Perfect Dark reboot finally gets a new trailer after years of silence

By George Yang June 9, 2024 11:14AM

Perfect Dark's protagonist, Joanna Dark. — The Initiative

During the June 2024 Xbox Games Showcase, The Initiative and Crystal Dynamics showed a new gameplay trailer for the Perfect Dark reboot. There’s no release date for it yet, but it will launch on PC and Xbox Series X/S, as well as Xbox Game Pass.

The trailer starts off with Joanna Dark in a wingsuit jumping off a ship and landing in a futuristic Cairo. Joanna is being voiced by Alix Regan, and her likeness is provided by Elissa Bibaud. The world is affected by something called “The Cascade,” where the planet suffered from a series of environmental disasters, and most places are inhospitable to human life.

Perfect Dark - Gameplay Reveal - Xbox Games Showcase 2024

The trailer shows a bit of first-person combat too, with Joanna strategically targeting enemy limbs with her close-quarters combat as well as taking them out with her pistol. It also appears that her pistol has a variety of methods of taking out enemies non-lethally, including shock and smoke rounds. The trailer ends with Joanna doubling down in pain and her vision staggered. Her point of view then transitions to a dark chamber with some sort of nebulous orb, perhaps implying a sinister dark secret.

The Perfect Dark reboot was announced back at The Game Awards 2020, but since then, there have been no other updates until now. The Initiative is the primary developer on the game, but Crystal Dynamics became a co-development partner in 2021. A recent report last year said that the game had some trouble development and is still a few years away. When Crystal Dynamics was sold to Embracer Group last year, the studio confirmed that the transaction would not affect Perfect Dark‘s development.

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George Yang is a freelance games writer for Digital Trends. He has written for places such as IGN, GameSpot, The Washington…

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