Red Dead Redemption - Reception

Red Dead Redemption received universal critical acclaim, with much praise given to the presentation of the open world, story, and soundtrack. Aggregate scores were high, with a score of 95/100 on both platforms at Metacritic. On GameRankings, it is the seventh best rated Xbox 360 game of all time, having an aggregate of 94.18% based on 67 reviews and the fifth best rated PlayStation 3 game of all time with a score of 94.67% based on 48 reviews. Commercially, the game has also been very successful. According to an August 2011 report, the game had shipped over 11 million copies, 2 million of which were retail units of Red Dead Redemption: Undead Nightmare. By September 2011, Red Dead Redemption had sold over 12.5 million units. As of February 2012, the Red Dead franchise (including Red Dead Revolver, Red Dead Redemption, and Undead Nightmare) has sold over 13 million units worldwide.

Many critics praised the landscape, environment and graphics of Red Dead Redemption. Erik Brudvig of IGN lauded the environmental details, noting the player can even scare a flock of birds from the bushes as they ride past. He also noted that the game's dynamic events, weather and ambient sounds provide a rich experience for players. He summarized by stating "you can also expect a fantastic game that offers the Western experience we've all been waiting for." IGN ranked the game third on their list of best games of its generation. Game Informer called the scenery "breathtaking", and the cinematic cutscenes "vastly improved" over Grand Theft Auto IV, and named it the "best-looking Rockstar game to date".

The music, sound and voice acting in the game was also widely praised and spoken about. It won the Best Original Music and Best Voice Acting awards from GameSpot. When talking about the sound design of Red Dead Redemption, Game Informer said "From pitch-perfect gunshots to the daunting rumble of prairie thunderstorms, the remarkable attention to audio detail brings the world to life".

Critics and reviewers spoke about the successful use of the game engine, and made similarities of the controls and physics to the Grand Theft Auto series. Game Informer said that Rockstar " the Grand Theft Auto gameplay template onto a Wild West setting". Good Game reviewer Stephanie Bendixsen said that " really looked at what people liked and didn't like in their game design from, and included it here". Eurogamer's Simon Parkin felt Red Dead Redemption successfully "re-clothes" the Grand Theft Auto framework in an "exciting, distinct and expertly realised scenario".

The multiplayer aspect of Red Dead Redemption received mixed commentary from critics. GamePro's Will Herring praised the variety of multiplayer modes and the open gameplay, but noted that it put more responsibility on the players for keeping the game interesting. Justin Calvert of GameSpot also gave high marks for the game's variety of mulitplayer modes, but felt that there was a lack in customization options for players. In a more critical view of mulitplayer, Scott Sharkey of 1UP.com noted that games can suffer from griefing due to the open nature of mulitplayer gameplay. He also criticized the leveling and unlocking aspects, noting that "The first few minutes spent as a toothless miner riding a balky mule can be pretty humiliating." G4TV's Jake Gaskill echoed this sentiment. He noted that the game often respawns players in a similar location to their death, which allows the killing player to repeatedly grief the other player.