Ever since its release on the Nintendo 64 in 2000, Perfect Dark has been chiefly made famous because of what came before it: Goldeneye 007. That doesn’t mean it has no identity; Joanna Dark is a great female protagonist, and when you consider the sheer volume of first-person shooters coming out during that era, it still does a pretty good job of standing on its own. But does it hold up enough today for you to boot it up all these years later? Well, let’s discuss.
As previously mentioned, Perfect Dark is a first-person shooter in which you explore many similar-looking areas while struggling to get used to the tank controls and arguably outdated Doom–style game design from the late 90s. Sadly, many games from this era have been surpassed by the titles that succeeded them. For example, Doom 2016 ratcheted up the intensity and eliminated the seemingly endless feelings of being lost found in its predecessors. Does this mean the previous titles are now obsolete? No, not exactly, because these two styles are very different, and some people might like one better than the other.
But the problem with Perfect Dark is there was no follow-up, so we’re stuck with its antiquated design. However, it does have some positives. The story and sound design are both really good, and yeah, despite what was mentioned before, there is still something fun about exploring various environments just to find a very specific item so you can get to the next one. Plus, the graphics also hold up surprisingly well for their age, and if you can play the Xbox 360 version via Rare Replay, they’ll look even better.
This story concerns aliens, the year 2023, and the Pacific Ocean. Set in 2023, it’s pretty much just your standard espionage plot, but it’s fun. If you disregard the substandard quality of the voice lines, the acting is decent, and you can tell the actors had fun with this game. The acting for Joanna herself is some of the best, and Eveline Fisher did an excellent job voicing her.
Oh, and there’s multiplayer, too, which is nice, even though it’s just Goldeneye again. If you’re playing on original hardware, that framerate is going to tank really hard. To be perfectly honest, Perfect Dark was an achievement and a half for its time, but you have much better options these days. So play it for the history aspect if you’re curious about where your favourite games came from, but you’re suggested to just steer clear for the most part. However, you can still squeeze some enjoyment out of it. If you’re playing with a mouse and keyboard, that is.