Red Dead Redemption is coming to Nintendo Switch and already causing backlash

News of a stone-cold classic galloping onto modern consoles would normally be a cause of celebration for gamers, but not everyone is thrilled about the re-release of Red Dead Redemption.

Moments after the epic Western game was announced for Nintendo Switch and PS4 on Monday, some disgruntled players began calling for a boycott.

Summing up the mood among disappointed fans, a Reddit post titled “Do not buy Red Dead Redemption” currently has more than 10,000 favourable votes and over 1,600 comments.

Some people are describing the game as a “lazy port” in reference to it being seemingly identical to the original release from 2010.

Back then, Red Dead Redemption was crowned as a masterpiece of revisionist Western storytelling. The game received plaudits for its cinematic visuals, open-world environment, and rich character-driven narrative.

Set amid the American frontier, Red Dead Redemption tells the brutal story of former outlaw John Marston’s reluctant transformation into a hired gun. The game will come bundled with its Undead Nightmare spinoff on Switch, PS4 and PS5 on August 17, with a physical version to follow on October 12.

More than 13 years after its release, it seems players were hoping for a meatier upgrade this time around. Naysayers have been quick to decry the new version’s apparent lack of graphical and visual enhancements. The decision to exclude the original game’s multiplayer mode is also enraging fans.

In addition, players have warned that the game isn’t being developed by Rockstar Games, the iconic studio behind the Red Dead and GTA franchises. Instead, UK developer Double Eleven is handling the new release. The independent studio was formed by two former Rockstar Leeds programmers and is known for games like LittleBigPlanet and Minecraft Dungeons.

But there could be more to the backlash than mere disenchantment with the re-release.

Fans of the Western series were already displeased with what they perceived as Rockstar’s mismanagement of Red Dead Online, the multiplayer version of Red Dead Redemption 2. Critics claimed the stagnant game was being ignored in favour of Rockstar’s ever-evolving cash cow, GTA Online.

Then, there were the rumours surrounding a remastered version of the original Red Dead Redemption, with fans holding out hope for a new game built from the ground up for new consoles. But that clearly didn’t play out as some had predicted.

The chaotic launch of Rockstar’s remastered GTA Trilogy — which arrived with a slew of bugs that had to be patched with subsequent updates — also left a bad taste in the mouths of some gamers.

All told, Rockstar appears to be having a rough time of it lately. Let’s hope GTA 6 can steady the ship. No pressure, folks.