Agent 64: Spies Never Die Reviews
Agent 64: Spies Never Die wears its influences on its immaculately dressed sleeve, and it works wonderfully well. Its action is punchy, playing with the challenges we faced due to the limits of the Nintendo 64 in a fun way. Whether you have nostalgia for that specific time in videogame history will probably influence your enjoyment of this game in a big way, but even if you’re new to this era of shooters, there’s plenty to enjoy here. The story mode is a fun romp, and the game’s multiplayer could be one that keeps people entertained for years to come.
Agent 64: Spies Never Die delivers a brilliant, fast-paced homage to classic N64 shooter roots that hits all the right nostalgic notes with fantastic gunplay and robust co-op features.
‘Agent 64: Spies Never Die’ captures the appeal of classic N64 shooters remarkably well. The compact missions, the additional objectives on higher difficulty levels and the brilliant spy soundtrack make this trip back to 1997 a particularly enjoyable experience for me. The consistent retro look authentically evokes the era without getting bogged down by technical limitations.
Review in German | Read full review
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 a loving homage to Nintendo 64-era shooters like GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark, blending retro polygonal aesthetics with modernized controls and a working four-player online mode. Generic enemy AI and a somewhat bland interface hold it back, but fans of classic spy-action shooters willing to tackle every difficulty tier will find plenty to enjoy."
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Agent 64: Spies Never Die unfortunately doesn’t enhance anything; it is a retro game and plays as such. Don’t get me wrong, it’s good fun and has a lot of content, but don’t expect days of gameplay. It’s a solid, fun retro title; if that is your genre, jump on in and relive the golden era of gaming.
Agent 64 is an almost perfect game. It offers some of the most satisfying gunplay in recent releases, despite drawing from games of the late nineties. Gameplay is addictive and offers more features than games with expensive budgets.
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.
Agent 64: Spies Never Die is an impressive retro shooter with plenty of modern touches across the visuals, music, level design, and gameplay. It'll be a great time for anyone who grew up playing late 90's shooters.
Agent 64 is successful in replicating a lot of the look, feel, and swagger of Goldeneye, but when it comes to putting it into practice, at least when it comes to singleplayer, it doesn’t come close. And for me, the fact that the actual mission design falls so short made all of its successes feel superficial, even if, on paper, it succeeds more than it fails. You can take from that what you want. Maybe if multiplayer is what you’re showing up for, it will scratch the itch. I’d rather just disavow any knowledge of Agent 64.
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 likely won't win you over unless you have played and enjoyed the games that inspired it. If you don't have a history with GoldenEye 007 or Perfect Dark, I wouldn't recommend you try it because the art style and gameplay will feel foreign compared to any first-person shooter you've played since 2000. That said, if you do enjoy the outdated jank of those games, you'll get a not-as-good experience, but something you can play with friends and have a good enough time in. This game is banking on you having the nostalgia to enjoy this, and if you do, you'll likely be content with it, but maybe not fall in love.
Agent 64: Spies Never Die not only recreates the experience of playing GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark on the N64, but it is a reminder of why they are among the best games of all time.