Agent 64: Spies Never Die

A delightful homage to a spy themed era of games, wonderfully created and great for friends to play together.

Even if it expects fond memories of GoldenEye 007 to get players on board, Agent 64 offers a solid, if unremarkable, retro experience with a strong amount of content.

Agent 64: Spies Never Die is a faithful (a bit too much) homage to GoldenEye 007. It expects you to have nostalgic sentiments for that era as well as its sensibilities. Thus, it’s hard to recommend Agent 64 to just anyone. But if you were lucky enough to own a Nintendo 64 and blessed with GoldenEye and Perfect Dark, then you are Agent 64’s target audience.

Agent 64: Spies Never Die is an almost ill-advised exercise in extremely specific nostalgia, veritable catnip for Millennials like me. One person put forth a worthy spiritual successor to some of the ’90s and early aughts certified sleepover classics, warts and all. It comes highly recommended for those who can still get down with the aesthetics and jank of games from nearly 30 years ago. Make a weekend out of it, invite your friends, and make new memories. At least you won’t have to ask your mom if your pals can stay the night this time.

I really liked Agent 64: Spies Never Die. Sure, it’s limited in scope, and Xbox owners can already play excellent remastered versions of both Perfect Dark and GoldenEye 007, but that didn’t stop me from having a blast with this surprisingly well-put love letter to Rare’s legendary shooters. It faithfully recreates their physics, controls, and mechanics, while adding just enough quality of life improvements and modern visual flourishes to make it feel like much more than a fan project.

Agent 64: Spies Never Die is a lovely love letter to the days of old, showing that even after nearly 30 years of technological advancement, games like these can still be fun.

Overall, I enjoyed my time with Agent 64: Spies Never Die, even without having nostalgia bleeding out of all the open bullet wounds (of which there were many, sometimes you could get shot a LOT). Sure, it has a few issues, namely how much you have to play in order to access more online content, which I worry isn’t clearly marked enough that some players will assume you’ve only got a very small selection of modes to choose from.

Agent 64: Spies Never Die is a game that advertises its inspiration and target audience with a flashing neon sign. If you grew up on classic Nintendo 64 shooters and feel that the genre has gone downhill ever since they let you move while aiming down iron sights, then Agent 64 is probably for you. If you don’t fit into that rather precise demographic, however, I think the game’s dated visuals and gameplay will probably be a stumbling block, despite some decent level variety and designs.