"Perfect Dark" received generally mixed reviews from video game publications. Critics praised the game's technical aspects, including graphics, sampled speech, and compatibility features, but criticised its superficial gameplay, especially when compared to "". According to "IGN", "it's obvious that an 'A' development team was put on "Perfect Dark" for the Game Boy Color. But I can't ignore the little gameplay and control nuances that detract from the overall fun of playing game, despite having a lot of variety to the entire game design". "N64 Magazine" and "Planet Game Boy" editors were more positive towards the game, praising its size and included extras. The latter went so far as to call "Perfect Dark" "one of the biggest handheld games ever made".