It's been nearly 14 years since the last James Bond game, 007 Legends, was released by Eurocom and turned out to be a spectacular failure that also ended the British studio. Gaming fans of the most renowned fictional spy in the world had to wait two entire console generations before IO Interactive came with its 007 First Light.
The long wait, however, has more than paid off. Whereas 007 Legends was a mediocre Call of Duty clone featuring a disjointed medley of levels inspired by films like Die Another Day, Goldfinger, Licence to Kill, Moonraker, and On Her Majesty's Secret Service, 007 First Light is a finely crafted third-person action/adventure game that features a wholly original story worthy of the best James Bond movies.
Spycraft, Gadgets, and Combat
This time around, license holders Eon Productions and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer have picked the right studio. With their expertise on the HITMAN series, the Copenhagen-based developers were the perfect fit for a brand new Bond game adaptation. That said, I should highlight right away how this game plays very differently from any HITMAN installment. Unlike Agent 47's games, which are largely sandbox-oriented and leave a lot of agency to players on how to reach their targets, 007 First Light is, first and foremost, narrative-driven. That's an understandable trade-off of being able to leverage the rich world of James Bond, originally envisioned by Ian Fleming and then expanded through a myriad of movies.
In practice, this means the game features a mix of linear levels, where you feel more like playing something like Naughty Dog's Uncharted than an IO Interactive game, and a few open-ended levels where the player is given more freedom in how to approach the situations. After finishing the game, I'd say the formula makes sense, though I would have preferred a slightly different mix, with even more open-ended levels and only a couple of linear set-pieces sprinkled throughout the story to give it a bit of cinematic flair. That's because the Uncharted-like levels aren't quite as polished and immaculate as Naughty Dog's. They're still enjoyable to go through and also narratively important, but the comparison against the genre's benchmark reveals there's still some work to do on that front.
On the other hand, 007 First Light predictably shines the most when the studio's trademark expertise comes into play in the open-ended areas. Here, players can use various tools that really make them feel like the ultimate spy. Firstly, there's Bond's Instinct resource, which slowly fills up by performing successful spy moves. With enough Instinct, Bond can lure guards out of their usual positions and patrolling paths, which is essential when you're trying to take them down silently. Even when discovered, he can use some Instinct to bluff his way out of a direct confrontation, an ability directly lifted from the fictional character's renowned smooth-talking skillset. This does not work on all enemy types or situations, though. Lastly, having some Instinct is extremely useful during firefights because it can be used to trigger Focus, slowing down time for a few moments to take carefully aimed shots at your assailants.
Of course, being James Bond, you have access to a variety of cool gadgets crafted by the Q-Lab. At first, you can only equip two or three, but later it expands to four slots. The Laser can cut through wires, metal barrels, and some physical locks; it can also briefly blind an opponent and create an opportunity for a finishing move. The Dart Phone triggers objects from a distance, lures enemies toward a target spot, or disorients a person when used directly on them. The Shockwave Camera destroys breakable cover and some locked doors, and can emit a shockwave that pushes enemies away. The Flash Mine Earphones are a blast device that sticks to surfaces and detonates near enemies, making it highly useful for traps and close-group control. The Missile Pen can blow up even sturdy environmental objects or quickly take out groups of enemies, and lastly, the Smoke Pods create a smoke cloud to slip past enemies undetected or confuse them during combat.
These gadgets do not work on a cooldown-based mechanics. Instead, throughout the entire of 007 First Light, you will be gathering electronic and chemical resources sprinkled across all the levels (even the MI6 headquarters) to replenish the gadgets, otherwise they might not be available to use when you need them. Each requires either electronic or chemical resources, so you'd ideally want to select gadgets so they don't all consume the same resource. On top of these selectable gadgets sits the Q-Watch, which is available for most of the adventure and can be used to hack objects, disable surveillance cameras, trigger distractions, and activate or deactivate environmental hazards, Watch Dogs-style.
As a spy, you can also exploit certain situations to your advantage. Eavesdropping on conversations unlocks intel and new opportunities; pickpocketing items like keys can get you access to other areas; and distracting watchers lets you move ahead undetected. By the way, stealth is handled very fluidly; if you are spotted, there's still a chance to "contain the situation" after neutralizing all active threats that have become aware of Bond's presence. The titular Licence to Kill is triggered only when enemies show a clear intent to shoot. Indeed, shooting scenarios are relatively infrequent, especially in the first half of the game, though they do become more common later on as the stakes ramp up.
Most of the time, you'll be dispatching foes with your firsts. Melee combat is solid, although not very deep; there is no heavy attack, for instance. You can, however, block and parry, dodge, and also grab enemies and slam them into the environment, as well as throw nearby items like bottles. When their health is almost depleted, a finishing move can be triggered to knock them unconscious. Arguably, the most overpowered ability is the shoulder charge, which makes Bond essentially immune to the other enemies while you perform the action on a specific target. You can repeat this over and over again to handle groups of enemies quite easily, even at the highest difficulty level, Purist. Overall, if IO Interactive went for cinematic combat, the goal was achieved, although perhaps a bit more challenge would have been welcome. Sometimes Bond has to get behind the wheel of a car, boat, or truck, though I expected vehicles to be more prevalent throughout the game. Instead, these are relatively short and self-contained situations that only really serve as a brief respite between regular gameplay.
A Strong Bond Story
By far, the best part of 007 First Light is the narrative. This is somewhat of a shock, as their games were never known for particularly intricate plots, and there was a legitimate question of whether IO Interactive could pull off a story worthy of James Bond. Instead, they passed with flying colors, delivering a narrative that can stand up to the best Bond movies.
First Light is an origin story that spends quite a bit of time building Bond as a character before he even enters the 00 programme. The first mission features him as a simple aircrewman in training with the Royal Navy who is suddenly the only survivor of a secret MI6 mission in Iceland. Bond not only survives but also shows enough initiative to interest MI6 head "M", who gets him into the freshly revived 00 programme despite the strong reservations of Training Instructor John Greenway. From here onward, the developers spun an intricate web of intriguing characters, each with their own motives and personalities, not to mention an overarching conspiracy that is slowly revealed throughout the 15 and a half hours the game should take you to complete it, in a globetrotting adventure that takes Bond to Slovakia, Mauritania, Vietnam, and Antarctica, among others.
All of the cast provided excellent performances, though particular standouts are Bond himself, voiced by Patrick Gibson, who is every bit the cocksure, headstrong, relentless spy crafted by Fleming; the enigmatic Miss Roth, so much more than the average "Bond girl", played by Noemie Nakai; and Lennie James, whom The Walking Dead fans will recognize as the actor behind Morgan Jones, who steals the show as Greenway.
Glacier's Technical Excellence
From a technical standpoint, 007 First Light is also absolutely excellent. The latest evolution of the Glacier engine delivers great visuals and handles the game's larger levels with ease, never breaking a sweat even at maximum settings and NVIDIA DLAA enabled on a PC with a GeForce RTX 5090 GPU and Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU. There was no stuttering, either, a nice departure from what we're used to seeing in too many PC games. Unfortunately, IO Interactive delayed path tracing to a later update coming this Summer. It would have been ideal to play the game for the first time at its peak visual splendor; on the flip side, if there were optimization issues to iron out, it was definitely best to avoid ruining the launch experience.
Reviewed on PC (code provided by the publisher).
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
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