There's something almost uncanny about playing Red Dead Redemption 1 at 120 fps. Entombed for so long on the Xbox 360, the game has come to serve in my mind as a kind of emblem for that whole era of consoles. Seeing John Marston all razzle-dazzled up in the latest DLSS whatever and 4K HDR feels a little like someone snuck a subtle but entirely new instrument into a classic song I know by heart. Not bad, but it evokes a feeling as if you've quietly transitioned to an almost imperceptibly different branch of reality.
But as alternate universes go, this is a pretty good one. Don't worry, folks, Rockstar hasn't repeated the tragedy of the GTA Trilogy Definitive Edition. In the couple of hours I've spent with the game since launch—mostly on my PC, but a little on Steam Deck—this is easily the best way to play the classic.
