Shout out to Red Dead Redemption’s PC requirements for allowing me to finally meet the recommended specs for something

It’s always vaguely reassuring to see your own card mentioned by name in the recommended specs for a new release – even if that new release is just a slightly pomaded-up version of 14-year-old open world console game Red Dead Redemption. I could write a laborious metaphor about someone coming looking for me in a saloon using whatever that literary technique that Irvine Welsh does is called where you spell out the accents, but I won’t bother. I simply do not have another tarnation in me. Perhaps a root. Don’t even talk to me about a toot. Here’s the specs, as per the Steam page.

Minimum:

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS: Windows 10 64-Bit
• Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-4670 / AMD FX-9590
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 960 / AMD Radeon R7 360
• DirectX: Version 12
• Storage: 12 GB available space
• Sound Card: Direct X Compatible

Recommended:

• Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system
• OS: Windows 10 64-Bit
• Processor: Intel® Core™ i5-8500 / AMD Ryzen 5 3500X
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: NVIDIA RTX 2070 / AMD RX 5700 XT
• DirectX: Version 12
• Storage: 12 GB available space
• Sound Card: Direct X Compatible
• Additional Notes: SSD recommended

The game itself arrives on Steam on the 29th of October, clearly angling for that Halloween real estate with its excellent expansion Undead Nightmare, which comes as part of the bundle. I don’t have a fun compilation video of bugs to share with you like Edwin did, although I do have the second best thing: I learned on a website full of cowboy slang that “acknowledge the corn” means to “admit the truth, to confess a lie, or acknowledge an obvious personal shortcoming.” I’m not even going to verify this, because I want it to be true quite badly.

Not sure why I wrote ‘verify’ there like I’ve got loads of cowboy mates I can ask.

If you’re yet to play the original RDR, it’s a breezier, less self-serious take on the Old West than its (also very good) sequel. I’m personally quite interested to see how it holds up, but I’ve got some good memories with it – particularly Undead Nightmare, which uses an evolving territory control mechanic that felt quite novel at the time.