007 First Light assessment: A wise Bond origin story| Best Buy Weblog

Playing 007 First Light jogged my memory how arduous it’s for a James Bond sport to get the spy facet proper. The capturing and automotive chases are right here, however the sport finds its footing when Bond is bluffing previous suspicion, studying a room, utilizing Q-Branch devices, and recovering after his cowl falls aside. That is the place IO Interactive’s tackle Bond finds its id.

If you’re in search of a large open-ended Hitman-style sandbox, 007 First Light isn’t that sport. This is a directed third-person action-adventure with stealth, devices, close-quarters fights, gunplay, and quick automobile sequences constructed round a younger James Bond origin story. I’d advocate it most to Bond followers and action-adventure followers who need a full single-player marketing campaign with persona, not a replay-first stealth playground.

007 First Light’s major tradeoff is replay worth. The marketing campaign runs round 15 to twenty hours, relying on how a lot you discover, and Tactical Simulation mode provides additional problem content material past the story. Even so, the principle draw is the marketing campaign itself. But does 007 First Light carry James Bond again to video games in a method that’s price shopping for? Let’s take a more in-depth look.

007 First Light particulars

Platform(s): PS5, Xbox Series X|S, PC, Nintendo Switch 2 (Later in 2026)
Reviewed on: PS5
Developer(s): IO Interactive
Publisher(s): IO Interactive
Genre: Action-adventure
Modes: Single-player
ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

A youthful Bond makes the story extra fascinating

007 First Light begins earlier than James Bond has earned 00 standing, and that provides the story a stronger method in as a result of he isn’t handled just like the completed super-spy from minute one. He begins as a gifted however unproven operative who catches MI6’s consideration after a mission goes incorrect. From there, he enters the Double 0 program and will get pulled into a bigger risk involving a rogue agent.

That early stretch works properly for each longtime Bond followers and newcomers. Longtime Bond followers get a model of the character who nonetheless has the nerve, attraction, and hazard they anticipate. Newcomers get an origin story that explains why MI6 sees him as greater than one other reckless recruit. You don’t have to know rather a lot about James Bond to comply with the story, however the acquainted items are there for anybody who is aware of the movies. You additionally spend time round MI6, Q-Branch, Universal Exports, and different recruits, which provides the company extra presence than standard. The story is filled with acquainted Bond elements, together with M, Q, Moneypenny, devices, harmful missions, and international stakes, but it surely doesn’t rely solely on recognition.

John Greenway additionally performs an vital function as Bond’s mentor. His relationship with Bond helps stability the younger-agent angle as a result of Bond has somebody pushing again in opposition to his instincts. Bond is charming, succesful, and harmful, however he’s additionally nonetheless determining how far self-assurance can carry him earlier than it turns into an issue. Some story turns are simpler to identify than others, and the villains don’t get the identical room to breathe because the MI6 forged. Still, the forged is without doubt one of the major causes the marketing campaign holds collectively. This model of Bond has sufficient acquainted angle to work as 007, however the youthful method offers the marketing campaign its personal flavour.

Social stealth and Q-Branch devices drive the spy work

The greatest missions in 007 First Light are constructed round studying an area earlier than performing. Bond can listen in on conversations, watch guard patterns, discover alternate routes, and use Q-Branch instruments to create openings. That makes every restricted space greater than a easy crouch-walk part. You’re in search of the small crack within the room that lets Bond transfer ahead with out turning each mistake right into a shootout.

The Q-Lens, Q-Watch, Laser Strap, Dart Phone, Smoke Pod, and Flash Mine all assist that spy fantasy. The Q-Watch can intervene with digital gadgets, which helps you to distract guards or cowl Bond’s motion by a restricted space. The Dart Phone can take away a guard from a patrol path by forcing them to go away their submit. The Laser Strap and different instruments add extra methods to interrupt a state of affairs earlier than it turns right into a full struggle.

Bluffing is without doubt one of the most helpful concepts right here. When Bond is caught someplace he shouldn’t be, he isn’t all the time completed. In some conditions, he can speak his method by suspicion lengthy sufficient to maintain transferring. That makes failure much less binary. Instead of restarting as a result of one guard turned on the incorrect time, you get an opportunity to get well and improvise. The devices additionally hold every goal straightforward to comply with. You’re normally fixing a smaller downside in entrance of you. Move one guard, create a distraction, get by a restricted door, or escape earlier than the room turns hostile. That retains the spy work concerned with out making it overwhelming.

That method additionally helps the sport keep away from turning into a pure stealth check. You can sneak by loads of areas, however the enjoyable comes from combining the instruments. Distract one guard, use a gadget on one other, stroll by a crowd, then speak your method out when somebody questions you.

Close-quarters fight has extra chew than gunplay

When stealth breaks down, 007 First Light shifts into close-quarters fight rapidly. Bond can punch, counter, seize, disarm, and use close by objects to show a foul place round. These fights are extra bodily than I anticipated from IO Interactive. Bond doesn’t simply commerce punches in a clear area. He crashes by areas, makes use of furnishings, and forces enemies out of place. That makes brawling a wise match for this model of Bond. He’s not solely a spy with devices. He’s somebody who can survive when a cautious plan falls aside. If a guard blocks your path, a gadget can distract them. If that fails, a bluff should purchase time. And, if that fails too, Bond can seize, counter, or use the room itself to create a gap.

Gunfights are extra easy. They assist the marketing campaign shift into massive Bond motion, however they don’t have the identical persona because the stealth and brawling. You’ll transfer between cowl, use explosive objects when enemies group collectively, and struggle from a distance when stealth is now not an possibility. The situation is that capturing hardly ever has the identical spark as utilizing devices or working by a restricted space. The fight is extra enjoyable when it begins as a result of your stealth plan falls aside. Getting caught, recovering with a bluff, knocking one guard apart, then grabbing a weapon from the room suits Bond properly. Longer capturing sections are much less memorable as a result of they transfer the sport nearer to acquainted cover-based motion.

Driving sections present up in brief bursts and assist carry within the Bond car-chase flavour with out taking on the marketing campaign. They’re entertaining as breaks from sneaking and preventing, however they don’t develop into the centre of the expertise. Keeping these sections temporary was the higher selection.

007 First Light appears to be like sharp and performs higher in Performance mode

007 First Light appears to be like like a contemporary Bond sport ought to, with modern MI6 areas, luxurious interiors, crowded social areas, and enemy compounds that every one match the spy setting. These areas have sufficient element to make the world look appropriately high-end with out turning each area right into a sightseeing tour. The marketing campaign strikes by a variety of locations, and the extra detailed areas make you need to decelerate and search for routes as an alternative of dashing straight to the marker.

Character work is simply as vital because the environments. Patrick Gibson’s Bond has the correct mix of swagger and inexperience for an origin story. The supporting forged helps hold the marketing campaign from revolving solely round Bond. Moneypenny, Q, Greenway, and the opposite MI6 figures make the company greater than a briefing room between missions.

007 First Light has two graphics modes to select from, and Performance mode is the one I like to recommend. Resolution mode runs at 4K and 30 frames per second, whereas Performance mode targets 60 frames per second. In a sport the place sneaking by a restricted space can flip right into a fistfight quick, the faster response makes extra of a distinction than a better decision picture. Resolution mode remains to be price attempting for those who care most about picture high quality, however 007 First Light performs higher when the controls reply sooner. You’re typically reacting to a guard recognizing you, transferring between cowl, or recovering after a gadget plan goes sideways. Performance mode is the only option for a way the sport truly performs.

007 First Light has a number of visible tough edges price mentioning. Distant pop-in can present up, and a few background faces don’t have the identical element as the principle forged. I wouldn’t name both one a deal-breaker, however they’re noticeable subsequent to the sport’s better-looking areas and character scenes. 007 First Light additionally contains helpful accessibility choices, together with decreased gentle results, flashbang darkish impact settings, subtitle changes, ambient dialogue settings, and menu narration choices. Those settings are useful in a spy sport the place eavesdropping, background chatter, and visible results can all play into the way you comply with a mission.

007 First Light brings Bond again with the suitable focus

007 First Light is the form of Bond sport that understands the license is about greater than weapons, vehicles, and fits. Those items are all right here, however the sport has extra persona when Bond is performing like a spy. Eavesdropping, bluffing, Q-Branch devices, restricted areas, and hand-to-hand escapes assist flip James Bond into a contemporary single-player action-adventure.

007 First Light isn’t good. The capturing is serviceable, the motion scenes don’t all the time match the stealth missions, and the marketing campaign isn’t constructed round fixed replaying. If you anticipated IO Interactive to provide Bond the identical replay-heavy construction as Hitman, go in with totally different expectations. 007 First Light is a guided Bond marketing campaign with non-compulsory paths inside missions.

Pros	Cons
Strong younger Bond origin story	Not as replay-focused as IO Interactive’s Hitman video games
Bond’s bluffing and social stealth instruments make missions extra fascinating	Shooting is much less fascinating than stealth and brawling
Q-Branch devices create helpful choices throughout missions	Vehicle sections are temporary
Hand-to-hand fight makes failed stealth enjoyable to get well from	Some story turns are straightforward to foretell
Tactical Simulation mode provides additional problem content material

If you go into 007 First Light anticipating a story-driven Bond journey, it’s a lot simpler to understand what IO Interactive has constructed right here. It’s price your time in order for you stealth instruments, devices, close-quarters fights, and a marketing campaign that strikes with goal. It additionally works properly for those who like action-adventure video games however don’t need a huge open stealth map to be taught from scratch.

If you’re hoping for deep replay worth or wide-open stealth areas, you could need to maintain off on 007 First Light till you’ve seen extra of how the missions are constructed. For most Bond followers, although, 007 First Light is the form of comeback the franchise wanted.

Overall evaluation of 007 First Light

Gameplay: 4/5
Graphics: 4.5/5
Sound: 4/5
Lasting Appeal / Replayability: 4/5

Overall Rating: 4.1/5 (82%)

007 First Light brings James Bond again to video games with a marketing campaign that places spy work first and motion second. Its greatest missions allow you to learn the room, use the suitable gadget, and get well when a plan falls aside. That makes it properly price a search for Bond followers who need a story-driven single-player journey constructed round stealth, devices, brawls, and a youthful model of 007 discovering his place at MI6.