The patience people have shown waiting for the PC version Red Dead Redemption 2 comes with a reward: the long-awaited action-adventure game that launched more than a year ago on consoles to widespread critical acclaim promises to be a feast for the eyes on PC. And if you're looking for a very specific feast, this is the game for you. With more than 40 graphical settings for players to tweak, that means players get to choose details from water or mirror quality to grass shadows and tree density (for the occasional arborist among us).
First reported by Dark Side of Gaming, the game also features a benchmark tool as well as HDR support, multi-monitor configurations, widescreen configurations and much more. But don't celebrate too soon if you haven't updated your hardware in a while: you will only need a relatively modest PC and at least a mainstream graphics card to run the game. If you're looking for the quality that's being advertised, prepare to finally nab that high-end graphics card you've had your eye on for a while now.
Even if the game first launched on consoles (a trend Rockstar has done for most of its games), the PC version delivers what PC ports do best: new graphical and technological advancements. You can almost smell the Wild West here. Additionally, players are able to choose between graphical APIs DirectX 12 and Vulkan, the importance of which lies in the fact that many consider the latter to be superior.
Still, regardless of what you choose, you can try your hand at tweaking the quality to your exact tastes. Soft shadows? I don't really care about that. Full Resolution Screen Space Ambient Occlusion? Better turn this one on, though. If this sort of twiddling around with settings is your cup of tea, great! This game is bound to deliver, along with incredible gameplay and a gripping storyline. Go ahead and make the in-game world your oyster. If you can run it, that is.
Not everything is sunshine and roses. Many people are reporting that this latest port contains a myriad of problems. For all the talk of amazing graphics, many players find themselves unable to play as the game keeps crashing upon launch. From errors that read "The Rockstar Games Launcher exited unexpectedly" - that Rockstar quickly patched up - over crashes seemingly related with several antivirus software, Red Dead Redemption 2 isn't off to the best start on PC.