007 First Light Review – A Spy Thriller With Plenty of Heart

Developer IO Interactive is synonymous with Hitman, where you play around in an open sandbox trying to find fun ways to assassinate your target without (hopefully) getting caught. When it was announced that IO would be making a James Bond game, 007 First Light, it seemed like a match made in heaven.

The studio’s expertise in spy games fit the espionage nature of James Bond, but it’s been a while since it tackled a huge single-player narrative adventure. IO’s last effort was 2010’s Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days, which was a dreadful experience. Thankfully, 007 First Light is a complete 180 in terms of storytelling. While the game suffers from the performance issues as well as some clunky brawling mechanics, the shooting and gadgetry helps it stand out amongst its other action-adventure inspirations.

Game Name: 007 First Light
Platform(s): PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S
Reviewed On: Xbox Series X|S
Genre: Action Adventure
Publisher(s): IO Interactive
Developer(s): IO Interactive
Release Date: May 27th, 2026 (or 1 day early for Premium Edition)

A Fresh Recruit

007 First Light is an origin story of James Bond, showing his rookie years through the British spy organization MI6. As opposed to many of the James Bond films, this one stars a younger agent, giving us a different perspective as he grows into the role of 007. As a result, it’s a lot easier to sympathize with him when he acts brash or makes mistakes.

One of the core themes of 007 First Light is humanity. The story introduces an AI supercomputer to help assist Bond and MI6 on their missions, but M, the 00 recruitment program’s manager, says that there’s always a need for the human element. It’s a surprisingly poignant story that explores how humans connect with each other and learn that the world is filled with moral greys. It’s best exemplified by Bond’s relationships with the other 00 recruits, as well as his mentor, John Greenway.

Bond’s quick on-the-spot thinking often clashes with Greenway’s hardened expertise of going by the book. However, as they continue to embark on more missions together, they learn to respect each other’s methods. 007 First Light captures the excitement of a spy thrilling without sacrificing emotional moments.

What also helps is the excellent acting from Patrick Gibson, whose likeness and voice was used for this iteration of Bond. I was initially hesitant of his performance, but after playing through 007 First Light and seeing the full context of the story and cutscenes, Gibson really stuck the landing here. He’s just as charming as the Bonds in the films, but also nails the haughtiness and ego that comes with being young. Bond here is well-written too, as his altruistic personality constantly puts him at odds with MI6’s more corporate directives, and that internal conflict holds your attention up until the credits roll.

All the Time in the World

007 First Light plays a lot like a streamlined Hitman game. There are several different opportunities to achieve your goals in a mission, such as sneaking up in a vent to reach a room, or finding the actual key to it. Bond can discover opportunities by eavesdropping on NPCs, and these instances are much more candidly marked, making you feel like an actual secret agent as opposed to the slapstick assassin Agent 47 is in Hitman. You don’t have the same amount of variety of sheer opportunities as in Hitman, like shooting a chandelier down to crush your target or drowning them in a toilet, but this makes 007 First Light feel grounded.

The variety of environments is impressive as well, as it almost feels like I’m playing Indiana Jones and the Great Circle the way that Bond is globetrotting everywhere. From the grimy streets of London and the tropical beaches of Vietnam to a giant skyscraper, each level takes place in a different part of the world. The constant switch of settings helps keep the visuals fresh.

Unfortunately, 007 First Light suffers from a few performance issues, at least on Xbox Series X|S. It runs fine from moment-to-moment, but I’ve had a few hard crashes here and there where I was forcibly sent back to my console’s home page. Additionally, the game could’ve also used a few more QA passes. There were a few instances where I actually got softlocked.

For example, there’s a shipyard level where I lowered a bridge for Greenway to cross. As someone who searches every nook and cranny for collectibles, I backtracked to where Greenway came from and there was a prompt to jump across a gap. When I stumbled across a dead end and turned around, I found that there was no prompt to jump back across, effectively stranding me in the corner of the shipyard. At that point, I had no choice but to restart the checkpoint and lose about 15-20 minutes of progress, which was definitely frustrating. It’s even worse when the game suffers from long load times too.

007 First Light has a surprising amount of replayability. Just like Hitman, there are various challenges you can attempt. In certain mission segments, you can complete the “Ghost” challenge, which means you can’t get spotted, or the “Pacifist” challenge which requires you to not hurt anyone. Completing these can unlock outfits for Bond to use in TacSim.

TacSim is where 007 First Light resembles Hitman’s structure the most. It’s a simulation mode that provides a bunch of challenge levels with different objectives like securing intel or taking out hostiles. These levels are much more arcade-like in nature, and completing them earns you XP to unlock new weapons, outfits, and gadgets to use in the mode. After you’re done with story mode, TacSim is a blast to try out with the additional freedom and choice you’re granted.

Man of the Hour

The gameplay is where 007 First Light feels the most “industry standard,” almost like an Uncharted game. Like many other third-person action adventure games, you can stealthily take out enemies and cause distractions by grabbing or diverting their attention. Sure, these aren’t revolutionizing or original mechanics, but 007 First Light differentiates itself in plenty of ways.

Bond can’t use any guns unless he’s granted a “License to Kill,” meaning that enemies have to approach with the intent to kill him, and only then is he allowed to use deadly force. When he’s trying to infiltrate areas, he can’t even kill anyone even if others catch him trespassing. This restriction really emphasizes that killing is only a last resort for Bond.

007 First Light also limits the amount of times Bond can whistle to lure an enemy or NPC. Doing so costs a certain amount of “Instinct,” which can only be replenished by taking out other enemies or fulfilling tasks. Instinct is also required to bluff your way out of situations if you’re caught trespassing. So, there’s a clever balance of trying to pick the right moment to use it.

And of course, there’s the gadgets. There’s a decent amount of choice here that gives you a bit of customization in how to tackle your missions. There’s the phone dart that makes NPCs sick and causes them to move out of the way, giving you a chance to sneak around them, as well as a laser beam that can melt metal locks that Bond can’t kick his way through. These are more fitting for stealth, but there are a few more offensively-oriented ones, like a ballistic missile pen and bluetooth earbuds that act as smoke grenades.

You only have a limited number of gadget slots, so picking certain gadgets over others could limit your infiltration options and combat capabilities. Based on your own playstyle, you can either pick a balance of gadgets, or favor one type over the other, which adds more diversity on how you approach levels.

The shooting and close quarters combat have drastically improved from the Hitman games. Guns feel smooth and precise, along with the right amount of kickback to make them feel realistic. Instinct can be used to slow down time so you can line up headshots, but just like bluffing and luring, you’ll need to be strategic so you don’t deplete it all in one go. Despite fist fights being better than they were in Hitman, there are still some lingering issues.

It feels like the freeflow combat from the Batman Arkham series, but there’s a sense of clunkiness to it. When the camera zooms in too close or zooms around, I’m constantly having to readjust the camera. It’s an issue because some actions require two buttons to activate. For example, in order to charge into an enemy, you have to press the right bumper and the X button (on an Xbox controller). But it’s hard to react in time when one of my fingers is on the right thumbstick moving the camera around. A simple lock-on could really go a long way to fixing this.

Verdict

007 First Light is the best James Bond game to date. Free from the shackles of licensed titles, First Light is able to tell a compelling origin story filled with political intrigue, espionage, and heart. Along with implementing its own twists on tried-and-true action-adventure gameplay mechanics, 007 First Light comes equipped with beautiful landscapes, creative level design, and tons of replayability. Despite some performance issues and combat woes, this new era of Bond has successfully completed its mission.

007 First Light is currently available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.

If you enjoyed this review, explore more of our in-depth video game reviews across PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch 2, and PC.