I had less than zero expectations for the Perfect Dark reboot, but it looks like the 2020s answer to Deus Ex I've been waiting for

Joana Dark close up with sky in background
(Image credit: Microsoft)

Microsoft's long-simmering Perfect Dark reboot has been in the works for so long, with such a fraught development history, I'd basically written the whole thing off. But in a first look gameplay trailer at today's Xbox Games Showcase, it looked bafflingly good, a cyberpunk FPS, if not a full-on immersive sim that could fill the Deus Ex-shaped hole in my heart.

The trailer starts with Joana Dark halo jumping into some kind of advanced arcology—later revealed to be Cairo in Egypt—with a force field protecting it from climate change-driven sandstorms raging outside. So far, it's cool but just a cutscene—however we quickly dive into some exciting gameplay.

Perfect Dark - Gameplay Reveal - Xbox Games Showcase 2024 - YouTube Perfect Dark - Gameplay Reveal - Xbox Games Showcase 2024 - YouTube
Watch On

And hoo boy there's a lot to love here. It opens with some non-combat exploration that seriously piqued my interest—this could easily be something linear or restrictive, but Perfect Dark looks like the kind of immersive sim-adjacent exploration and social stealth I live for. Even if it isn't quite all that, I'd be more than happy if Perfect Dark was a more open-ended, sometimes-sneaky shooter along the lines of MachineGames' Wolfenstein reboot.

After some strolling about the gorgeous city, we see Dark drop into some detective vision and sneak a recording of a guard to get past a voice-locked door before going crouch-walk-sneaky mode in a restricted area. She even breaks into some Dishonored-adjacent first-person parkour to clamber onto the roofs and balconies and break into her target's hidey hole.

Things then get loud, with Dark moving into a shooter section that shows off a selection of super-spy gadgets and moves, including electro-darts, takedowns, and an impressive volumetric smokescreen. Both the combat and sneaking look like they could be tight, though both are going to depend on the kind of level design quality that's hard to show off in a trailer. But with all this spycraft and style, Perfect Dark looks like it could be the 2020s triple-A Deus Ex I didn't think I'd get with Eidos Montreal's Embracer-related troubles, and the Perfect Dark reboot has gone from "who care" to "hotly anticipated" in my book.

It's all the more surprising because, since getting announced in 2020, Perfect Dark has seen the departure of its project director, as well as Tomb Raider studio Crystal Dynamics brought in to assist The Initiative on development. Those aren't good signs, but whatever difficulties happened behind the scenes, Perfect Dark is looking like it could be something special when it finally releases, though we do not yet have a window for that.

Associate Editor

Ted has been thinking about PC games and bothering anyone who would listen with his thoughts on them ever since he booted up his sister's copy of Neverwinter Nights on the family computer. He is obsessed with all things CRPG and CRPG-adjacent, but has also covered esports, modding, and rare game collecting. When he's not playing or writing about games, you can find Ted lifting weights on his back porch.

Read more
A cybernetic woman holds a silenced pistol
The cyberpunk immersive sim I've been itching to play finally has a release date
Skin Deep official key art, featuring Nina Pasadena clutching a pistol like an action hero in a movie poster style collage image with sci-fi trappings around her
Immersive sci-fi FPS Skin Deep feels like Prey by way of Looney Tunes
A cybernetic woman holds a silenced pistol
I became a domestic terrorist to steal a lightbulb in the best immersive sim I've played this Steam Next Fest—and it isn't even a Next Fest demo
Exodus trailer still - our intrepid hero throwing a little side-eye
Exodus, the new game being led by BioWare veteran James Ohlen, finally reveals some gameplay, and boy it sure looks like Mass Effect
A woman holding a gun in a sci-fi setting
'It's like Die Hard but with more comedy': Immersive FPS Skin Deep has talking cats, banana traps, and enemies you can disable by making them sneeze
Midair neon jetpack combat between a robot and an android lady
Metal Eden is a movement-shooter that looks like cyberpunk Doom Eternal
Latest in FPS
spectre divide
Spectre Divide and its studio are shutting down after just six months: 'The industry is in a tough spot right now'
Masked Counter-Terrorist in helmet in forefront with sunglasses and beret-wearing CT in background touching headset
There's hope yet for Classic Offensive after its Steam rejection: The team behind the Counter-Strike 1.6 revival mod is in touch with Valve about its 'concerns'
Destiny 2 Rite of the Nine: The Emissary, massive, ominously standing at the edge of a water basin.
Oops! Bungie rolled out Destiny 2's Rite of the Nine event three weeks early, and new loot is already dropping
A soldier looks out over the Verdansk map, as a single tear rolls down his cheek.
The original Verdansk map is returning to Call of Duty: Warzone, to celebrate which we get a soldier crying to Nat King Cole
FragPunk codes - A close-up shot of a mercenary wearing a mask with glowing eyes.
All FragPunk codes and how to redeem them
An evil-looking demon with red eyes and horns
You can theoretically beat Doom: The Dark Ages without using a gun, but 'You'd have a hard time, that's for sure,' says the game's director
Latest in News
spectre divide
Spectre Divide and its studio are shutting down after just six months: 'The industry is in a tough spot right now'
Naoe looking at the wrist blade in Assassin's Creed Shadows
Ubisoft backflips, says Assassin's Creed Shadows will support Steam Deck at launch, but I doubt I'll actually want to play it there
Henry from KCD2 wearing nice outfits
'Diversify your fashion endgame' with this Kingdom Come: Deliverance 2 mod that gives Henry fly new gambesons, pourpoints, and caftans
Masked Counter-Terrorist in helmet in forefront with sunglasses and beret-wearing CT in background touching headset
There's hope yet for Classic Offensive after its Steam rejection: The team behind the Counter-Strike 1.6 revival mod is in touch with Valve about its 'concerns'
Recently appointed Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan.
Here comes Intel's new CEO: a semiconductor veteran that won the same prestigious award as Jensen Huang and Lisa Su
BURBANK, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 15: Protestors attend the SAG-AFTRA Video Game Strike Picket on August 15, 2024 in Burbank, California. (Photo by Lila Seeley/Getty Images)
8 months into their strike, videogame voice actors say the industry's latest proposal is 'filled with alarming loopholes that will leave our members vulnerable to AI abuse'