It feels as though James Bond is one of the most famous names in all of fiction, which is a pretty funny thing to be able to say for a secret agent.
With a multitude of books, movies, games, magazines, and countless items of merchandise, the character, and the version of the world he orbits, is so familiar to so many.
IO Interactive was brave, then, to not only make the first major Bond game in well over a decade, but to introduce us all to a brand new take on the iconic super spy.
I’ve not finished 007 First Light yet, but from my time with it so far, the studio has done a pretty great job of hitting all the notes it needs to hit while establishing its own vision.
A common shorthand for this game and its structure is Uncharted-meets-Hitman, and to be honest, that’s pretty dead on. From the first 10-or-so hours, I’d say it definitely leans more in Uncharted’s direction.
007 First Light is a globetrotting action adventure game with a fresh-faced James Bond at the very beginning of his career at MI6.
After the helicopter he’s onboard is shot down over Iceland, his time as a Royal Navy air crewman ends and his evolution into a secret agent begins.
From meetings with M and Q in the MI6 headquarters to a really neat training montage-style gameplay sequence in Malta, the game spends a good few hours following Bond’s first steps into the world of espionage.
It feels necessary to help players get familiar with what turns out to be a relatively complex control scheme. Once you’re fully kitted out with gadgets and weapons, there’s really no room to spare on the DualSense controller.
More than that, the first few chapters help establish this new Bond, as well as a cast of returning and new characters surrounding him.
James is fast-tracked through 00 agent training, and has to earn the respect of fellow trainees Cressida and Monroe. The trio of twenty-somethings become firm friends, but John Greenway, their instructor, is a tougher nut to crack ā an ex-00 agent with no time for Bond’s rebellious streak.
Alongside fresh spins on M, Q, and Moneypenny, it’s a fun ensemble. I think IOI has done a really nice job with its characters.
Obviously, James was the key one to get right, and I reckon the studio’s done that. This young, inexperienced Bond is impulsive, headstrong, and reckless, but the character’s trademark charm, wit, and cunning all creep in as the story goes on.
Speaking of story, it’s a strong effort that, while a little predictable in places, makes for a fun action game that whisks you away to some really cool locations.
We’ve seen a lot of the chess tournament in Slovakia, but you’ll also be paying visits to London (of course), Mauritania, Vietnam, and more. Some of IOI’s experience with Hitman peeks through here; each of these varied environments looks great and has a lot of detail.
Not every chapter takes place in a sandbox, but the best ones do. I don’t want to harp on Hitman too much, but I think the game is at its best when you’re able to freely explore and reach your objective in numerous ways.
It’s a great fit for James Bond, who can not only exploit a handful of different opportunities to get where he needs to go, but can also talk himself out of trouble without rousing suspicion. The bluff mechanic is one of my favourite features, really leaning into the character’s smooth-talking ways.
With a few gadgets at your disposal, too, you have a lot of options to get through a mission, whether stealthily or not. Thankfully, if you are caught out, the game allows you to deal with threats either with those gadgets or with hand-to-hand combat, and so long as you’re efficient, the situation doesn’t spiral out of control.
The melee fisticuffs aren’t too deep, but you do have to parry hits and sidestep grabs, and there are plenty of contextual takedowns. If you knock an enemy into a rail, they’ll topple over it to the floor below ā it’s a bit silly but it all feeds into that feeling you’re in a James Bond flick.
Occasionally you’ll have a licence to kill ā basically, in situations where the bad guys are using firearms. It all feels quite scripted when this happens, but these shootout moments are spaced out fairly well. I think it would rob the game of some of its identity and pacing if you could just whip out a silenced pistol at any moment and headshot everybody.
The gunfights can be a little too chaotic; there are often a lot of enemies to take down, and sometimes it feels like the only answer is to cause as many explosions as possible. I struggled to get through one or two of these, mostly because of the intense pressure to keep moving and adapting.
More scripted than gun battles are driving sequences, and these feel like the weakest part of 007 First Light. I’ve played a majority of the game so far and have been behind the wheel only a few times, and not always in high-speed chases.
There are a variety of vehicles throughout the campaign, but when it comes to sports cars, the handling is difficult to nail down. I think that’s because it’s maybe trying a little too hard to be forgiving; turning is more generous than you might think, and it can sometimes all feel a bit on-rails.
My only real concern coming into 007 First Light was that of technical performance. I’m playing on a regular PS5, predominantly in Performance mode, and while the game really does look fantastic in places, it’s a bit fuzzy around the edges.
Unfortunately, I have experienced rare but noticeable frame rate drops. The game hits its 60 frames-per-second target most of the time, but particularly intense gunfights can cause some big dips. It’s not really a dealbreaker for me, but it’s a bit of a shame.
