Perfect Dark looks way better than I was expecting it to, and I'm excited to see how Crystal Dynamics gives Joanna the Lara Croft treatment

Jun. 19, 2024

Opinion | Joanna Dark’s new adventure continues CD’s flair for bringing classic video game heroines to modern audiences

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Gadgets, guns, and a badass leading lady. That’s whatPerfect Darklooks to be offering up, and I am more than happy to take the bait. Last week’s gameplay reveal proved aSummer Game Festhighlight for me, and given all the less-than-promising rumors I’d been hearing of the game’s supposedly “rough” state (viaGiant Bombcast) throughout its lengthy development, Perfect Dark looking like an all-out superspy fantasy is not something I’d had in mind.

Its first-person gunplay looks slick and sharp, the dynamic movement akin to Dishonored levels of acrobatic parkour goodness, but I was most excited to get a closer look at Joanna Dark herself. I’ll admit that both she and Lara Croft have always occupied a similar corner of my brain; they’re action heroines from some of the most popular games of the ’90s and early ’00s, but aside from that, I draw a blank. Never being able to gel with something as cool as Tomb Raider has always been a sore spot for me, so I’m excited to get stuck into Perfect Dark’s FPS action in a revamped version of what I’m told was an utterly awesome N64 game.

Rise and fall of the tomb failure

Here’s how GR+ ranks thebest Tomb Raider gamesever.

Here’s the thing about Lara Croft: she’s awesome, but I can’t stand to play as her in video games. I do recall gleefully watching my brother lock her butler in the freezer back in the halcyon days of 1999 – at least, as gleefully as any four-year old child could have been about seeing elder abuse on the PS1– but a glaring problem would arise much later. I soon found out that I absolutely and reliably suck at platforming games of all kinds, and ergo, have had zero interest in playing anything that requires gauging distances to jump across. That sadly means Lara’s adventures were never to be my plat du jour.

That was the most wishful of wishful thinking. Half an hour withRise of the Tomb Raiderwas all I needed to confirm that I still sucked at Tomb Raider. I will always suck at Tomb Raider. I have made peace with this fact and will continue to support Lara Croft’s brand of girl power from a safe, fall damage-free distance.

Enter: Joanna Dark and the Perfect Dark reboot. I never had an N64 growing up, so the 2000 original is not something I’ve ever been able to experience for myself. Honestly, it had me from the elevator pitch of being a spy FPS complete with gadgets and gizmos aplenty. One of my favorite childhood games was (and still is)007 NightFire, so the opportunity to play a brand new game with roots in a PS2-era secret agent thriller is enticing enough as it is.

Perfect Dark had me from the elevator pitch of being a spy FPS complete with gadgets and gizmos aplenty.

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It’s been four years in the making, but I couldn’t be happier with how Perfect Dark is looking. As one of the biggest and most pleasant surprises of the summer showcase season, my hopes have been renewed that I might finally find my own Lara Croft in Joanna Dark come the (hopefully) not-so-distant future – no platforming required.

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