Developer: Replicant D6
Publisher: Replicant D6
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Agent 64: Spies Never Die – Review
It’s no secret that we love retro(-inspired) games and tend to review a bunch of them on the site. Sometimes developers opt for a real retro experience and limit themselves to the capacities of the hardware from back in the day, while many other developers simply choose retro-styled visuals and still opt for modern-day gameplay mechanics. Both have their own charm, but the first category often attracts a more niche audience. When we initially saw footage of Agent 64: Spies Never Die, it was clear that it would belong in that first category, and we were rather excited to try it out. We can’t simply pass up an opportunity when a title that bases itself on GoldenEye 007 launches on Steam.
Story
Truth be told, most players probably won’t pick this one up for the story, but if you happen to do so, you’re in for a James Bond-like storyline. You’ll be playing as John Walter, a very experienced secret agent, who has to stop the plans of his archenemy, Dominic Pulp. The dastardly villain has once again hatched a plan that threatens the entire world, and it seems only John and his daughter, Dana, can stop Pulp. From here on out, it’s basically the plot of a cliché 90s spy movie, which was rather nice. Don’t expect a complex storyline or fleshed-out characters, however, as Agent 64 does tend to keep things rather superficial.
Graphics
It’s not uncommon to see modern games with retro visuals nowadays, as it’s often a lot more cost-effective to create such games. It also often draws in a particular crowd as well, as it reminds people of the ‘good old days’. In the case of Agent 64: Spies Never Die, we feel it goes a lot further than simply emulating the experience, as it’s clear that solo developer Replicant D6 truly wanted to create an homage to GoldenEye 007 by almost completely recreating the graphical quality, making the game look like it would run on the original Nintendo 64. The game also has the same quirks as GoldenEye 007, with ‘realistic’ faces plastered on low-poly character models. Some of the stages also look rather similar to the game it’s based on, as well as many of the animations and weapons. While it comes close to almost copying James Bond’s adventure on the Nintendo 64, Agent 64 still has an identity of its own. Unsurprisingly, the game runs extremely smoothly, and we didn’t encounter any hiccups.
Sound
The music is great. It’s as simple as that, to be honest. The soundtrack also sounds a bit similar to GoldenEye 007’s soundtrack, which is not really a bad thing. There’s even a track in there that’s somewhat reminiscent of Rob Dougan’s Clubbed To Death, which really got us pumped up. The sound effects also have that Nintendo 64 ‘sound’ to them, and we even found it quite funny that, when shooting female characters, they still had the male grunt when dying. Sadly, there was no voice acting for the dialogues, which we found a missed opportunity here.
Gameplay
Agent 64: Spies Never Die is an FPS that was heavily inspired by GoldenEye 007 for the Nintendo 64. This means that things will remain fairly straightforward throughout the experience. In each mission, you’ll have to complete simple objectives, gun down enemies, and hopefully make it out alive. The lower difficulty settings here are very doable, but the game does have artificial blocks that force you to complete missions at a higher difficulty to progress. We personally weren’t a fan of this, but for the most part, we didn’t struggle too much. Only some of the challenges happened to be rather tough to complete. Luckily, there is a cooperative mode in the game that makes things a bit easier.
As stated above, the game doesn’t come with too many bells and whistles. The controls are simple, and you basically just run around, shoot down enemies, use some tools, and that’s pretty much it. Movement and gameplay feel very arcade-like, and we didn’t mind that one bit. Aiming can be a bit finicky, but there’s a fairly good aim assist in the game, which does make hitting enemies easier. Only the shotgun’s hitboxes felt a bit off at times.
In true retro-game fashion, the game has loads of unlockable content. While these unlocks are mainly for the multiplayer mode, it’s still nice to actually be rewarded for completing challenges. We loved unlocking new modifiers for our intense (but wacky) multiplayer matches. Iconic modifiers, such as big heads, are also present in Agent 64, truly making this a very nostalgic experience. As mentioned above, however, some challenges tend to be more annoying than enjoyable, which might make it a bit tedious to get some of the modifiers or maps for your multiplayer sessions.
Conclusion
Agent 64: Spies Never Die is an amazing homage to GoldenEye 007 while still having an identity of its own. Sure, a lot of segments feel extremely similar to the source material, albeit a bit more polished in some areas. While the game was very light on story content, the Nintendo 64-styled visuals, the old-school sound design, and the very smooth gameplay got us hooked in mere moments. With a lot of additional content to unlock for the multiplayer modes, you’ll have your work cut out for you if you happen to pick this one up. We just didn’t enjoy the artificial blockades in the story mode, as they ruined the overall fast-paced flow of the experience. Even so, if you’re a fan of retro games, or you are looking for something that has the same charm as GoldenEye 007 had back in the day, you can’t really go wrong with this one.
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