remarkably constructed with energetic characters and glorious cinematography that convey every scene to life. Animation know-how has progressed enormously within the time since, however the quite a few detailed mannerisms in Pink Useless Redemption’s animations nonetheless outclass many trendy video games regardless of using lesser horsepower.
The presentation does wonders for its story, however the narrative itself has additionally held sturdy within the ensuing 13 years. It overcomes its handful of gradual spots to inform a story with one thing to say and with themes that haven’t misplaced their influence. All of this culminates in a superbly orchestrated ending that the open-world style hasn’t been capable of high. The cowboy’s reign could also be over, because the narrative makes clear, however the influence of the finale nonetheless stands tall within the medium.
Seeing Pink Useless Redemption’s areas primarily get remastered for Pink Useless Redemption 2 compounds how a lot this PS4 re-release underachieves. If this port is absolutely the naked minimal, then these sections of Pink Useless Redemption 2 display the opposite finish of the spectrum of what might have been if it received the scope it deserved. The sport thrives on its thick ambiance and having a extra trendy presentation would seemingly solely increase its greatest function. Rockstar as an alternative settled for a bare-bones port understanding it will be ok, and, whereas technically and frustratingly true, Pink Useless Redemption deserves greater than “ok.”
Disclaimer: This Pink Useless Redemption function is predicated on a PS4 copy offered by the writer. Performed on model 1.02.
