Rare was at the top of its game during the glory days of the Nintendo 64, launching hit after hit in seemingly every genre from platformers to racing games. Among these titles was the video game adaptation of Goldeneye, considered to help revolutionize the first person shooter experience on a console. Not resting on its laurels, Rare one upped this gargantuan hit with its sophomore shooter on the console titled Perfect Dark, a genre pushing, technologically impressive action game and often ranked among the best games on the N64.
Despite a middling sequel on the Xbox 360 with Perfect Dark: Zero, the adventures of secret agent Joanna Dark seem to have gone completely incognito over the past two decades. However, just as fans were about to give up hope on a follow-up, a proper reboot of the franchise was revealed during the 2020 Game Awards showcase, immediately generating a ton of hype. Being developed by new studio formed by Xbox called The Initiative, Perfect Dark seems to be in great hands considering the talent within the team.
Daniel Neuburger (Tomb Raider)
Serving as game director for the upcoming Perfect Dark project, Daniel Neuburger is no stranger to the action adventure genre thanks to his experience helming the recent Tomb Raider trilogy. Coincidentally, those three titles also served as a reboot for Tomb Raider after a lull period for that franchise, so Daniel is familiar with how to bring back a classic and energize it with newfound creative potential.
Additionally understanding how to direct a game starring a female protagonist and making her an interesting, capable character is a good skill to have when jumping over to another female led action series. Players who haven’t checked out this trilogy will now have a chance with the Tomb Raider: Definitive Survivor Trilogy, an all in one package containing Daniel’s solid understanding of how to deliver a Hollywood blockbuster style video game.
Rhonda Cox (God of War, Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order)
Reviving a classic action franchise comes with a certain level of expectations to up the ante and make the experience just as exciting to play as the original was two decades ago. The new Perfect Dark is setting itself up to be an ambitious project, and will surely require excellent organization and resources to see the game is completed properly. So, it’s a relief that Rhonda Cox is being brought on board to help support Perfect Dark be the best game it can be.
Rhonda’s resume is undeniably impressive, serving as a game producer on the some of the most standout action titles in recent memory. She was a producer for Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order, a game which was applauded for bringing Star Wars games back from the dark side as well as helping on a little award winning game called God of War.
Sean Slayback (Titanfall 1, 2)
A first person shooter is as good as its gunplay and weaponry made available to the player, so Sean Slayback joining The Initiative is a sure fire way to succeed in that department. The original Perfect Dark had a variety of nutty gadgets and guns, including the now infamous laptop gun. Since then, weapons in video games have taken many forms and functions, so the pressure is on to make Perfect Dark stand out from the crowd.
Sean is mostly well recognized for being the weapons designer on both games Titanfall games, a series where the player literally controls a giant, walking weapon. Players who have experienced the Titanfall 2 campaign are familiar with the wild and destructive variety of weapons Sean helped design, so the new Perfect Dark’s guns are definitely in good hands.
Christine Thompson (Destiny 2)
Of course, even the most bombastic of action games can’t just purely be all about the flash, crash and boom. There needs to be some sort of plot and context to push the events forward in a natural and logical way and luckily, The Initiative is once again in good company. Christine Thompson served as the writer for the main campaigns in both the base Destiny 2 as well as its Rise of Iron expansion, so she’s familiar with telling a story from the first person perspective set in a rich sci fi universe.
Christine has been hired as not just any writer on the team but the main narrative lead for the upcoming Perfect Dark project. Based on her impressive list of works, players are sure to be in store for a compelling narrative in the long overdue Perfect Dark sequel.
