The Perfect Dark reboot suddenly resurfaces, and now somehow looks like a Deus Ex game with "elements of first-person shooters, immersive sims, and stealth-action"

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Agent Joanna Dark looks quite different after going MIA for two decades

First-person shot of Joanna Dark shooting enemies in the Perfect Dark reboot trailer.
(Image credit: Xbox Game Studios)

The Perfect Dark reboot has resurfaced after its 2020 announcement, and it now somehow looks like an immersive sim game à la Deus Ex.

Agent Joanna Dark returns in the game's latest trailer, which just debuted at the Xbox Games Showcase 2024. The mission rundown has Joanna infiltrating a futuristic (and blindingly bright) Garden City, where she parkours across rooftops, bruises some security guards, sneaks through alleyways, and as I'd hoped, uses all sorts of high-tech gadgets. Hello, deepfake voice toy.

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The original two Perfect Dark games were more straightforward first-person shooters with some funky guns attached, as original developer Rareware built off of its Goldeneye 007 success. This new Perfect Dark is being made by the Xbox-owned The Initiative, with Tomb Raider reboot developers Crystal Dynamics supporting them, potentially explaining its shifting genres. "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," an Xbox Wire blog reveals.

While Nu Perfect Dark is seemingly going down the immersive sim route with wide open levels and plenty of flexibility in how you approach challenges, the team supposedly "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."

"Earth has been struck by a series of disasters, bringing ecosystems around the world to the verge of collapse," the trailer's description reads. "In this first look at gameplay, follow agent Joanna Dark as she hunts down the world's most wanted criminal, Daniel Carrington, to uncover the mysteries that threaten the lives of millions."

There's no clue as to when Perfect Dark will launch, but it'll come to Xbox Series X|S, PC, and Game Pass at some point.

See everything else announced at the Xbox Games Showcase for an overview of all the games and reveals.

Kaan Serin
Freelance contributor

Kaan freelances for various websites including Rock Paper Shotgun, Eurogamer, and this one, Gamesradar. He particularly enjoys writing about spooky indies, throwback RPGs, and anything that's vaguely silly. Also has an English Literature and Film Studies degree that he'll soon forget.