Review - Agent 64: Spies Never Die
- Roberto Nieves
- 6 hours ago
- 9 min read
Developer: Replicant D6
Publisher: Replicant D6
Available on: PC (Steam)
Review System: Steam via Steam Deck
There’s a rule in the indie game scene: If a big company won’t make the game you want, make it yourself! For decades, players have fawned over the nostalgic experiences of some of the very first first-person shooters of the 90s. For years, a one-man developer has worked tirelessly to emulate that feeling, not of the boomer shooters like Doom and Duke Nukem, but of the Nintendo 64 era of Perfect Dark and Goldeneye 007.
A combination of the modern and old-fashioned, Agent 64: Spies Never Die is a triumphant return to classic 3D shooting, with all of the challenge and fun that one may remember. It’s a game made with warmth and heart to deliver not just a nostalgic experience but to remind the players of today why the players of the past won’t ever stop talking about this era.
No Limits, No Fears, No Substitutes
To properly review Agent 64: Spies Never Die, it’s important to put things into perspective. It cannot be overstated how powerful an influence the Nintendo 64 had on players during the late 90s. The system itself was an oddity; a cartridge-based system in a competition filled with compact discs. However, through its games and its built-in controller ports, the Nintendo 64 created some of the most powerful memories in video games, with late-night sleepovers and endless races in Mario Kart 64. This was only the beginning.
The date of August 25th, 1997 marks the arrival of a game that changed first-person shooters and games forever. Goldeneye 007, a game based on the James Bond movie of the same name, brought forth an unparalleled video game experience. It was one of the very first 3D first-person shooters, preceded by Quake in 1996 and Descent in 1995. Whereas Doom and Duke Nukem used sprites and 3D environments, Goldeneye allowed full 3D levels and characters.
The Name is Bond
The game featured a campaign of 18 levels, with objectives to complete, a first for the genre. Players could navigate more open levels instead of running down corridors hunting for keys. Instead of sprites, enemies, characters, and objects were 3D rendered, making for a more immersive game experience. As titular spy James Bond, players had access to a wide variety of weapons and gadgets, from a laser cutter in a wristwatch to a devastating assault rifle. Each level challenged players with various objectives, from cutting locks with lasers to maintaining stealth.
Goldeneye 007 introduced 4-player split-screen multiplayer, and while Mario Kart 64 did it some time before, this was a first for shooters. Nothing else had done it before, and it was tremendously successful. The game gained notoriety for its gameplay and competitiveness. Players formed a culture around the multiplayer, forming “slappers-only” rounds and racing to play as Oddjob.
No, For Me
It was janky and had a low frame rate. The controls would be something to wrestle with at first. However, Goldeneye 007 was a game forged in the digital fires of innovation meeting pure, unfiltered enjoyment. Friendships were set in stone at sleepovers and parties, along with unforgettable memories. It’s a legacy that continues decades later. Even today, Goldeneye 007 has been the focus of the speedrunning community.
Goldeneye 007 laid the foundation for many to follow. The game preceded the likes of Halo, Killzone 2, Call of Duty, and Team Fortress 2 by years in creating exciting and engrossing multiplayer experiences on consoles. When modern games craft multiplayer, their pillars can be traced to the blueprint that Goldeneye 007 formulated.
For Your Eyes Only
Agent 64: Spies Never Die is a first-person shooter that seeks to recreate that era that has been all but lost to time and changing gaming climates. The game contains a 14-level campaign filled with individual, standalone missions across a story to stop a villainous spy from taking over the world. The campaign features multiple difficulty settings. The higher the difficulty, the more objectives need to be completed. This also expands more areas to explore, as well as increasing enemy numbers. The entire campaign can be played in split-screen or online for cooperative play. Levels are inspired by Goldeneye 007 and can be completed in less than 10 minutes
Depending on the difficulty, players unlock cyphers. These cyphers serve as currency to unlock new mission rows. If there aren’t enough cyphers to unlock a mission, it is encouraged to replay a mission on a greater difficulty. Agent 64: Spies Never Die encourages gradual familiarization to tackle the more intense challenges. Additionally, the single-player campaign features a bevy of modes such as Paradox Mode, Challenge Leagues, and contract missions, which remix campaign missions.
What's Old Is New Again
Agent 64: Spies Never Die weaves online and cooperative play into its DNA. The campaign can be played cooperatively in split-screen or co-op play. Like the game it is inspired by, players can play in either split-screen or online multiplayer for up to 8 players. The multiplayer can include up to 8 players and 8 additional bots.
Playing Agent 64: Spies Never Die feels like a genuine step back in time, like this was a game tucked away on a hard drive somewhere and it lay dormant all this time, waiting for the right chance. The game certainly had an old-fashioned and more primitive feel to it. The gun moves with the player. Shooting is more frenzied and chaotic. There are no iron sights to stare down, but there is an aim mode to gain more precise shooting. Shooting is more manual, but there is a generous auto-aim if you need it.
Spy themes
The game has a visually more blocky look, evoking the presentation of the era. Instead of going for the polygons of the PS1, Agent 64: Spies Never Die features the more 64-bit presentation, where guns look like blocks and jagged shapes stitched together and characters have a chunky appearance to them. Character faces, in particular, look like stickers pasted onto figures.
Music-wise, composer Dario Galizia does a fantastic job in nailing the audio aesthetic of the game. The soundtrack features electronic sounds, ranging from moody to explosive and energetic. The music does change during combat as well. It does the game right, given the simplicity of the visuals.
Modern Times, Modern Solutions
Fortunately, unlike the times before, the game features a sleekness to its frame rate. The game runs silky smoothly, which is effective in making the shootouts thrilling, both in the campaign and multiplayer. Agent 64: Spies Never Die features a more straightforward path to shooting gameplay. Gone are DPS numbers and a cluttered UI. There is just the mission and the simplicity of classic gameplay, where you have to shoot the guys that are shooting at you.
Shooting is fast-paced and moment-to-moment. It's not enough to simply run in front of an enemy but to keep moving. Checking corners is important as enemies will crouch and hide to gain a surprise attack. There are no dynamics to the shooting like active reloading or secondary fire. Simply move, shoot, reload, and survive. It’s a foundational formula but a welcome one in this day of realistic military shooters and live-service slop.
Gizmos and Gadgets
Weapons in Agent 64: Spies Never Die are simple but plentiful. The main handgun does a fair job, both silenced and unsilenced, but the game features an SMG, bazooka, assault rifle, a shotgun, a sniper rifle, and even a pulse rifle. I feel there was an opportunity here for more weapons, but the arsenal is good. The main focus is running and gunning as opposed to standing your ground.
Things can be a little too close to classic for Agent 64: Spies Never Die. There isn’t much to the enemy variety, save for enemies carrying different weapons, and one particular enemy that carries a revolver but acts as a bullet sponge. The game is clearly going for a 90s spy thriller vibe, and it could have gone a little further into different enemy variety and weapon variety. However, the developer had a specific intent and goes for it swimmingly well.
Staying Alive
Furthermore, in this age of auto-healing, good luck staying alive in Agent 64: Spies Never Die. There are no health pickups, making each encounter methodical but very unpredictable. The enemy placement may be constant, but enemies are erratic. The goal is to destroy you, but they will run, shoot, and even sneak up on you. The goal is to keep moving, take cover, and make sure that, under no circumstance, they get close enough to punch you. Their melee attacks do serious damage.
Fortunately, there are bulletproof vests to find to extend health and absorb bullets. However, based upon the difficulty, these vests are either plentiful or non-existent. For those brave enough to play on Agent 64's difficulty, be prepared to fight for your life for every square inch and complete objectives on a hope and a prayer.
I Am Invincible
Agent 64: Spies Never Die features a multiplayer that tries its best to emulate the days of Goldeneye. 8-player online multiplayer is pure enjoyment and chaos, with plenty of weapon and map variety. With a multitude of customization choices and weapon options, the multiplayer brings back the absolutely free-for-all anarchy that early shooters had. If you ordered a pizza while playing Agent 64 on a Friday night, you'll have the closest you can get to this classic late 90s vibe.
Agent 64: Spies Never Die is built upon the aspects of replayability. Each level in the campaign has three difficulty settings. Naturally, the higher the difficulty, the harder it is to complete the level. Each subsequent difficulty setting introduces more difficult parameters, such as increased enemies, increased damage, and the lack of body armor, if you can find it. Additionally, this increases the number of objectives that are imperative to complete the level. This makes Agent 64: Spies Never Die accessible but challenging, depending on the intention of players. There is a catch, however.
Analyze This
Agent 64: Spies Never Die uses cyphers as a form of currency. Players earn cyphers by completing campaign missions. The higher the difficulty, the more cyphers are earned. Cyphers are needed to unlock more levels. If players play on the easiest difficulty, Agent, they won’t have enough cyphers to continue to the next series of levels. This could be an obstacle for those looking for a more laid-back experience. Agent 64: Spies Never Die does have other goals to strive for.
Each level has secret masks to uncover. Uncovering these unlocks remixed levels featuring a challenge to complete. One challenge had me fight big-headed characters with big-headed characters and no reload. Another had a vampire effect where players lose health with every movement and can only gain health by eliminating enemies. These levels also earn cyphers to unlock campaign levels.
Swift Secret Agent
Each campaign has a par time to beat. Goldeneye 007 is known for having speedrunning challenges, and Agent 64: Spies Never Die has those as well. If players can run through the gambit under par time, there are unlockable items for other game modes such as permanent crosshairs and new weapons. There are even challenges and challenge leagues to compete in, making Agent 64: Spies Never Die highly replayable.
There are a few areas that Agent 64: Spies Never Die could have excelled. In particular, there is limited gadget use in the game. No laser watch in particular. We do have a few good moments, such as latching an EMP onto a guard to disable a server room. I do wish there were more moments like these. There are no vehicular sections either. Goldeneye 007 had a tank sequence in particular. I could have easily imagined a similar level being in Agent 64: Spies Never Die.
The Pen Is Mightier Than The Sword
I do believe the game could have done a bit more with the difficulty as well. This game may become an entry point for players interested in shooters, or those who want to play this kind of FPS. I’m not sure the limited bulletproof vests help, or the cypher system works in this regard, but at the same time, it’s a good motivator to be careful and be methodical, as well as be determined to overcome challenges.
There’s no telling where Agent 64: Spies Never Die will land in this age of hyper-dopamine games with constant rewards and lootboxes. Most multiplayer is done online these days, especially with live-service games. Though I feel there is a desire to return to the more familiar aspects of games, like split-screen couch co-op, and it can be felt as the industry faces a discless future devoid of being able to hold something and share that with others in the same room.
Tried and True
I believe Agent 64: Spies Never Die is going to be a game that introduces why there is this need for more pure and direct connection. It’s simple and uncomplicated, and while it visually strikes an impression from generations ago, the gameplay and the thrills that it holds are certainly going to draw both young and older gamers alike, with the common interest of pure shooting enjoyment.
As of this review, there is talk of console ports for Agent 64: Spies Never Die. I can easily imagine the game being a far more reachable and enjoyable game compared to most first-person shooters, especially for those that crave the split-screen multiplayer of the past. No online accounts needed. Just a willingness to have fun and enjoy the game.
Agent 64: Spies Never Die
Agent 64: Spies Never Die was made with a very specific person in mind, and that is the person who grew up with Goldeneye as their first foray into the first-person shooter genre. It won’t impress everyone, especially those who want to stick closely to modern shooter staples. That doesn’t dilute any of the effort of developer Replicant D6, who handled the entire production of the game. For those
Agent 64: Spies Never Die is a true triumph of development and a love letter to the first-person shooter world of the late 90s. Its gameplay is top-notch, its visuals are spot-on, and with plenty of replayability, there is a lot to get into for those that wish to embrace the world of 64-bit spies. Agent 64: Spies Never Die is excellent. You could call it shaken, not stirred. The name is 64, Agent 64.
AGENT 64: SPIES NEVER DIE IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
A review key was provided for the purpose of review
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