007 First Light is the best Bond’s been since Goldeneye

For a long time we’ve been categorising games as AAA, AA, Independent, Micro, and even AAAA has begun to enter the conversation. But there is something truly cinematic about the way First Light handles its gameplay and scene to scene transitions that feels quite different.

In fact, for starters, this might just be the best gaming tutorial I’ve ever played. Rather than it feeling like this detached slice of a game that is there to just show you where to find the buttons and what they do, First Light naturally weaves it into its story, and you actually feel like you’re competing with yourself and the characters in the game, between capturing a flag in the fastest time to driving a car against tight corners. And perhaps most importantly, actually learning by doing.

Despite the breakneck pace of the opening, the game’s storytelling does allow for slower-paced moments where you get time to explore, look for clues, chat to characters and even work through longer levels where you have multiple methods of approach to achieve your objectives. That could be eavesdropping on ongoing conversations, finding hidden pathways or acquiring items that can get you through tight security.

The Hitman influence certainly carries through, there. IO have always known how to make a game that offers up endless possibility and that suits the Bond character perfectly, a man of disguise, espionage, multi-skilled. And trust me when I say, this game feels like Bond. Looks like Bond. Plays like Bond. From the fast-paced, quick draw gunplay, to huge explosive blasts, high-speed chases, hard-boiled, tongue-in-cheek dialogue, and Q’s wacky contraptions which definitely raise a laugh.

I’ve played a lot of the classics over the years. Goldeneye, of course, but also Nightfire – which I played a ridiculous amount in multiplayer – 007 Legends, The World is Not Enough, but this is my favourite campaign. Goldeneye will always be iconic because of that multiplayer, but First Light feels like a true numbered instalment in the Bond series. It feels like a reboot, something fresh and Patrick Gibson totally nails the audition in the titular role.

Which is why this feels like something of a film and a game combined, and they gel just beautifully. The story holds up really well, has plenty of moments that make you laugh, great performances from an all-star cast, including the excellent Lennie James who plays a great antithesis to the Bond character.

The movement between cover and popping out with a different range of weapons presents some great moments of action and feels really tight, if not more challenging than you might expect with Bond’s life force going down quickly. Fortunately, the use of gadgets really helps get you out of a pinch with slight distractions or random moments of chaos to really disrupt the action.

Whether that’s sabotaging clocks, turning on vacuum cleaners randomly, breaking down doors, pushing over frames, and much more besides, there’s a lot going on underneath the hood to make First Light a genuinely authentic Bond-like experience.

In terms of what you do expect from IO, the experience is more linear and less open than the Hitman games, this is a game that’s focused on telling a story – a good one – and incorporates some familiar elements you know and love.

But if you’re expecting 100s of hours of sandbox gameplay like you’d expect from World of Assassination, you will be a bit disappointed. And maybe there’s an argument to be made there that they could have explored that side in more detail, but for me this is blend I was wanting and hoping for.

The game does also have a weird need to be connected online when playing the missions, which, seems to give you more access to cosmetics, and appear on leaderboards as well as challenges and taking the game offline removes the potential for that. It’s something we’ve had in the Hitman games for years, but it definitely feels a bit stranger here, especially as the game is linear.

But it didn’t dampen or reduce my enjoyment in anyway, and frankly, as someone who has grown up watching Bond films, this fulfilled that feeling of Bond. You can tell IO are huge fans of the franchise and just get it, and because of that, it just really carries the experience for players.

This was just a good old fashioned, well made single player game that was a blast from start to finish and for the most part it excels and excites in all the right ways. A must for Bond and IO fans and those who just love some good campaign action.

Verdict

007 First Light feels like a new beginning for James Bond in video games with excellent acting performances, a tight script, solid gameplay, great action, polish and quality that matches the vision and a game that’s just enjoyable from the start. The online portion of the game is a bit confusing and some folks might find the linearity a bit frustrating and want more of a sandbox to play around in. But from the word go, First Light doesn’t let up and feels like a true James Bond game, through to the last.

Pros

007 First Light is out now on PC, PS, and Xbox. Coming soon to Switch 2.

Reviewed on PS5

Code Kindly Provided by IO for review purposes

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