Announced back in December 2020 during The Game Awards, Perfect Dark is a reboot of the beloved 2000 Rare-developed first-person shooter. Though it's been in development for a while and has allegedly run into a few issues like creatives clashing on some ideas, the new Perfect Dark trailer shown at the Xbox Showcase paints a much more positive picture.

A surprisingly lengthy trailer that showcased plenty of gameplay, Perfect Dark's 2024 Xbox Showcase reveal showed an abridged version of one of the game's missions. Tasked with stopping the world's most-wanted criminal mastermind, Joanna Dark must sneak her way into a hidden compound, take out a few guards along the way, and make a daring escape. Among the action, players got a few brief glimpses of Perfect Dark's stealth features, and they look as though they're shaping up nicely.

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Every Stealth Feature Confirmed for Perfect Dark So Far

Perfect Dark's Gadgets Allow Players to Get the Upper Hand in Stealth

As the Perfect Dark reveal trailer switches from its stunning cinematic opening to its real-time, in-engine gameplay footage, fans get their first look at just one of Joanna Dark's special high-tech spy gadgets. While speaking with her mission handler, Dark activates an optic lens that scans the area around her, highlighting the auras of enemies, friendlies, and special targets, and allowing her to see through walls and environmental objects.

After spotting a target of particular interest, Joanna Dark switches off her optical lens and swaps to a handheld datapad/scanner. This device will give players a general rundown of the target they're highlighting, such as their current hostility and armed status. This datapad can also be used to record the enemy's voice, which is then used to gain access to the mission objective. The recorded voice is then used to distract a guard, allowing Dark to sneak past him. If this trailer is any indication, it seems as though Perfect Dark is going to encourage players to find alternate, more stealthy routes to their objective that offer a non-lethal approach.

With the compound now in sight, Joanna Dark gets to flex the game's Mirror's Edge-like parkour mechanics, climbing drain pipes, rebounding off walls, and sliding under obstacles. Though it wasn't shown directly in this gameplay reveal trailer, it seems likely that Perfect Dark will allow players to use the game's parkour mechanics to sneak past enemies from above.

When Joanna Dark's mission goes south, enemies are alerted to her position and storm the compound. After taking down a guard with hand-to-hand combat, Dark fires some kind of electrical projectile from her pistol at an approaching guard, tasering him and rendering him unconscious. Players will likely be able to use this projectile infrequently to stun guards during Perfect Dark's stealth sequences.

Joanna Dark Can Also Take a More Lethal Approach

Perfect Dark looks to be offering the ideal spy fantasy, and while that definitely includes stealth, it also includes plenty of action. The recent Perfect Dark trailer gave fans a brief tease of that action, showing protagonist Joanna Dark sliding into enemies, countering melee attacks, and performing a few daring feats of gun fu acrobatics with her trusty pistol. While Perfect Dark will likely encourage players to use stealth as much as possible, it doesn't seem like being spotted will mean the end of Joanna Dark's journey.

Perfect Dark (2025)

The Initiative's Perfect Dark sees the return of secret agent Joanna Dark, as she goes on an action-packed journey to hunt down Daniel Carrington. The story-driven FPS game is coming to PC and Xbox consoles.

Franchise

Perfect Dark

Platform(s)

PC , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S

Developer(s)

The Initiative

Publisher(s)

Xbox Game Studios

Genre(s)

FPS , Adventure

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