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“Bond, James Bond.”
Of all of Bond’s iconic lines, this one tends to linger. It drips with the confidence of a man who knows his name precedes him. “You know my name,” a line raspily sung by the late-great Chris Cornell, spells out the reputation of the man and, like his cocksure introduction, hangs in the air like a warning to those he sits across from.
That’s the James Bond we know. 007 First Light looks to explore the Bond we don’t know, who’s pulled into the world of MI6, put through a training programme for the renewed 00 initiative, before rising through the ranks to earn the codename he’s so often referred to. First Light is effective as an origin story in that it depicts a hopeful Bond, full of his trademark “For England” pluck, as he learns the system, his place in it, and just how far the red tape can stretch.
The story told, which is full of the standard intrigue, deception, and world-altering stakes, also serves as a fine launching pad for Bond’s career relationships with the likes of Moneypenny, Q, and “ma’am” herself, M. Though clearly different from their on-screen adaptations, they’re perfect for the story IOI is setting up here, and I’m hopeful it’s not the last we’ll see of their Bond. As for the narrative, it’s got all of the Bond hallmarks in shooting, shagging, and spycraft, and it’s all done on a global scale as he’s given enough of a leash to explore his hunches.
The underlying question the narrative is asking pertains to artificial intelligence and whether machine learning will ever be enough to trump heart and uncalculated intuition. It’s similar, in that sense, to the last two Mission: Impossible films; it might tread the same thematic ground, but the vehicles for the stories themselves are quite different.
After completing his 00 training, Bond’s non-stop express trip to fieldwork culminates in an explosive en passant, so to speak, which sets in motion a global manhunt, taking Bond’s skillset to places like Mauritania and Vietnam over the course of twenty hours of thrilling espionage. First Light finds the perfect balance between all of Bond’s proficiencies, as exciting, high-octane action often gives way to quiet, concentrated spycraft, all before launching into a pulsating rooftop chase; it isn’t all perfect, but it is the quintessential Bond experience.
To say IOI fits Bond like a glove is an understatement, given their time perfecting stealth through Hitman, it seemed like a no-brainer they’d be enlisted to bring Bond back. Of course, First Light’s moments of espionage are worlds of opportunity where resourcefulness is paramount; there are several avenues to success in IOI’s Bond; however, it’s hard to say each of them feels as rewarding as the rest, simply due to how some of the gadgets trivialise some things.
Of course, you can saunter around a gala, bubbles in hand, and eavesdrop on nearby chatter to get the intel needed to advance, or you can, like a jackass at the theatre, shine a laser pointer in the security guard’s eyes and slip by unnoticed by everyone. Depending on how the player chooses to engage with the game’s tools will decide whether it’s all a little silly, or not. I do think the First Light has adequate systems in place to be a genuinely excellent game of spies, but I felt it seemed to be undermined regularly as I’d disorient a target, pickpocket their credentials in front of a crowd, and slip off unnoticed. Whatever route you choose, I found each of the game’s locations to be pretty expansive, giving the player a lot of freedom, which feels in keeping with their approach to Hitman.
If you approach it in good faith, however, there’s still joy in duping people, and I certainly enjoyed every single moment where Bond, often in disguise as somebody else, would ply his skills of social stealth. There’s a little spike in adrenaline that comes from a little bit of trespassing, and even getting caught is exciting in its own right, as it leans into Bond’s love for improvisation. Bluffing often lets you remain in a restricted area but won’t safeguard you from everyone, whereas playing dumb boots you back outside, allowing you to find another route in. My favourite option, hands down, was to escalate into fisticuffs.
Speaking of improvisation and resourcefulness, the hand-to-hand combat in First Light is exactly that. The free-flowing combat borrows a lot from the ‘Arkham model,’ while adding a few of its own strings to the bow; in addition to counters and dodges, which are par for the course, Bond can grapple people and either hit them with upward knees or toss them around, resulting in some brutal fights that show off both amazing collision detection and destructive environments. Bond can also make use of his surroundings, throwing items, including his own spent service pistol, at enemies to catch them off guard.
I quite like how First Light handles firearms in that they cleverly restrict their use; this ensures that whenever guns are drawn, violence is earned. By keeping the gun holstered until Bond himself is drawn upon, it does well enough to sidestep the ludonarrative dissonance seen in other games, like Uncharted. When the ‘license to kill’ is actioned, the gunplay is snappy and satisfying, encouraging the player to keep moving and, in turn, avoid the pitfalls of scarce ammo by using their last, precious round to shoot the enemy’s gun from their hand and pluck it from mid-air. It’s quite balletic how all of the game’s action seems to string together.
Bond’s gadgets, provided by Q-branch, add another prong to the super spy’s offense; IOI does a fine job not limiting them to regular fieldwork. In addition to temporarily blinding guards, the aforementioned laser can stagger enemies, giving Bond a brief window of time to close the gap, and pretty much all of the gadgets on offer have this dual purpose. The one I kept on hand after unlocking it was the missile pen, an explosive, far from subtle get out of jail free card that is, if anything, overpowered. The pen is, indeed, mightier than the sword.
The one area that doesn’t scream confidence in First Light is the driving. I maintain that the long-winded drive-and-talk shown in the gameplay reveal was far from the game putting its best foot forward, and while the whole picture isn’t as bad as that, it’s vapid and one-dimensional. First Light’s saving grace is that it doesn’t put Bond behind a wheel too often, but I got the sense that anytime it did, it was to satisfy a brand deal with Jaguar or Aston Martin. To add insult to injury, when we’re finally put in the game’s coolest, most Bond-ass car imaginable, we’re holed up in an inexplicably small room.
I do think that the cars might get their time to shine in TacSim, the game’s optional mode, where Bond is able to work through VR simulations that assess the psychology of live ops. Although the campaign itself would be seen as a one-and-done, this’ll be IOI’s attempt to retain players through a replayable mode that straddles the line of live-service, complete with missions on rotation, score leaderboards, outfits to unlock, and extra kit to take into subsequent attempts to make things easier. With the campaign being a spy fantasy grounded in realism, I hope IOI uses the mode to be elaborate and deliver something based on theoretical tech and conflicts.
There probably isn’t a pundit alive who saw Patrick Gibson as James Bond and thought: “That’s my guy.” I’ll take mash and veggies with my crow, because his take on a brash, overconfident, younger Bond is the shot in the arm the character needed, not only after Daniel Craig’s tired tenure, but to help bring in a new audience. I enjoyed his performance, which was buoyed by a seemingly limitless pool of charisma and one-liners that never once failed to make me chuckle. On top of everything else it does, its crowning achievement has to be its ability to render a fun performance from Kravitz, whose all-too-brief run as Bawma, a veritable king of the black market scene, is, for better or worse, one of the game’s most unforgettable.
First Light has both feet in with regards to being a Bond product; it’s relentlessly cinematic and has product placement coming out of its ears, whether it’s in the aforementioned cars, Bond’s Omega watch, or the Coca-Cola vending machines scattered around the place. And while it’s always fun to see all of the Bond motifs we come to expect, including the infamous gun barrel sequence and John Barry’s iconic theme, which is peppered throughout the score, what’s most impressive is the game’s title track, performed by Lana Del Rey, who I’ve long thought would be an inspired choice to perform a Bond theme, and I’m glad to be proven right.
Playing on the base PlayStation 5, the game does experience a few stutters here and there, though it’s not necessarily in the places I’d expect. For as explosive as the environments are, the game does seem to hold up well enough during heavy action; even during an early scene set within a London club, with strobing lights and writhing bodies, it managed to stay firm despite being densely populated. Whether it’s a slight lack of optimisation, I expect the issues should be ironed out after a patch or two. The animation is smooth, the locations, which take us across continents, are stunning, and the set pieces rival those in Uncharted in their scale.
Although it shouldn’t come as a surprise, because IOI, who are a gifted studio, and Bond feel like a match made in heaven, 007 First Light has surprised me. It delivers an experience that’s the best of both worlds in action and espionage. Although one could find minor faults in how some of the game’s spy systems work against the greater whole, it’s hard to fault the incredible action and set pieces, which remind me so much of what I loved and miss about the more adventurous Naughty Dog.
Put simply, it’s a spectacle. It’s Bond, James Bond.
