[4K] Red Dead Redemption 2: The Digital Foundry Tech Analysis! 

2023 and still puts almost every PS5/XSX exclusive to shame. A once in a generation game

How does everyone like this approach? One video focusing on the visual splendor of the game without any console comparisons and another dedicated entirely to said comparison? It's not always possible to do but I wanted to try it here.

Rockstar have done what they've always done, working their magic with lighting and post processing to evoke the impression of a realistic image. RDR2 however has demonstrated something I've never seen before in an open world game in that the scenes produced are about 95% perfect. There's a shimmer here, a visible culling horizon there, but it rarely draws your eye unless you're out looking for it. The LOD management is so superlative that you can forget it's there at all; it's almost seamless. This is a game I can boot up and simply admire.

I find myself rewatching a lot of Digital Foundrys videos because they are just so detailed and structured in the way they review things

A once in a generation game.

DigitalFoundry upped their production value with Rockstar.

rockstar games : looks worse in trailer than actual game

Horizon Zero Dawn was the first game to make me truly notice what this generation could do for consoles. However it’s Red Dead Redemption 2 that made me notice what happens when you put legit technological wizards in front of a computer and ask them to make a game. Sure, Uncharted 4 and God of War are able to pull off some amazing feats in graphics but in the context of RDR2 being this gigantic Open World, this has to be the best looking game I have ever seen. Well done Rockstar!

What sort of wizardry is this? This is mind blowing.

Lighting looks fantastic, and it doesn't even use ray tracing.

28 minutes of pure graphics porn.

this looks so good im scared how will games look in 10 years wtff

And Bethesda expects me to stop playing THIS! to play fallout 76 for 2 hours.

Screw the reviews, this is the video I've been waiting for!

6:55 Holyshit that lightning!

I still can’t believe how good this game looks almost 3 years later. Arguably still outdoes everything released now, I can’t wait for the next Rockstar game

Lmao when they showed Assassin creed Odyssey and then went back to RDR2 my eyes hurt ,it's kinda hard to believe they are from the same generation ....

Still one of the best looking games in 2022. I love those moments where the weather conditions are juuuust right, like when the clouds are starting to break and letting some sunlight in and you're gifted amazing sun rays and light spilling onto the landscape in little areas.

NATIVE 4k??? what kind of black magic is this.

5:16 this is the most beautiul scenery I´ve seen in a video game.

“Rockstar's stunning technological achievement runs at native 4K on the X, and also delivers the smoothest performance. Bearing in mind just how far Rockstar is pushing current-gen hardware, that's a stunning achievement.”

Its 6am..... ITS A GOOD MORNING

"Rarely seen on CONSOLE games" I think we rarely see stuff like this on any platform.

Still amazed by how good looking this game is. It's photo realistic in so MANY areas, such a believable looking world.

The full fat 4K on X1X!

i think this game still holds up 5 years later, and will likely hold up for a long time. even when new games graphics blow this out of the water, as they eventually will, this still has such a painterly look to it no matter where you are or what direction the camera is facing

Oblivion: "Our horses turn and move realistically, like a real horse!" *12 years later* Red Dead 2: "Our horses balls shrink in cold weather realistically, like a real horse!"

These DF in-depth look videos by John are watched even after decades since they offer so rigorous amount of great detail and the analysis is so comprehensive. Also the presentation is spot on and very well done. Really enjoyed this.

Game looks great, I love the realistic color tones and the lighting effects. Also, it's running full native 4k resolution on Xbox One X. Amazing!

Damn I can only imagine what GTA VI will be like

I still can barely grasp how vast and sprawling this world is, and I'm already about 70 hours into the game. Especially discovering mysteries in so many remote corners of the map makes exploring it even without any proper objective sooo much fun!

4 Years And I Still Can't Get Over How Good This Game looks and plays. Masterpiece.

Did they even mention the HORSE TESTICLES PHYSICS?

This is the best looking game I've ever seen in my life...

GTA 6 is built upon even advance game engine than Red Dead 2 this game is 5 years old and still looks god damn amazing I can't even imagine what GTA 6 will look like.

Man... This game is truly something else... Till this day, no open-world game feels as alive as this one.

Anyone else see a 29 min video and immediately know it’s John doing this one

Hats off to Rockstar, what they have done here is truly impressive and true 4K on the X..Nice :)

I'm always convinced that Rockstar engine programmers have access to some extra hidden processing power wizardry on each console,than the rest of the devs have.

The graphical fidelity of this game is just mind-blowing, especially considering that this is running at native 4K on a console.

It is so good to be here when there are no haters

It's been 4 years and 2 of those we have had new consoles. Nothing comes close to this game. Forbidden west is insane but lacks the subtle beauty in hiw it all comes together.

Respect to the BIGGEST game company....ROCKSTAR GAMES!

Playing this on series x rn, looks incredible still but I’d like a 60fps update

So happy I got the X, absolutely stunning.

Simply the best DF video. Highest graphics fidelity with the best in the business analysis. I often come back to rewatch this and can't believe it's available for free to watch online, it's so professionally done

Just reinstalled Red Dead 2 and was having a blast with it when I remembered Digital Foundry's incredible video from three years ago, discussing all the technical feats. Immediately came here to watch this again and I can only say two things: 1. How this game has aged like fine wine from a technical standpoint - it's a masterpiece in graphical complexity and smooth, robust gameplay which makes me addicted to it like no other game. And 2. How incredibly insightful and detailed the presentation is, in this video - I'm assuming a lot of hard work went into it and it shows. The visuals they've shown here from gameplay are spellbinding. 30 minutes well spend. If there's anyone who's just discovered this game or are about to boot it up after 3 years, I urge you all : Please watch this video and just appreciate the scale of work that went into making this game. And then play to your heart's content. Explore and experience everything the world has to offer. And for heaven's sake don't rush to complete it. Take your time. Take it all in. There won't be a game like this for quite some time. Cheers !

RAGE Engine...oh my gosh,that's awesome

God damn it, AC Odessy looks like a mobile game compare to this...

This is literally the most beautiful game I have EVER seen... literally.

21:11 - I mean c'mon. That's ridiculous detail right there. Wicked!

6:58 whoa that's a full rainbow, all the way. double rainbow oh my god. it's a double rainbow all the way.

A lot of work went into this breakdown, I could tell immediately from the intro. Great job everyone at DF!

The game looks incredible.

When ever i see your contents my jaw goes down seeing how much effort you give.keep it up.

Man, those 100-hour weeks of work have finally paid out...

Amazing video guys such great production and editing. One of the best!

this channel hit me by surprise, really in depth and professional analysis actually 28min that you can watch through

I wrestled with idea of physical media vs digital. Stopped kidding myself last night and went digital on Xbox One X. Happy Red Dead Eve, everyone!

I thought Uncharted 4 was the best looking console game but this might change my mind. RDR2 looks INSANELY GOOD.

This new Cabela's Deer Hunt sure looks good!!!

R* solution to Volumetric lighting in real time is just briliant!, also the SOft shadow part seemed to me just like NVIDIA PCSS

This was an awesome video - DF has become my favorite channel of this type. Thanks for the hard work and God bless you all.

Still the best graphics I have ever seen in an open world game.

This one of the best games I’ve ever seen I might get a Xbox One X just for this game

This game will be treasured for a long time.

I'll never tire of John's tech analysis! Now we just have to wait for PC version of RDR2 to see it in all it's glory!

Awesome video! Always enjoyed this type of videos from you guys! Can't wait for the release on the PC, whenever that comes... :)

11:22 Hey NPC Nice ARM!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was really looking forward to the DF review of RDR2. You succeeded!

This is my favorite DF video.. John killed it with this one.. 👍🏻👍🏻

By far my personal fav game since 2018. Love this game to this very day which I find myself missing from time to time which lures me to play it on PC for maximum pleasure. It’s good too on one x but I just MUCH prefer the PC experience now days since it supports a very vibrant modding community that breathes extra life to this already masterpiece of a game. Excellent tech analysis, most I knew already but stating the obvious just makes it more that relevant imo. I particularly like the level of verbal sophistication and choice of words during the presentation 👌🏼 It matches perfectly with the level of love and dedication the developers clearly put into this game. That and the fact that it practically covered everything one can hope for. Well done sir! 👍🏼

Man. Although I have a PS4 pro, this might be a system seller for the One X. I’m a bit torn right now. I might break down and grab an X....

Wow, I almost forgot I was watching console gameplay. This is awesome!

Man this game is truly remarkable in so many ways. If I had to choose one key component that really stands out it would have to be the volumetric clouds. They did such a fantastic job with them and it's by far the most selling point to creating a believable environment. I often find myself just standing at the top of a mountain and looking down over the clouds to the environment below, you can see the light shafts casting around it's insane.

I love how the bushes move when the horse passes near them

I'm glad I worked a night shift and now home to see this!

Amazing work, John!

Been patiently waiting for the PC release... Nov 5th! I'm gonna probably lose my mind at how damn awesome this game is, as I have yet to play it.

other devs still releasing trash in 2023 and can't even get anywhere near to this

Superb work on the game and superb video too. My brother is a great fan of this game, so I'll be playing it soon when he buys it 😁

After playing RDR 2 on PC for 4 days straight, I couldnt believe my eyes. Its too beautiful to look at. And this video is a great analysis.

top tier analysis, nice work john !

Tears of joy! This is the game I've waited for my whole life!

*West Virginia, mountain momma, take me home, country roads*

16:07 that hot air balloon segment though... one of the most beautiful moment in my gaming memory.

Thank you for the hard work. Amazing to listen to!

RDR2 is truly miraculous - playing on XBox 1X with a 4K projector and a 92” screen and 7 speakers around and it’s mesmerizing. Graphics are so stunningly beautiful I’ve had to pause the game so I can take a picture with phone. Thanks DF for explaining some of how R* did this.

*Never been so early to one of these.* Metacritic on xbox one x right now - 99!!!!!!!!!!!!! Edit: it's 98 now, but still high enough to go and get it at midnight tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Some nice drinks, pizza and red dead 2. Man oh man. Happy gaming all!!!!!!🎮📺 🍕 🍻

These are the best visuals for outdoor environments I ever seen. Lighting is top notch.

Editing of this video is top notch

The fps mode looks brilliant as well. I can see streamers getting onto this.

THIS GAME is what I brought my X1X & 4K TV for. We’re in for a treat boys. Big up Rockstar you done us proud.

Please do another tech analysis of the DLSS update!

Yes! the tech analysis and comparison in the same day , you guys cream

JESUS CHRIST!! It looks this GOOD! ON XBOX ONE X!?!?!?!?... ok I only play PC.. So I’ll have to get me an Xbox one X for this. Can’t miss this game

Looks incredible for all console's. But the one x version is perfect at Native 4KHDR!

This video is enough to make me subscribe. Great work.

Those 28 min went by quick. Good video

xb1x best box #100