Perfect Dark: Answering the Big Questions from its Incredible First Gameplay Trailer - Xbox Wire (2024)

Today, at Xbox Games Showcase, we got our first look at gameplay from Perfect Dark, a reboot of the classic secret agent series. The fascinating new trailer gave us hints to secret agent Joanna Dark’s mission, showed us her descent into the game’s near-future Cairo setting, and then gave us a tantalising glimpse of the all-new secret agent-inspired gameplay.

Of course, when you’re given a look at such a highly anticipated game, you’re always going to want to ask more questions – and thankfully I was able to go straight to the source to get more details from members of the development team. The Initiative is co-developing Perfect Dark with Crystal Dynamics and other partners that make up Team Perfect Dark. Let’s take a deeper look and answer some of those burning questions.

What Kind of Game Is This?

Perfect Dark is a first-person secret agent thriller in a near-future world. With the blessing of the original Perfect Dark studio, Rare (not to mention some of the leads from the original titles), Team Perfect Dark has pulled inspiration from elements of the first two games, but crafted an entirely new story and universe around them for this reboot.

For previous fans and new players alike, the new game offers a fresh take on the secret agent experience, and is a great opportunity to jump into the world and character. Though fans will have moments that resonate with the history and memories of the original games, no prior knowledge is needed in this new experience.

Perfect Dark: Answering the Big Questions from its Incredible First Gameplay Trailer - Xbox Wire (1)

At the widest level, Perfect Dark will be a single-player experience, with a set of missions – but with choices offered in how you complete those missions. Looking at the trailer, it’s clear that traversal and gadgets are a huge part of this – we see new parkour abilities used throughout, both for movement and combat. The developers tell me that the focus was on creating an intuitive movement system, which will let players find interesting ways to tackle their objectives. Add to that a combat system that allows for both melee and gunplay, stealth mechanics, and liberal use of gadgets, and Perfect Dark is a game that will present players with an objective, but let them figure out how they want to achieve it.

Team Perfect Dark doesn’t want this to feel like any one genre – it takes in elements of first-person shooters, immersive sims, and stealth-action, but blends them into a seamless whole. The goal is to offer a true secret agent fantasy – and letting players use their various tools and abilities in the way they want is key to this.

Who is Joanna Dark?

Perfect Dark: Answering the Big Questions from its Incredible First Gameplay Trailer - Xbox Wire (2)

In this reboot, Joanna (voiced by Alix Wilton Regan with Elissa Bibaud lending visual likeness) is an agent for dataDyne, with a deep personal connection to what’s happening to her world. In this case, the title Perfect Dark is more aspirational – this Joanna won’t be perfect, but she’s striving to be. She’ll make mistakes in this journey, and learn from those experiences. Learning who this Joanna is proves to be just as compelling as the story itself.

Where Is the Game Set?

Perfect Dark: Answering the Big Questions from its Incredible First Gameplay Trailer - Xbox Wire (3)

Perfect Dark’s near-future world has been impacted by what’s known as “The Cascade,” in which the planet has suffered from a series of environmental disasters, rendering entire regions inhospitable to human life. In the wake of the disaster, a hypercorporation known as Core Mantis steps in to create a solution known as The GEN Network, and deploys it in Cairo – restoring ecological balance and creating a freshly walled city, insulated from the hostile environment outside to become a center for technological innovation.

In its wake, other hypercorporations step in to continue that regeneration – but, as you might expect, not all is as it seems, and their motives may be less altruistic than they appear. It is key that the setting communicates a hopeful future, seeing a world with both destruction and restoration, the bleakness of the past countered with a sense of promise.

It’s into Cairo that Joanna enters. The setting was chosen to offer a counterpoint to other secret agent stories, and media at large – ancient Egypt and modern Egypt have been seen by many, but a near-future take on the country is truly something new. Cairo itself allows for a balance of deeply old and startlingly new that suits the speculative fiction at the heart of Perfect Dark.

What’s Joanna’s Mission in the Trailer?

Perfect Dark: Answering the Big Questions from its Incredible First Gameplay Trailer - Xbox Wire (4)

Joanna is being sent into Cairo to find and apprehend Daniel Carrington, and we see her enter a district called Garden City (and an area of Cairo in real life, too). In Perfect Dark, this is a more affluent and cosmopolitan area of the city, and Core Mantis has selected it to be revitalized by its new eco-technological processes.

We see Joanna find a hideout used by Carrington, who infiltrates Joanna’s AR system and begins to expose more information, and even more questions around the bigger mysteries in Cairo. Joanna will need to learn who can be trusted, and who might be working against her own goals, and Carrington’s role will be a major part of that.

What Can We Use Gadgets For?

Perfect Dark: Answering the Big Questions from its Incredible First Gameplay Trailer - Xbox Wire (5)

Gadgets are a pillar of the secret agent genre. In the trailer, we get a tease of Joanna using a gadget to analyse NPC voices and create vocal “deepfakes” to trick security systems or impersonate other characters, as well as create distractions.

Gadgets can be used for misdirection and manipulation, but we also see that Joanna can use a tool to scan an NPC and learn details about them – it wouldn’t be a secret agent story without some fieldwork, and the developers tell me that parsing the world, around you will be a key part of understanding how to tackle your objectives.

How Does Combat Work?

Perfect Dark: Answering the Big Questions from its Incredible First Gameplay Trailer - Xbox Wire (6)

With this first look at combat, it’s clear this is another aspect of player choice. In the trailer we see lethal and non-lethal weaponry, close-quarters combat, abilities that allow you to take down multiple enemies at once, and more. We can also go loud or go quiet, offering a risk-reward for both methods. Team Perfect Dark wants to create a “symphony” of mechanics, merging traversal, close-quarters-combat, gunplay, unlockable abilities, environmental elements, and gadgets into a unified experience for players.

Find out more about Perfect Dark here.

Perfect Dark: Answering the Big Questions from its Incredible First Gameplay Trailer - Xbox Wire (2024)

FAQs

Do you need an expansion pack for Perfect Dark? ›

Although the Expansion Pak is required to access the game's campaign and most of the multiplayer features, a limited subset of deathmatch options are available without the device—around 35% of the game is playable without an Expansion Pak, as estimated on the game's instruction booklet.

Is Perfect Dark on Xbox 360? ›

Perfect Dark was developed over a course of nearly a year and its game engine was completely re-written from scratch to support several Xbox 360 features. Therefore, although the game plays exactly the same as the original, the code and renderer is different. The game received generally favorable reviews.

Where can I play Perfect Dark? ›

Play Perfect Dark | Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta) on Xbox.com.

How many missions are there in Perfect Dark? ›

The game features a single-player mode consisting of seventeen missions in which the player assumes the role of special agent Joanna Dark, an operative for the fictional Carrington Institute, as she attempts to foil a conspiracy by rival corporation dataDyne.

What does the DLC pack do? ›

What is DLC? DLC, or downloadable content, refers to additional content gamers download for video games after their initial release. This content may include new levels, characters, weapons, or skins.

Why is it called Perfect Dark? ›

The word "Dark" was chosen for its association with the game's bleak focus on killing.

Will Perfect Dark be Xbox exclusive? ›

Exclusive Xbox games shown included female-fronted spy shooter Perfect Dark – a series that began on the Nintendo 64 in 2000 – which is being revived by studios Crystal Dynamics and The Initiative, and has distinct echoes of Dishonored and Deus Ex in its first-person stealth and combat – and State of Decay 3, a co-op- ...

Is Perfect Dark on Xbox Game Pass? ›

The game will also be available for Xbox Game Pass subscribers. The Initiative showcased the first gameplay trailer for Perfect Dark at the Xbox Games Showcase on June 9, 2024.

Is Perfect Dark coming back? ›

Perfect Dark is getting rebooted and it's set in a near-future Cairo. By Tom Warren, a senior editor and author of Notepad, who has been covering all things Microsoft, PC, and tech for over 20 years.

What consoles is Perfect Dark on? ›

Perfect Dark (series)
Perfect Dark
Developer(s)Rare (2000–2005) 4J Studios (2010) The Initiative Crystal Dynamics
Publisher(s)Rare (2000) Xbox Game Studios (2005–present)
Platform(s)Nintendo 64 Game Boy Color Xbox 360 Windows Xbox Series X/S Nintendo Switch
First releasePerfect Dark (N64) 22 May 2000
3 more rows

What is the hardest level in Perfect Dark? ›

As for the hardest level, overall it would be a tie between War and Maian SOS. You have a horror movie called Alien ... No wonder you keep getting invaded. I found Attack Ship and Maian SOS to be the most difficult, on the N64 at least.

Why is Perfect Dark rated M? ›

Because there are lots of blood and some violence. It is also the same predecessor as the N64 version before. And in the ending credits, they mention something about "visual orgasms". And in the ending credits, they mention something about "visual orgasms".

Do Perfect Dark credits end? ›

After the credits finish a line reads "Perfect Dark is Forever". After that the words Perfect Dark move across the screen to music and will not end unless the player presses a button.

Does Perfect Dark need a controller Pak? ›

The Controller Pak wasn't required for all games. Some, such as Super Mario 64 using memory in the game cartridge for saves. Other games, like Turok, had no cartridge memory and entirely relied on the Controller Pak. And then others, like Perfect Dark, could use both cartridge memory or a Controller Pak.

Can you play Sims without expansion packs? ›

You can play the 'base game' without any expansions, which includes a great deal of content and everything you 'need' to play the game.

Is Perfect Dark a sequel to GoldenEye? ›

Perfect Dark is GoldenEye 007's unofficial sequel. It was developed, at least in the beginning, by the same team and was released in 2000. It runs on an advanced version of GoldenEye 007's engine, which has support for many new features, such as elevators and vehicles that can attack the player.

Do you need expansion packs for Destiny 2? ›

You'll want to have every DLC because you will still be unable to play the weekly Nightfall/ Raid/ Dungeon if they are from a DLC you do not own.

Top Articles
Latest Posts
Recommended Articles
Article information

Author: Rob Wisoky

Last Updated:

Views: 6292

Rating: 4.8 / 5 (68 voted)

Reviews: 91% of readers found this page helpful

Author information

Name: Rob Wisoky

Birthday: 1994-09-30

Address: 5789 Michel Vista, West Domenic, OR 80464-9452

Phone: +97313824072371

Job: Education Orchestrator

Hobby: Lockpicking, Crocheting, Baton twirling, Video gaming, Jogging, Whittling, Model building

Introduction: My name is Rob Wisoky, I am a smiling, helpful, encouraging, zealous, energetic, faithful, fantastic person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.