Red Dead Redemption 2 analysis: a once-in-a-generation technological achievement
Red Dead Redemption 2 is a landmark technical achievement - and the end result of a unique development situation. With Grand Theft Auto 5, Rockstar has already developed the top-grossing title in the history of the games industry - and with that comes the confidence to invest all of the time, money and resources required to realise its vision for the ultimate game. The final product is technological masterpiece, matching and arguably exceeding the very best first-party efforts of this generation.
And that's another key point that makes Red Dead Redemption 2 so fascinating. Grand Theft Auto 5 on PC, PS4 and Xbox One features myriad improvements over the original PS3/Xbox 360 releases, but fundamentally they are still titles with last-gen roots. Rockstar's new game is obviously built with the current-generation platforms in mind, sharing with and building on many of the technical advances seen across the industry in recent years. That said, it's also a game that feels decidedly different from other open world titles released this generation - almost as if it were built in isolation, and the team has focused on visual flourishes that you might not expect to see in such a game.
In essence then, what we're looking at is a newly evolved iteration of Rockstar's RAGE engine. There are many familiar elements here, but the developer has taken this opportunity to push its technical and presentation skills to a new level. And what's equally impressive is that the studio has managed to deliver this at full native 4K on Xbox One X - but resolution is only one aspect of image quality. For starters, a proper temporal anti-aliasing has been implemented - with the long draw distances and lots of gritty detail on display, this is a must when it comes to reducing shimmering and giving a more temporally stable, filmic image. The TAA solution here is aggressive and does result in a softer overall look but the results are more cohesive, with everything from open fields of grass to fine texture detail and even beards blending nicely into the overall presentation.
Post a Comment