007: First Light review – Everything a Bond game should be

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Get ready to step into the shoes of James Bond! A new 007 game, First Light, is here, and it delivers everything fans love – cool gadgets, witty one-liners, iconic vehicles, and thrilling missions. Time to dress your best and shake (not stir) your way into a classic Bond experience.

Growing up in the 2000s, the James Bond video games were a huge part of my childhood. I played titles like GoldenEye, The World is Not Enough, Nightfire, Everything or Nothing, and From Russia with Love over and over again.

After that, Activision took over the series. While their games were decent, they didn’t quite live up to the highly acclaimed titles from the late 90s and early 2000s. Activision lost the license in 2013, and the iconic British spy hasn’t appeared in a video game since.

Good news for James Bond fans: the developers of Hitman, IO Interactive, have released 007: First Light, and it definitely lives up to the hype.

007: First Light screenshots

slovakia in 007 first light
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What is 007: First Light about? 

007: First Light is an action-packed adventure game played from a third-person perspective. It blends stealth and combat with large, dramatic moments. Fans of Hitman will appreciate its freedom in how you approach levels, but it also features over-the-top, cinematic action similar to the Uncharted series.

Despite taking inspiration from various games, this is clearly a James Bond experience. It includes everything fans expect: witty conversations with Moneypenny, orders from M, access to Q’s cool gadgets, cheesy jokes, beautiful locations, a grand orchestral score, and, of course, Aston Martin cars. Long-time Bond fans will also appreciate the many hidden references and nods to the series.

Unlike other Bond films that start with a seasoned agent, First Light tells the story of how James Bond became 007, showing his early days and how he earned his license to kill.

This story introduces James Bond at age 26, a confident and talented air crewman from the Royal Navy. He’s recruited by MI6 to join their newly restarted ‘Double-0’ program. After training, Bond and his fellow recruits are sent to Slovakia to capture a runaway agent, code-named 009, but the mission quickly falls apart.

“The name’s Bond…” 

So, I’ve been checking out Patrick Gibson as the new Bond in ‘First Light,’ and honestly, he’s pretty good! He plays Bond as a bit of a cocky smart-aleck, definitely impulsive, but a hero at heart. It’s not a Bond performance that’ll go down in history, but there’s nothing really wrong with it, and I’d totally be up for seeing him reprise the role in another movie.

The movie also features a fantastic supporting cast. Kiera Lester delivers a compelling performance as Monneypenny, perfectly contrasting with the hero’s daring nature, Alastair Mackenzie is spot-on as Q, and Lennie James (known from The Walking Dead) is excellent as Greenway, Bond’s demanding trainer.

While not one of the most iconic James Bond stories, this adventure translates well into a video game. It takes familiar elements from popular action franchises like Uncharted, Mission: Impossible, and the Bourne series, offering a fresh take on those formulas. The game knows what it is, but it avoids becoming a silly spoof.

The game’s main issue is its slow start. The beginning feels overly long with lots of training sequences and cutscenes, interrupted by brief tutorial sections. There’s also too much time spent in between missions, leaving you eager to jump back into the action.

Once you get past the initial setup, the game really comes to life. Unlike some other 007 games that are just shooting games with the Bond label, this one truly feels like a spy adventure.

A license to thrill

Missions mostly follow a familiar but fun formula: stealth, action, then a huge cinematic climax. 

To start, you’ll need to go into disguise and sneak into off-limits areas. This involves collecting intel, creating diversions, scaling walls, using costumes, and relying on your charm and persuasion.

No Bond game is complete without awesome gadgets, and this one delivers! When you’re sneaking around, you’ve got tons of options. I can use my Q-Watch to distract guards by messing with stuff like printers, or even use my Dart Phone to… well, let’s just say make someone really uncomfortable. And if things get hairy, I can toss my Flash Mine Earphones at enemies to blind them and make a quick escape. It’s seriously fun finding creative ways to use everything!

Exploring the game world and finding clues reveals many different ways to finish each mission, and it feels great when your plan works! While the main story takes around 18 hours to finish, the game offers a lot of reasons to play it again and again.

You have two options for replaying missions: you can start from any checkpoint, or you can use TacSim mode to replay specific parts with extra challenges. In TacSim, you’ll also be able to customize your loadout with the outfits, weapons, and gadgets you prefer.

My main frustration is that, like many stealth games, the enemies in these parts aren’t very perceptive – they seem to forget you quickly and have poor hearing and vision, especially on the normal difficulty setting.

After the stealth portion, the game shifts to action, and it’s decent. The combat and shooting are well-done, but they aren’t the most memorable parts of the experience.

In fights, you’ll avoid attacks by dodging and blocking, and try to defeat your enemies. You can also throw nearby objects like hammers or mugs, though there isn’t a lot of flexibility in how you do it.

When the action gets really intense, a ‘License to Kill’ mode activates, letting you unleash a full arsenal. You’ll quickly move between cover, shoot exploding barrels, and aim for headshots. Because ammo is scarce, you’ll be constantly swapping weapons—and even throwing empty ones at enemies! It’s exciting and impactful, but the gameplay can become a little repetitive after a while.

The battles with bosses also become repetitive, often requiring you to do the same things over and over until they’re defeated.

The game’s missions frequently culminate in spectacular, action-packed sequences reminiscent of a Tom Cruise film. Think high-speed car chases, running alongside airplanes, or escaping collapsing structures – it delivers the thrilling action you’d expect from a James Bond adventure.

Verdict

007: First Light is worthy of the Bond legacy, bringing classic spy action to current-gen.  

Okay, so this Bond game nails it. Seriously, it feels like they took everything awesome from the best Bond movies – the witty banter, the crazy gadgets, the iconic cars – and put it all in a game. You get to do a lot of sneaking around, the actors are fantastic, and the action? Huge! It’s everything I’ve ever wanted in a 007 game.

Okay, so it’s not flawlessly paced, and the fighting could get a little repetitive, but honestly, if you’re a 007 fan, or you love action, stealth, or even the Hitman games, you’re probably going to have a blast with this. I know I did!

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2026-05-26 15:21