James Bond is one of the few fictional characters in pop culture who has successfully transcended literature and movies to become a household name. After being introduced by Ian Fleming through his 1953 espionage novel Casino Royale, the character managed to amass unprecedented popularity over the decades with his charm, courage, cool gadgets, and a Casanova image. It is such a beloved character that even rumours of an actor being potentially cast as the next James Bond make their way to mainstream news headlines. Despite carrying such popularity and universal appeal, it is surprising that the gold standard for James Bond video games was released back in 1997 – GoldenEye 007.
With such huge expectations to deal with, IO Interactive (known for the popular Hitman series) took up the uphill task of developing the next game centred around James Bond – 007 First Light. Although the game was announced by the publisher back in November 2020, we now have access to the full-fledged title after a long wait. Does it manage to live up to expectations, exceed them, or falls short? Read on to find out.
Before I dive into the detailed review, I would like to disclose that I received the game’s review copy for PlayStation 5 from the publisher just ahead of the official release. The game is also available for purchase on other platforms, including Windows, Xbox Series X/S, and will be released for Nintendo Switch 2 later this year. If you’re an eagle-eyed reader and have already noticed that the game hasn’t been released on last-generation consoles and are wondering why, you can jump directly to the graphics section of the review. If you have more patience, you can read the detailed review below in chronological order.
Table of Contents
Storyline
Rather than throwing you directly into the shoes of an established, well-accomplished version of James Bond, 007 First Light acts as an origin story for the character. It charts what prompted him to join MI6, how he made it through the gruelling training, and everything that followed once the world started to fall apart around him. This is an original story inspired by Ian Fleming’s work rather than a direct adaptation, and that freedom lets the narrative create its own identity while still feeling unmistakably Bond.
Without spoiling too much, the setup goes like this: after surviving a disastrous retrieval operation in Iceland, Bond is recruited by ‘M’ into a reinstated ’00’ program, where he trains alongside a tight-knit group of recruits.
A mission to track down a rogue agent soon unravels into a far larger conspiracy involving a tech mogul, a quantum supercomputer that MI6 itself relies on, and a thief whose loyalties you can never quite figure out. What begins as a training exercise gradually escalates into a globe-trotting fight to stop an AI from supplanting the British government, with plenty of betrayals and gut-punches along the way.
The storytelling stays gripping throughout, and the emotional moments land harder because this is a version of Bond who hasn’t hardened into the icon yet; you watch him become 007. The voice acting from the core cast is pretty good across the board, but the standout is Lennie James as John Greenway, Bond’s handler. James plays him as calm and collected, and that restraint is exactly what gives the role its gravity; it’s a wonderfully nuanced performance.
Gameplay and Graphics
On the technical side, 007 First Light is built on the Glacier Engine, IO Interactive’s proprietary in-house engine, with a new proprietary volumetric smoke system added specifically for this game. That addition isn’t just a checkbox feature either; it shows up in the atmosphere of nearly every set piece and gives the world a tangible sense of weight.
The game looks truly next-gen, and it’s frankly gorgeous. Environments are richly detailed, several sections pack in dense crowds, and yet there are no optimisation hiccups to speak of, and everything runs smoothly throughout. It is quite evident that the game is ambitious in terms of graphical fidelity and could not be released on last-gen consoles due to hardware limitations.
You get two graphics modes in the settings, Quality and Performance, and I found myself sticking to Performance for most of my playthrough. Even then, the game looks amazing, which tells you just how much headroom there is here.
As far as mechanics go, 007 First Light doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel. As many reviewers have rightly pointed out, the game feels like a marriage of Uncharted and Hitman, the cinematic set-piece momentum of one blended with the systemic, sandbox-style problem-solving of the other. Some of the gadgets are interesting in their own right, but nothing here feels truly extraordinary in terms of how it shifts the moment-to-moment play.
The highlight here is the gunplay and hand-to-hand combat. Using guns doesn’t have a steep learning curve, and you can adapt fairly quickly, irrespective of your history with shooting games. I personally found hand-to-hand combat more enjoyable and impactful. In most situations, I preferred to engage in physical fights instead of gunplay because the parry, hold, and hit mechanics feel extremely satisfying.
The stealth gameplay surprisingly feels a bit inconsistent, as sometimes you are spotted despite being well hidden, while at other times, you can do a takedown right in front of other enemies and still not be noticed.
Another aspect that needs improvement is driving mechanics. The car handling is average at best, and in certain cases, in the interest of the spectacle, the game takes over the control of the car altogether.
The most innovative aspect of the gameplay is bluffing. You can essentially talk your way out of complicated situations, moments where stealth or violence either isn’t required or has already failed, and it’s a refreshing third option that leans into Bond’s charm.
Verdict
007 First Light is not a game just for James Bond fans who want to step in his shoes. Rather, it is an enjoyable game that would appeal to anyone who likes single-player adventure games such as Uncharted, Last of Us, or even Spiderman. As the game tells the character’s origin story, you don’t need to know Bond’s history to feel engaged; it’s like starting from a blank slate. The game reveals the less-explored, immature, and naive side of Bond, a character usually seen as confident and sophisticated.
While I won’t call First Light a perfect game as its driving mechanics, linear storyline, and inconsistent stealth gameplay leave room for improvement, the overall game feels fun to play and easy to pick up. This is a game clearly made by fans of the character and shows appropriate respect and consideration to Ian Fleming’s original work. Much like how Hogwarts Legacy did justice to the world of Harry Potter, 007 First Light lays the foundation for a game series around James Bond. While it is still early to say, I’m confident that over the years, most gamers will look favourably at this game and see it as the best James Bond game in decades.
Editor’s rating – 9/10
Pros
- Stunning graphics
- Good voice acting
- Impressive gunplay
- Interesting gadgets
Cons
- Driving mechanics
- Stealth gameplay
