But not unplayable by any means
The 1997 FPSGoldenEye 007is considered one of the best influential shooters of all time, especially when it comes to its local co-op mode (I guess technically it had to be local because online play hadn’t been invented yet). I missed out on the golden age of the James Bond title because I wasn’t even a year old when it came out, but hearing friends and colleagues recounting the magical months and years that followed its release, I’m somewhat envious of a time before online gamer rage. Now’s my chance to live vicariously, though, becauseRare announced thatGoldenEye 007is available to play on Nintendo Switch and Xbox consoles26 years after it launched on the Nintendo 64.
While fans are thrilled to be able to return to a childhood favorite, there are a few issues with the port that are hard to ignore. Most obviously, the game only runs at 30 frames per second, which isn’t a deal-breaker, but can be an issue for those who are more particular about how their game runs. The lower frame rate is intentional on the developers’ part because the port uses the game’soriginal ROM code, and the N64 could only run at 30fps back then anyway. I personally don’t mind lower framerates, but for those who do, there are ways to playGoldenEye 007on the PCat today’s industry standard, 60fps.
For better or worse, the occasional seams and Z fighting are authentic, not an emulation glitch. It’s just easier to see in HD. But glitches were checked against a real N64 during development. What remains were there too, just blurrier.
— Code Mystics Inc. (@CodeMystics)Aug 03, 2025
Other bugs or problems include audio issues,incorrect textures/decals, hard-to-read low-res text, and visible seams in the environment of some of the levels. Speaking specifically to the issue with the seams, one of the developers behind the gamesaid through the company’s Twitter accountthat these issues were always present in the base game, but these issues are “just easier to see in HD.” The emulation may not make for “perfect” gameplay for long-time fans — or at least as perfect as nostalgia goggles can make a game feel that came out on retro consoles — but at the very least, the release ofGoldenEye 007on modern consoles is a great step forward for making classic games more accessible for new generations.
Speaking from experience as someone who isn’t tech-savvy at all, emulators aren’t for everyone. It’s pretty cool that now anyone who has Game Pass can instantly get access to a classic that’s been tough for the average player to get their hands on over the past couple of decades.Games preservationis important to me, especially consideringwe’ve lost a lot of the industry’s history already, but rereleases like this are certainly a vast improvement for the accessibility of classic games.
