Finally here we are: The Initiative is ready to show us Perfect Dark, the new title dedicated to special agent Joanna Dark, who in a long gameplay video we find with a new look and struggling with a mission in which we can admire many of the mechanics of the game, in addition to the excellent graphics.

Here's some new information about the game, along with the new trailer.

Today, at the Xbox Games Showcase, we got our first look at the gameplay of Perfect Dark, a reboot of the classic secret agent series. The fascinating new trailer gave us a few clues about Secret Agent Joanna Dark's mission, showed us her descent into the near-future Cairo setting, and gave us a tantalizing look at the all-new secret agent-inspired gameplay.

Of course, when you take a look at such a highly anticipated game, you always want to ask more questions, and luckily we were able to go straight to the source to get more details from the development team members. The Initiative is co-developing Perfect Dark with Crystal Dynamics and other partners that make up Team Perfect Dark. Let's take a deeper look and answer some of the most burning questions.

What kind of game is it?

Perfect Dark is a first-person thriller with secret agents in a near-future world. With the blessing of Perfect Dark's original studio, Rare (not to mention some of the protagonists from the original titles), Team Perfect Dark drew inspiration from elements from the first two games, but created an entirely new story and universe for this reboot.

For longtime fans and new players alike, the new game offers a fresh take on the secret agent experience and is a great opportunity to get into the world and character. While fans will have moments that resonate with the history and memories of the original games, no prior knowledge is necessary in this new experience.

On a broader level, Perfect Dark will be a single-player experience, with a series of missions, but with the option to choose how to complete them. Looking at the trailer, it's clear that traversal and gadgets are a big part of this game – we see the new parkour abilities used throughout the game, both for movement and combat. The developers told me that the goal was to create an intuitive movement system, which would allow players to find interesting ways to approach the objectives. Add to this a combat system that allows you to play both melee and firearms, a stealth mechanic and the liberal use of gadgets, Perfect Dark is a game that presents players with a goal, but leaves them the option to decide how to achieve it.

Team Perfect Dark doesn't want the game to feel like a genre in its own right: it takes elements of first-person shooter, immersive simulation, and stealth action, but blends them into a homogeneous whole. The goal is to offer a true secret agent fantasy, and letting players use their tools and abilities in the way they want is key to that.

Who is Joanna Dark?

In this reboot, Joanna (voiced by Alix Regan and Elissa Bibaud) is a DataDyne agent, with a deep personal connection to what is happening to her world. In this case, the Perfect Dark title is more aspirational: this Joanna may not be perfect, but she strives to be. On this journey, he will make mistakes and learn from these experiences. Finding out who this Joanna is turns out to be as compelling as the story itself.

Where is the game set?

The near-future world of Perfect Dark has been affected by the so-called "Waterfall", in which the planet has suffered a series of environmental disasters that have made entire regions inhospitable to human life. In the aftermath of the disaster, a hyper-corporation known as Core Mantis steps in to create a solution known as the GEN Network and deploys it in Cairo, restoring ecological balance and creating a newly walled city, isolated from the hostile environment outside to become a center of technological innovation.

In its wake, other hypercorporations step in to continue the regeneration – but, as you might expect, all is not as it seems, and their motivations may be less altruistic than they seem. It is crucial that the setting communicates a hopeful future, seeing a world with destruction and restoration, where the desolation of the past is countered by a sense of promise.

It is in Cairo that Joanna makes her entrance. The setting was chosen to offer a counterpoint to other stories of secret agents and the media in general: ancient Egypt and modern Egypt have been seen by many, but a vision of the country in the near future is really something new. Cairo itself allows for a balance between the old and the new that fits the speculative narrative at the heart of Perfect Dark.

What is Joanna's mission in the trailer?

Joanna is sent to Cairo to find and arrest Daniel Carrington, and we see her enter a neighborhood called Garden City (an area of Cairo in real life as well). In Perfect Dark, it's a richer, more cosmopolitan area of the city, which Core Mantis has chosen to be revitalized by its new eco-technological processes.

Joanna finds a hideout used by Carrington, who infiltrates Joanna's AR system and begins to reveal more information and raise even more questions about Cairo's great mysteries. Joanna will have to learn to figure out who can be trusted and who might work against her goals, and Carrington's role will be an important part of that process.

What can we use gadgets for?

Gadgets are a mainstay of the secret agent genre. In the trailer, Joanna is seen using a gadget to analyze NPCs' voices and create voice "deepfakes" to trick security systems or impersonate other characters, as well as to create distractions.

Gadgets can be used to mislead and manipulate, but we also see that Joanna can use a tool to scan an NPC and learn the details about him - it wouldn't be a secret agent story without some fieldwork, and the developers tell me that analyzing the world around you will be a key part of figuring out how to approach your targets.

How does combat work?

With this first look at combat, it's clear that this is another aspect of player choice. In the trailer, we see lethal and non-lethal weapons, close-quarters combat, abilities that allow you to take down multiple enemies at once, and more. We can also make noise or silence, offering a risk-reward for both methods. Team Perfect Dark wants to create a "symphony" of mechanics, blending traversal, close-quarters combat, gunplay, unlockable abilities, environmental elements, and gadgets into a unified experience for players.