Red Dead Redemption’s PC port was finally released a couple of days ago, and while the game is running smoothly on Steam Deck with up to 40 FPS, users are reporting even better performance on the Lenovo Legion Go.

Since the game was originally released around 14 years ago, it makes sense that its PC port has relatively tame system requirements; it’s not a full remaster after all. At the minimum, you only need an i5-4670, 8GB RAM, and a good old GTX 960 to run the game. It even takes up 12GB of space, which is practically nothing to what we have become used to.

Legion Go beats the Steam Deck in Red Dead Redemption

A Reddit user reported that his Lenovo Legion Go is running Red Dead Redemption on Linux with 60FPS @ 1200p, locked with ultra quality, FSR3 enabled on quality preset, and shadows on high. On the other hand, their Nintendo Switch is running the game at 30FPS locked. Other Legion Go players are also reporting a smooth gaming experience, not to forget the bigger screen and higher 2560 x 1600 resolution of the Legion Go, which makes the game more immersive.

Considering the rival Steam Deck doesn’t boast a CPU as powerful as the Go, it makes sense to see the handheld easily come out on top (the same goes for the ROG Ally). And the Windows handheld goes even further with the help of driver-level frame generation: AFMF 2.

AFMF 2 takes Red Dead Redemption to triple digits on the Legion Go

On top of solid performance natively, the Legion Go also has another trick up its sleeves, the handheld supports AMD's Fluid Motion Frames 2 (AFMF 2). As a result, the Legion Go can generate additional frames by using Artificial Intelligence, all while maintaining the game’s visual quality. You should see similar results on other Windows handhelds like the ROG Ally.

Youtuber T-Pen tested Red Dead Redemption on his Legion Go with AFMF 2 enabled, and he averaged at around 119FPS on high settings. This is an exceptionally good number for a gaming device that you can take with you anywhere.

Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch need to catch up

Red Dead Redemption’s PC port is optimized very well, and its low system requirements also suggest that you don’t need a heavy-duty machine to enjoy this game. Yet, Steam Deck and Nintendo Switch are far from delivering the kind of performance the Lenovo Legion Go offers.

Sure, we can cut them some slack, especially for Switch, as it is running on 7-year-old hardware, but it is time we see a Nintendo Switch 2 to level the playing field. On the flip side, Valve is waiting for a generational leap before it commits to a Steam Deck 2.

About the Author

Sameed Hussain

Sameed is a writer specializing is tech & hardware.