REVIEW: In ‘007 First Light,’ Bond Is At His Best

Read our interview with IO Interactive about picking up the Bond legacy and making a game to honor their fans and 007 with 007 First Light.

007 First Light, the new action-adventure spy game developed and published by IO Interactive, really surprised me. Given IO’s pedigree for immersive and robust sandboxes across the Hitman series, Bond felt like a natural fit for them. A super spy being able to go through missions with a number of viable routes seemed like the baseline, and on that front, IO Interactive hit that out of the park.

What I didn’t expect was a truly excellent narrative, one that stands shoulder to shoulder with some of Bond’s best. It’s a thrilling, awesome spy story that grabs the player and doesn’t let go, with an equal focus on character and spectacle. 

007 First Light puts us behind the suppressor of a younger James Bond, newly brought in to training for the upcoming 00 program at MI6. It follows his progress through the program, with one of, if not the best, training montages in all of gaming.

Come to 007 First Light for stellar combat, stay for its expectation-smashing story.

We jump through assignments, seeing Bond progress with each new hurdle, sometimes not even finishing the current training. It’s an incredibly effective way to show the passage of time, months flying by, while the game introduces the player to its mechanics. 

Before long, Bond is thrust into a global journey, one set on uncovering a dark conspiracy focused on a past MI6 agent. I don’t want to spoil much of the story here because it genuinely left me surprised and enthralled with every turn around a new narrative corner. 007 First Light hits hard and by no means plays it safe, embracing the spy genre with twists, turns, loss, and of course, Bond’s trademark charisma and slickness. 

This Bond, while younger, feels like a mix of Bond’s we’ve seen before, situated in the current day. There are narrative reasons as to why the focus on a younger Bond works so well here, a green and unproven version of the super spy we know. Even with the lack of experience, this feels like Bond, quickly becoming one of my favorite iterations of the character. 

None of the narrative set up and pay off would work without an absolutely stellar supporting cast. M is every bit the rigid and capable leader, and when her humanity shines through with Bond, she feels trustworthy in everything she says. Moneypenny is Bond’s woman in the chair, leading Bond the best she can with support and a commitment to staying as mysterious as she can be.

The other recruits in the program are important friends, ones that go through the motions with Bond. Any one of these characters could’ve been a caricature or stereotypical, instead, we get fantastic additions to the universe on top of great spins on characters we’ve known for years.

The highlight here has to be Greenway, a gruff and tired old veteran putting Bond through the paces on the path to being an agent. His relationship with Bond is antagonistic and rough, colored by years of loss and commitment to a job over people. This all starts to melt away, and their relationship start to flourish, with these narrative moments being some of the best in the entire experience. 

Narrative aside, 007 First Light continues IO’s hallmark sandbox levels, full of opportunity and paths to a successful, or chaotic, mission. Dropping in on conversations and listening for clues might point towards a potential way forward.

Bluffing and charming through conversations can work, and when that fails, fisticuffs always remain an option. Sneaking across balconies and vents opens up quieter pathways, or utilizing an array of tools Bond has to distract and subdue opponents at a distance gives the player room to breathe.

IO give the player so much room to work in these bigger open levels, with the tools being an essential part of Bond’s arsenal. Whether it’s using the Q watch to turn on TVs and disrupt electrical equipment, or using a laser to blind enemies and cut through locks, each piece of equipment offers new potential. You’re limited to how much you can bring in, meaning replaying levels with a different loadout can significantly change your available options and routes. 

IO Interactive has upped its combat design from gunplay to melee; it’s innovative and gripping.

When things do get down to violence, 007 First Light comes out swinging. The melee combat is solid, even if it falters a bit with multiple enemies. The punches hit hard, and it’s always satisfying to grab an enemy and run them into a wall. It falters a bit when fighting with multiple physical combatants at one time, with the counters not always registering properly when Bond is getting hit from all sides.

Bond dies quickly, so it’s led to some frustrating moments that felt a bit unfair, especially in the early hours. Once the ebbs and flows of combat start to set in, it gets better, but group combat doesn’t ever feel as fluid as it could be.

The set pieces are huge and bombastic, with plenty of explosions and white-knuckle moments that are just a blast to play through. From a car chase across mountainside roads to a huge fight across an airfield to get to a plane before it takes off, every one of them is awesome and electric. 

Gunplay here is strong too, with each gun shot across pistols, rifles, shotguns, and more, feeling punchy and distinct. A lot of the flow of gun combat is reliant on guns running out of ammo, quickly whipping the equipped empty gun at an enemy before rushing in to steal theirs. It’s always satisfying and leaves a smile on my face every time I rip a gun into someone’s face. 

Outside of the main campaign, there’s also the TacSim (Tactical Simulation) mode. The entire campaign can be played offline, with the online component finding its home here.

There are a number of short challenges, striving to find the top of the leaderboard, with some longer operations as well that limit resources or put unique spins on the space. Whether it’s limiting ammo or needing to get a certain number of disarms or kills in specific ways, TacSim is a fun add-on with its own gameplay loop, currency, and unlocks to progress through.

Graphically, 007 First Light is stunning. The facial animations and character models are gorgeous, the environments are dense and detailed, the lighting is crisp, and the shadows are deep. From the jungles in Vietnam to the streets of London, each new location is full of visual splendor and packed with NPCs. The reflections are also beautiful, creating a clear and complex image that never falters. 

It should be added that, playing on PS5 Pro, the technical experience is mostly solid. The 60fps frame rate is virtually rock-solid, with a couple of minor stutters in a few cut scenes, but never during gameplay. It did get stuck a few times, and I had to relaunch the game to continue. The checkpointing is great so I never really lost progress, but it did happen twice. 

007 First Light is a new high for IO Interactive and Bond at his best.

Overall, IO Interactive feels like they’ve found a new home in the James Bond franchise. 007 First Light is a blast, with a tense and enthralling narrative that punches way higher and harder than anyone could have expected.

The gunplay is tight, the melee combat is solid, and the sandbox levels are dense and full of possibilities. The set pieces are massive, each with its own flavor of chaotic joy. TacSim provides a fun way to extend gameplay beyond the story, and even with a few technical issues, it runs really well overall on PS5 Pro.

Most importantly, though, is that this is a game that is easy to play again. I can’t wait to dive back into experimenting more with the equipment and finding new routes through levels. 007 First Light is Bond, and IO Interactive, at their best.

007 First Light is available for purchase on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch 2.