James Bond may be best known for his movies, but the iconic British spy has a long and storied history with video games as well. There have been over two dozen James Bond video games released over the last four decades, ranging from text adventure games like Shaken but Not Stirred to groundbreaking first-person shooters like GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo 64. The abysmal 007 Legends from 2012 completely derailed Bond’s video game momentum, and left him without a proper release for a staggering 14 years. Hitman series developer IO Interactive has taken on the task of bringing Bond back to the world of video games with 007 First Light, an origin story for a brand-new take on the character. 007 First Light is a strong return to form for Bond, and one of his better games to date.
The simplest way to describe 007 First Light is Hitman meets Uncharted. The game blends stealth elements seen from IO Interactive’s own Hitman series with the kind of explosive action and set-pieces found in Naughty Dog’s Uncharted franchise. It’s a combo that works well and ensures a great deal of gameplay variety throughout the adventure, though it does create some notable pacing issues at times.
Most 007 First Light missions start with Bond having to complete some kind of task in a crowded area, like reaching a specific room or locating a target. These sections are fairly slow and not particularly challenging, with the game shepherding players from one point to the next. There are often multiple ways to complete an objective, but because 007 First Light is so hand-holdy, it never really feels like the player truly has much agency in these situations.
As the mission ramps up, more action is thrown into the mix, often starting with fistfights and culminating in shootouts with the occasional vehicle segment for good measure. But instead of keeping the momentum going into the next mission, 007 First Light lets off the gas and things slow back down considerably for the slower exploration sections. Think of it like a rollercoaster: instead of having a huge climb and one big drop, 007 First Light has a bunch of smaller climbs and smaller drops.
This normally wouldn’t be that big of a deal, but these opening information-gathering sections go on too long, and while they are occasionally fun when they have puzzles to solve, they are mostly boring because of how little thought they require. These sections and the pacing issues they cause are easily 007 First Light‘s biggest flaws, but perhaps they won’t be as noticeable if you play in shorter bursts.
007 First Light is a Great Start to an All-New Bond Universe
Level variety alleviates the pacing issues somewhat, with 007 First Light featuring a variety of visually distinct and highly-detailed locations. One mission takes place at a swanky White Lotus-style resort, while another is at a ship graveyard that has been taken over by pirates led by the intimidating Bawma, played by Lenny Kravitz.
007 First Light‘s cast all do an excellent job, with Patrick Gibson successfully delivering his own cocky spin on James Bond and Lennie James giving the standout performance as veteran agent John Greenway. The relationship between Bond and Greenway is the most compelling in the game, though the rest of 007 First Light‘s supporting cast also adds a lot to the experience.
007 First Light tells a solid James Bond origin story that checks all the boxes one would expect from the franchise, with shocking twists, memorable henchmen, and ever-increasing stakes. The gameplay may have pacing issues, but the story certainly does not, and will keep fans engaged until the credits roll. I would go as far as to say that 007 First Light is home to one of the better Bond stories overall, and I can’t wait to see more in this universe.
The classic James Bond theme is used to great effect at key moments in 007 First Light.
Making the information-gathering sections more interesting in future installments is really one of the only ways to make the sequels better than 007 First Light. Everything else is right on the money, with a simple but fun combat system that keeps the action segments consistently entertaining. Bond has a slowdown mechanic that makes lining up headshots a breeze, and hand-to-hand combat is elevated by the brutal ways that Bond naturally incorporates the environment into his fights. Throwing empty guns at enemies never gets old, and players are also able to use gadgets in their altercations as well.
007 First Light Doesn’t Let Bond’s Gadgets Go to Waste
Players unlock a selection of classic gadgets to use on their missions, courtesy of MI6 scientist Q. Bond can only take a few gadgets with him on any given mission, but they all have their uses and can genuinely influence how players tackle any given challenge they come across. For example, if players bring a laser with them, they can use it to quietly burn off padlocks, but if they take the dart phone with them instead, they may have to bite the bullet and kick the locked door down, potentially alerting nearby enemies to their presence and forcing them into a direct confrontation.
Many games make the mistake of letting stealth weigh them down, whereas 007 First Light uses it to elevate the experience. Getting caught is rarely a death sentence, so players don’t have to stress too much when sneaking around, but clearing a room stealthily is incredibly rewarding. Sneaking up behind enemies to take them out quietly or using Bond’s gadgets to incapacitate them is fun and never frustrating since it’s rarely 100% required.
One gadget that Bond always has on him by default is the Q-Lens, which effectively works like Detective Mode in other games. It highlights objects of interest, like helpful items players may want to pickpocket from unsuspecting NPCs or objects that can be activated using the Q-Watch. The latter feels like something straight out of Watch Dogs, with Bond able to remotely hack electronics to distract enemies.
Beyond 007 First Light’s meaty story mode, the game also has the bonus TacSim mode on offer. TacSim is a series of short challenges based on situations and locations from the main game that allow players to get their 007 First Light fix without having to go back through all the story content. TacSim could have been a throwaway mode, but IO Interactive took some extra steps to make it a more worthwhile addition.
Beating 007 First Light‘s story mode on the Intended difficulty took about 13 hours.
Completing TacSim challenges earns players currency that can be spent unlocking new weapons and cosmetics for Bond, and this progression system makes the mode much more engaging. It also has online leaderboards, which add a competitive element to the otherwise single-player-only experience. Even more TacSim challenges are being added in the future, and I’ll definitely be checking them out when the time comes.
007 First Light is one of the more content-rich James Bond games we’ve ever had, and it should only get better with future updates. What’s on offer at launch is a solid, polished James Bond adventure with a memorable story and exciting action that should please most fans of the franchise.
007 First Light is launching May 27 for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S, with a Switch 2 version also in development. Game Rant was provided with a PS5 code for this review.
