Gameplay

Perfect Dark is a first-person shooter where players must complete levels to unlock content and progress through the game's storyline. Players manoeuvre their character from a first-person perspective and have the ability to lean left or right, look up or down, crouch, crawl, and drop from most ledges. However, there is no jump ability. Interaction with the environment is via a single context-sensitive button, which can activate computers, operate lifts, and open doors. Players can carry an unlimited number of weapons, ranging from handguns to assault rifles, rocket launchers, a shotgun, a sniper rifle, and combat knives. Besides their primary mode of fire, weapons have a secondary function that enables an alternate fire mode or grants players special abilities. For example, the secondary function of the K7 Avenger assault rifle detects threats like explosive devices. Most weapons have a finite magazine and must be reloaded after a certain number of shots. Some can also be used in duplicate, one in each hand.

Mechanics

Players have a certain amount of health which decreases when attacked by opponents. Although the game does not feature health recovery items, players can pick up shields that protect them with a secondary health bar. Players and opponents can disarm each other at close range, and players may use this feature to steal weapons or knock foes unconscious. Damage taken during combat is location-based, with a shot to the torso causing more damage than a shot to a limb. A number of tutorials and training activities can be taken in the game's home level. The most notable of these is the shooting range, where players can test their proficiency with the game's weapons in individual challenges. In addition to training activities, players can find information about the game's diverse locations and characters, which are gradually unlocked as they complete levels.

Multiplayer

Perfect Dark features a multiplayer mode where up to four players and eight computer-controlled bots can compete against each other. A split-screen is used for multiple players. Players start a game unarmed and with a certain amount of health. Weapons and ammunition are placed around the arena in preset positions. Once a player is killed, they are regenerated unarmed elsewhere in the arena. The objective of each game is determined by the scenario being played. Scenarios range from the traditional deathmatch mode, where players score points by killing opponents, to objective-based modes such as Capture the Flag and King of the Hill. Other scenarios include Hold the Briefcase, where players must take a briefcase and survive with it for as long as possible, and Hacker Central, a game type where players score points by hacking a computer system using a data uplink device.

Aspects of a deathmatch game can be highly customised, including the chosen arena, the winning conditions, and the ability to choose what weapons and items appear where in the arena. Players can also be grouped into teams or compete individually, and they can optionally be shown coloured according to their team.The appearance, team affiliation, skill level and pre-set behaviours of each computer-controlled bot can be customised. Pre-set behaviours range from them pursuing the highest-scoring player to exclusively chasing the player who killed them last. Other behaviours restrict bots to only attack players using fists and disarming moves. On higher skill levels, bots perform actions at a superhuman level. Players may also issue commands to bots of their team to perform certain tasks. For example, a player can order an allied bot to defend an area or attack a designated opponent.

Challenges / Ranking

The multiplayer mode includes 30 pre-set challenges against bots that may be tackled by one or more players. These challenges cover a variety of game types, weapon arrangements, and level setups. By completing challenges, additional features such as new weapons, player models, and bot behaviours are unlocked. At the end of a match, the overall results are shown, alongside information about the individual players' performance. The game keeps track of player statistics such as damage dealt and distance travelled, and awards players with medals based on how well they performed. Players are also ranked according to their performance; the better the performance, the higher the grade. The player's overall progress, multiplayer setups, and character profiles can be saved to the Nintendo 64 game cartridge or a Controller Pak. The game also supports the Rumble Pak.