TL;DR

Pros:

• Gameplay loop in spycraft, combat and stealth is incredible

• Multiple approaches to completing objectives

• Flexible combat allows you to choreograph your own action scenes

• Cinematography, dialogue and animations capture the vibe of the films

• Patrick Gibson’s performance as James Bond is top-tier

Cons:

• Crashes and other technical issues affected my experience

• Not enough content in Tactical Simulations mode at launch

• Long load times

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Final score: 6.5/7 — An essential buy for any fan of 007 and action games

Reviewed on PlayStation 5; available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch 2 (scheduled for later this year)

Price: Rs22,000 (physical copy), $39.99 (Steam)

When IO Interactive (IOI) announced they’d be making a 007 game back during Covid, I, like many other James Bond fans, was genuinely excited. We hadn’t received a 007 game since 2012’s lacklustre 007 Legends, and some of the games before it didn’t scratch the itch.

Being the masterminds of the Hitman franchise, IOI were the perfect developers in my opinion; your well-dressed character has to sneak around areas he shouldn’t be in, much like a spy. All they really needed to do was refine the gunplay and add some explosive set pieces, and we’d get a solid Bond game.

Expectations were high, not just because it was the first Bond game in over a decade, but because it’d be the first 007 product under the stewardship of Amazon.

With 007 First Light, IOI delivered a cinematic love letter to the movies with solid gameplay and a great performance by Patrick Gibson as the world’s most iconic spy. It also draws a lot of influence from contemporary games like Uncharted and Watch Dogs, mixing them together cohesively, like one of Bond’s martinis.

Shaken and stirred

When reviewing this, I was looking for two things: whether First Light was a good 007 adventure, as well as a good game in its own right. It largely succeeds at being both.

First Light is a cinematic action-adventure that captures the vibe of the movies perfectly. It’s a grand, globetrotting experience packed with intrigue, twists and action. As soon as I saw the opening titles and heard Lana Del Rey’s theme song, I knew that I was in for something incredible.

Locations are absolutely gorgeous, with vibrant colours and environments with unique aesthetics; Mauritania sees Bond infiltrate a black market situated in the remains of a beached oil tanker. The rusted walls, coupled with the blue sky and bustling marketplace, create a truly beautiful environment to explore.

There is a large density of non-player characters (NPCs) too, which generally push consoles and PCs quite hard in terms of performance. On my bog-standard PS5, the game (mostly) retains a smooth framerate and visual fidelity. NPCs also have fully scripted conversations, which makes the level feel alive.

The cinematography in the cutscenes is excellent, as is the dialogue and voice acting from the majority of the cast. There’s genuine chemistry among the characters, such as between Bond and fellow recruits Cressida and Monroe. Lenny Kravitz was one of the outliers here, as he didn’t really carry the gravity of an African warlord, in my opinion.

As a Bond fan, I loved my time with First Light because of how faithful it is to the films. It delivers a more fleshed-out origin story than Casino Royale (notice I said more fleshed out, not better), with a deeper look into Bond’s growth from enthusiastic recruit to hardened agent. This is helped by supporting characters such as Bond’s mentor John Greenway, whose arc made him by far my favourite character in the game.

Since First Light is a game, ranking it against the movies wouldn’t be fair, but I can say that as a 007 story, it’s up there with the good ones, like Tomorrow Never Dies, Skyfall and From Russia with Love.

Mr Bond, I presume?

Rather than cast an actor from the Bond films, IOI brought in Patrick Gibson to play a younger version of the iconic spy before he received the number.

If I had to compare Gibson’s performance to those of other Bond actors, I’d say he has the physicality of Daniel Craig, the confidence and charm of Pierce Brosnan and a healthy dose of Roger Moore’s one-liners. But instead of outright mimicking the other actors, Gibson added his own spin on the role, which I really appreciated.

I’m not certain he’ll appear in the films, but I can definitely say we have our James Bond for the video games, and I’m looking forward to seeing more from Gibson.

The world is your weapon

First Light’s gameplay loop is separated into three distinct components: spycraft, stealth and combat. It proudly wears its influences on its sleeve, taking inspiration from the aforementioned Hitman, Uncharted and Watch Dogs franchises.

Spycraft sections take place in large open environments like Hitman’s World of Assassination trilogy, with multiple approaches to reaching an objective. You’ll need to secure key items or impersonate certain people to enter inaccessible areas. You find these opportunities through eavesdropping and finding notes hidden in the level, much like a spy.

Stealth is not too dissimilar from First Light’s contemporaries, but adds a couple of new twists that not only make it stand out, but also make it something very much within Bond’s wheelhouse.

You keep out of enemies’ line of sight, occasionally using gadgets to either take them out silently or distract them. But here’s the twist: if Bond is spotted, he can “bluff” enemies by convincing them he’s supposed to be there with his charm. He’ll drop a line like “I’m here from security, and I’m doing a sweep”, or “You lads got a faulty coffee maker?”

Bluffs can only be performed if Bond’s instinct meter is built up; this will fill up as you perform stealth takedowns and kills. It’s a pretty unique system that allows you to maintain stealth without resorting to fighting enemies.

Cue the music

When things get loud, combat and set-pieces feature third-person shooting, a cover system and (literally) explosive action, all to the tune of veteran Bond composer David Arnold’s superb score.

There’s a seamless transition between armed and unarmed combat, so a protracted gun battle becomes a fight scene where Bond engages a group of enemies hand-to-hand.

It’s a system that also takes environmental interaction to another level, as items in the environment like bottles and telephones can be tossed at enemies to stun them, while charging an enemy and ramming them into a wall will damage the environment in spectacular fashion.

There’s a sequence where Bond is attacked in an apartment by an assassin, reminiscent of The Bourne Identity. Bookshelves, windows and other parts of the apartment can be absolutely destroyed in the fight.

But the flexibility of being able to transition from a gun battle to a fistfight, while also using Bond’s gadgets, allows you to choreograph your own action sequences. You are directing your own Bond movie: you can go as loud and flashy, or as quiet and discreet, as you want to. It’s a beautifully executed system, top marks.

There are also fun driving sections — including driving a weaponised Aston Martin Valhalla — but there aren’t many of them, and they’re too short in my opinion.

It’s all a simulation

In addition to the story, First Light has a mode called Tactical Simulations (TacSim), which is a VR simulator for Bond to train in and for you to complete certain scenarios and challenges.

This is going to be the bulk of post-launch content for this game, and for its part, the scenarios are pretty fun; you can play a combat challenge, a stealth arena, or a mix of both. Completing them grants experience points and currency to unlock new clearance levels and acquire more gear. I found myself playing the same escalation more than once to get a perfect run or choreograph my own action scenes.

Conceptually, TacSim is interesting in that because it’s a VR simulator, it can technically create any scenario, like, oh, I don’t know … classic scenes from the films. If IOI does this with the same level of quality as the main story, it’d increase the lifespan of the game, with eager Bond fans chomping at the bit to maybe fight Oddjob or Jaws.

My only issue, and it’s a big one, is that there just isn’t enough content at launch. You get five escalations and two operations; I beat all seven of these in one sitting. Also, they’re largely focused around combat and stealth — there’s no spycraft or driving (yet), which this mode would be perfect for.

No such thing as perfection

Sadly, technical issues like crashes, glitches and frequent server disconnects hampered my experience, which is unfortunate considering the game was delayed for two months before its release.

I experienced four crashes shortly after the game’s launch, and I still experience frequent server disconnections even now. It’s irritating because the entire game pauses, even in the middle of firefights, ruining your flow of gameplay.

The story mode is playable offline, but TacSim and in-game challenges require a consistent internet connection, and I don’t understand why. It’s a continuing trend of single-player games requiring an internet connection “just because”, and I hate that.

Additionally, the game has very long load times; on my most recent run (I’ve played this three times over) I was trying to complete the game’s challenges, so I tended to reload checkpoints a fair bit, prompting a 15-second wait to reload the level. We’re on next-gen hardware now, and other games which are far more complex take significantly less time to load up.

Licensed to thrill?

First Light is, without a doubt, the best Bond game ever made and one of the best games to come out this year. It’s a love letter to a cinema icon and captures what it stands for perfectly, from the bombastic action, to the gadgets and to Bond himself. It really is like watching a new 007 movie, except you’re playing through it.

The combat system, though derived from other games, has been refined and made unique by a team that genuinely cares about the project. I’ve replayed levels several times over just to fight waves of enemies. It’s truly satisfying stuff to experience.

Had it not had technical issues at launch, I’d give it a perfect score. But I can give it the highest 6.5/7 I can award. It’s an incredible single-player adventure worth every penny, not just for Bond fans, but for just about everyone.

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