One liners, fast cars, high-tech gadgets, globe-trotting missions, girls and a signature martini all form part of one of the most recognisable fictional characters ever created. James Bond is undoubtedly one of the most iconic, world renowned and long-standing characters in any form of medium.
Yet there's only been one Bond film in the past 10 years with no new Bond game at all since 2012.
Like in Casino Royale, the stakes are incredibly high for developer IO Interactive to knock it out of the park with 007 First Light, a Bond origin story with a new take on the charismatic character.
But having been hands-on with 007 First Light for around three hours, playing through three different missions, IO is more than standing up to the task. It's on course to deliver one of the very best games of the past decade.
You can already pre-order 007 First Light on Amazon, but read on for my review on the first three missions.
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How I tested
I went hands-on with 007 First Light on PC at a preview event, playing through three missions which took around three hours in total.
When checking out games, there are three main things I always focus on:
- Story or game modes: I always consider whether the story is interesting and keeps me gripped. If a game does not have a story, for example, it’s a sports title, I will focus more on how good the different modes are.
- Presentation: I focus on how the game looks, runs and sounds.
- Gameplay: This is about how good the game itself is to play, what you do and what the mechanics of the game are really like.
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007 First Light
There have long been calls for IO to do a Bond game because of its success with the Hitman series. When 007 First Light was revealed, a lot of people (myself included) thought it looked like a cross between Hitman and Uncharted.
While it undoubtedly takes inspiration from both, calling it merely a crossover does 007 First Light a huge disservice. It's so, so much more than that.
Mission 1 - Iceland
Playing through three missions on PC, the first I played was set in Iceland which is right at the beginning of the game and takes place before Bond is even involved with the 00 programme. He's an aircrewman in training and finds himself on one of two helicopters that gets shot down off the coast of Iceland at night. Bond managers to survive and washes up on a beach but he quickly finds the group that shot the choppers down is searching for survivors.
This is where the gameplay starts, with an unarmed Bond sneaking past mercenaries looking to find and kill him. He's then contacted by MI6 through his earpiece and takes instructions in order to survive and proceed.
Bond is then tasked with infiltrating a base of mercenaries, and this is where you really start to get to grips with the gameplay. Traversal plays a key role, stealth is huge and the atmosphere this game generates from minute one is spectacular.
Even in fairly linear sections where you have to get from point A to point B, there's usually at least two different ways of doing it. From early on, you can climb ledges or jump across platforms. IO does a superb job of making it feel like you have a choice in how you want to proceed.
Infiltrating the base sees Bond using disguises to find out what MI6 is after and it turns out there are still MI6 survivors there. Ignoring orders, Bond chooses to try and save everyone he can and this is where the game's first smaller semi-open section takes place.
The objective? Find two groups of remaining survivors. You've got so much choice in how to proceed. You can choose whichever group you want to save first and there are different routes to take in order to do this.
However you want to play as Bond, you’re given the freedom to do so. And this is before all of the amazing gadgets and innovative gameplay really kick in. It's just a taste of what's to come.
You feel like you're playing through a Bond movie and that's established from the outset.
Mission 2 - Malta
The second mission I played was fairly short. It's set in Malta, where Bond is now part of the 00 training programme and is being put through his paces. You play an advanced training level through sandy ancient ruins where you have a sandbox (no pun intended) in front of you with an objective to reach with enemies standing between you and progressing.
Again, this can be done in whatever way you want. You can sneak past them and stay hidden, go all guns blazing or take a mixed approach. However you want to do this is entirely up to you.
This is also where more of Bond's abilities and gadgets start to become available to the player.
As well as close quarters and ranged combat, Bond can use his Q-Lens to scan surroundings and find interactive elements in the environment he can manipulate to his advantage. He can also hack to create distractions and take out enemies that way too. It’s quite a short level but it’s quite fun to replay and try out different approaches.
Mission 3 - Kensington, London
And the third mission was the main mission I got to play. It takes place around midway through the game.
It's set in Kensington, London and Bond finds himself alone in his apartment, trying to lay low, before an assassin tries to take him out. After dealing with the assassin, he quickly realises another one is in his flat. The tension built can be cut with a knife and you're then soon being shot at from across the rooftops.
This ends in a tense stealth section across the rooftops, where you’re trying to get to the gunman. It then turns into a thrilling chase. As it concludes, Bond dusts himself down and enters a glitzy gala where he hopes to find answers about the assassins who were ordered to kill him by attempting to triangulate a signal.
This is where the Hitman influences take full swing, however they never feel like a straight rip from those games because of the innovative gameplay techniques Bond can take advantage of. That and there are a number of different ways to achieve the objective.
Once Bond enters the gala, the first piece of the puzzle is working out how to access the invite-only party. You have to nab an invite from one of the attendees in the foyer and you can do this in a number of different ways. Distracting an attendee is the name of the game and I did this just by stunning them unintentionally with my watch but this allowed me to grab their pass while no-one was looking.
This provided an unexpected event where (although I didn't really mean to do what I did) the game allowed me to experience this and I nabbed the invite while an unstoppable grin spread across my face at this completely unscripted comedic moment. I was in and wasn't looking back.
And when you're in, this is where another gameplay aspect of 007 First Light shines. That's because those huge, dense Hitman levels IO is renowned for are taken to another level.
When Bond is in the gala, he needs to gain access to a security room – but, of course, you can’t just walk up to it – this is a Bond game after all.
This section starts with Bond looking at the vast room in front of him, full of people, with a bar placed in the middle and a stage at the back of the room. There's a balcony above on the first floor which is where the security room is - Bond has to do whatever he can to get there.
And there are so many different ways you can do this. I replayed this section a couple of times to mess around with different options. Want to impersonate a journalist, steal a camera and gain access past security? Steal an access pass from a member of staff and blag your way to the room? Or even impersonate a security guard by finding out the right names, opening up doors to places that would otherwise be inaccessible?
These are just some of the options IO has included to get to this particular objective. As well as all of the abilities carrying over from before, Bond can use Dart and Laser gadgets to further manipulate the environment and people around him. Using unique instincts opens up even more options.
Bond can lure NPCs to certain locations to then distract or stun them and even bluff his way out of situations he's not supposed to be in. Bluffing can only be used sparingly, but it's so satisfying talking your way out of sticky situations and getting away with it. Again, it’s something that elevates 007 First Light.
There are even optional conversations you can trigger with people who offer more depth to the overarching storyline too. And that's not all - you can listen in on random people's conversations who are chit chatting about daily life, events relating to what's happened with Bond or even commenting on how dashing Bond looks.
All of this culminates in a masterclass of level design and detail that very few, if any, games can match.
And all of the NPCs look great and perform flawlessly from my experience so far. Given just how dense this section is, the amount of detail IO has managed to include in every aspect is nothing short of exceptional. The fact these sections are punctuated by more linear stretches gives such a fantastic ebb and flow to gameplay variety and storytelling.
Getting to the room itself is one thing but then going inside is another. Enter another gameplay segment where you try to stay hidden, going into the security room and accessing a terminal to track down the person whose phone the signal came from using CCTV footage.
I tried stealth here but it didn't work and fists quickly started flying. Bond is not allowed to use a gun unless he has a 'licence to kill', meaning he can't use lethal force unless an enemy tries to kill him first.
As security guards are the main people standing in your way here, I took out a load of guards with melee before getting the information I needed and leaving. Going back into the gala, Bond bumps into an agent and their associate but he then becomes compromised, fainting and finding himself tied to a chair and being beaten.
Enter yet another innovative gameplay mechanic - to escape and progress, Bond must be in range of the antagonist’s phone so it can be hacked but the only way to do this is to provoke them so they come close enough for the hack to progress - but it results in Bond taking a beating and he can only take so much.
That means as a player, you have to balance Bond's health and raising the signal percentage to 100 per cent in order to progress. Managing this gives yet another high stakes setting that keeps the game feeling fresh and asking something different of you as a player.
Then, after escaping, comes a section where Bond has a licence to kill.
Mercenaries associated with the antagonist come for Bond and this is where the game becomes a third-person cover shooter. Bond can still use the environment to his advantage but using an arsenal of weapons, including pistols, SMGs, rifles and shotguns, comes to the fore.
And the gunplay is great. It doesn't introduce anything necessarily groundbreaking in terms of shootouts but when it hits the fan, it's incredibly satisfying taking out waves of enemies and pulling off perfect headshots.
Enemies do their best to try and flank you and put you in really difficult positions. The enemy AI forces you to be on your toes, be proactive and one step ahead, otherwise you'll get trapped in a corner with scarce ammo.
Again, this elevates 007 First Light. From what I’ve experienced, it’s more than just a cover shooter – the AI reacts to what you're doing and adapts to your style. It's on you to create openings and take the fight to them to not be overwhelmed.
There's also a boss fight where Bond has to manipulate the environment to his advantage. He has no gun and has to sneak around, using his watch to use the environment to land blows on his opponent. The same technique can't be done twice either as the boss starts to learn what to look for.
While that may sound quite simple, it forces you to use more of Bond's skillset and really think about how to get the best of this boss. It's not a huge boss fight but is another brilliant example of IO making sure you're on your toes at all times in such a positive way, asking something new of you as a player.
After escaping all of this and leaving the gala, Bond is met with a shooting squad armed and ready to take him out. He needs to sneak to a getaway vehicle to escape. Bond manages to do this and ends the level commandeering a bin lorry, bashing through the streets of Kensington on your way to an escape. And it’s as wild and as chaotic as you’d expect.
To note, the writing, soundtrack and lighting are all exceptional too. Bond has the brilliant one liners you'd expect, the soundtrack perfectly accompanies what's happening to Bond at any point and the lighting is just flawless. Low lighting and reflections are all stellar across the board.
Buy now £59.99, Amazon.co.uk
My first thoughts on ‘007 First Light’
When previewing games, I don't usually like getting ahead of myself until playing the full game as there's still time for the game to be polished and perfected.
But I just can't stop myself from being absolutely hyped for 007 First Light after playing it for three hours.
Everything about it is just absolutely superb - the writing, the story, the graphics, the performance, the gameplay - you name it, 007 First Light has nailed it so far.
I honestly can't fault it at the moment and if the rest of the game is as good as this, IO Interactive could have one of the best games of the decade on its hands.
While I'm waiting impatiently for the full release, I'll be grabbing a martini - shaken, not stirred, of course.
007 First Light will be released on PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC on 27 May. It will come to Nintendo Switch 2 later in the year.
Why you can trust IndyBest previews
Jake Brigstock is The Independent’s gaming correspondent. He has spent countless hours putting a full spectrum of consoles (he got a first look at the Nintendo Switch 2) and games through their paces, so he is well-placed to bring you his initial thoughts on 007 First Light.
