Shaken not Stirred
When it comes to James Bond, everyone has their favorites. This is both toward the actor playing the role, the films, and its storied history in gaming. There are games that have understood the character to those that felt like generic cash-ins that only benefited from the license attached to them. While several games looked to adapt their respective films, several crafted experiences all their own, and in that respect, 007 First Light is no different.
While GoldenEye has always been my favorite of the films, the game itself wasn’t something I was as obsessed with as many were. I think it is a decent enough shooter, albeit on an uncomfortable controller, but its adaptation of the film was passable at best. While GoldenEye is nonetheless a fun experience, especially in multiplayer, this isn’t one of those reviews or articles to say that “007 First Light is the best Bond game since GoldenEye”. That sort of statement isn’t even remotely true and feels rooted in nostalgia rather than the actual truth.
Bond’s legacy in gaming would see plenty of games that would vary from good to great, with plenty that simply missed the mark. 007 Legends, which was released in 2012, was so bad that it poisoned the license for well over a decade, not to mention it resulted in the closure of its developer, Eurocom. Still, there were plenty of good Bond games, with the likes of Everything or Nothing, Nightfire, The World is Not Enough (N64) and 007 Blood Stone being some of the best of the franchise.
Despite that legacy, few games, if at all, really showed us the fantasy of being James Bond. They rarely let us explore the character in interesting ways as several titles used the Bond from their respective films, meaning they were already established, and rarely let the character grow. Sure, we would get the rare original Bond, but nothing was really present to allow the character to have any arc other than taking on the mission, cracking a few one-liners, and bedding whatever Bond girl crossed paths with him. Their Bond’s were all style, zero substance.
007 First Light is the first game to focus on the origin of James Bond and how he gained his Double 0 status. From how he gets selected to join the 00 program, to the hardships and trials along the way, the whole stretch of the game does a lot to mold the James Bond we meet at the start of this adventure to the one we see just before the credits roll. From his natural charisma, humor, and ruthlessness, this Bond nonetheless has the heart that many actors have looked to convey in the character. In fact, Patrick Gibson’s portrayal is so flawless, that he needs to be in the discussion among the best actors to take on the role. As of now, he's my third favorite Bond.
However, Bond is nothing without his supporting cast, and 007 First Light has a stellar cast to bring this adventure to life. Lennie James (Fear The Walking Dead) as John Greenway is a standout, and honestly, feels like a character that already existed in this world. Priyanga Burford as M has the right amount of tone and presence to be the authority figure Bond needs, as she is one of the few to see his untapped potential.
And of course, Moneypenny and Q, who are new versions of classic characters, are great in their respective roles, if a bit underused. This is especially true of Gemma Chan's Selina Tan, who feels like an afterthought, given she is one of the few bigger celebrities of the cast. Honestly, I think I saw her for maybe two or three minutes.
Given the origin nature of the game, we also meet other members of the 00 program, and while we only really focus on two of the six recruits, they thankfully let Bond shine and don't allow them to take over much of the narrative or spotlight, even despite how pivotal they become to Bond’s character growth.
The game also does a few smart things with not only the Bond women, but the villains of the piece as well. Lenny Kravitz is here as Bawma, and his involvement is solid, and I truly hope we see him again, as he has very limited screen time here. When it comes to the Bond girls, Noémie Nakai and to a lesser extent, Raquel Cipriano, are great, with Nakai’s performance being a standout.
Across the story, we have a few misdirects and clever reveals, and many of them really work, even if one in particular felt more like an inevitability than a full-on surprise. That said, some aspects of how the villains are used does cause the game to feel like it ends three or four times before we truly reach the end. It's not Lord of the Rings bad, but it does affect the pacing quite a bit.
With that said, If I had to fault the story in any direct way, it would be said pacing. There are times, after an intense mission, where we then find ourselves back at MI6, slowly touring the Q Lab for what feels like an hour, before heading back into a mission, and needing it to ramp up again before it really kicks off. We rarely get the back to back mission structure that keeps the pacing thriving, and these starts and stops do significantly impact the flow of the game. This causes much of the story to feel like a rollercoaster, having significant highs, then a long period of getting us back to the top.
Still, the story itself is solid, with a clever take on the abuse and ignorance of AI and how relying on it for information can often put you in a position where it clouds your judgment. Given how topical it is these days, it's a smart story that reminded me a great deal of Elliot Carver from Tomorrow Never Dies, and that fact also made me keenly aware of who just might fill the role of the villain, even if that was only one side of the coin.
Patrick Gibson excels at this new Bond, and frankly, I'd love to see the movies adapt this game and continue this story. Gibson's portrayal of Bond works so well due to the nature of Bond's desire to help. There is a scene where someone asks why Bond risked his life to rescue some people in the game's opening chapter, where is not even affiliated with MI6 at the time, and he basically says that he simply couldn't have done nothing. This propels him into the 00 program after catching MI6’s eye, specifically M’s, and from there he sees that the life of a spy is about making hard choices and doing the right thing, regardless of the mission. Bond has always been one to defy the mission to save lives, and this Bond is no different.
What helps with this story being told in a video game apart from a 2 hour movie, is that a game can devote several hours to the build up of how this Bond is formed. His relationships can feel more genuine, and this causes you to get far more attached to the story and characters as they have the time to breathe. Having this extra time also contributes to feeling more of having the Bond fantasy at your fingertips, and allows those character building moments to really shine.
When IO Interactive announced they were working on a James Bond game, given they have spent their career working with another spy in Agent 47, I was concerned that 007 First Light would simply be a reskinned and mutated version of the Hitman series, and not feel the part of James Bond. Thankfully, for as much as a few missions feel set up in the Hitman formula, the experience never feels like a reskin of those games. Sure, we find multiple points of entry and a variety of ways to solve things, not to mention the wealth of challenges you can complete as you take a different path, but that is really all we see of the Hitman DNA here.
While one mission has you posing as the chauffeur, you are not swapping outfits to slip past guards, but rather bluffing your way past them in typical 007 fashion. This mechanic is simple, but it really goes a long way to inject a bit of humor given the circumstances of why Bond needs to get past them. Sure, you can ignore bluffing your way past guards and either go full stealth, start punching your way through them, or wait for them to open fire, given Bond requires a license to kill in order to just whip out his gun and start taking lives. Still, you do have plenty of options, at least most of the time, to find the way to your objective.
007 First Light has several different gameplay moments across its roughly 15-20 hour campaign, typical of most James Bond games. There are a few driving segments, which we will talk about soon, as well as gadgets, cover shooting, infiltration, and a ton of side quests that get you closer to your goal.
In fact, side quests are unique as many are required for progress, and you often have the freedom to choose which one will aid you. One chapter in the game has you needing to earn a small fortune to enter into a private auction. Thankfully, there are several ways you can actually obtain the money. From playing a rigged game of cups, a shooting gallery, or entering into a fight competition, you also have some shooting and stealth sections where you are tracking down crypto wallets or burner phones. Later on, at a Gala event, you have ample options as well to find your way past a series of guards.
While side quests are a way to move around spaces, you do get some freedom to find your own way. Either scaling up cliffsides or crouching through vents, this is where the game does take some inspiration via something like Uncharted. I sort of wish your gadgets were a bit more used to provide new pathways apart from just using your laser or shockwave camera to snap a lock. Regardless, climbing and navigating each environment presents some good opportunity for stealth, having you hidden either behind cover or in tall grass, allowing you to perform a variety of stealth takedowns.
When it comes to Bond, car chases are almost a given, as they provide a break from the espionage and gunfire. 007 First Light does have such a moment, but it doesn't quite hit the mark for what it should offer in 2026. The single car chase we are offered here is a very scripted and linear approach with short cuts that are not required whatsoever, given how the chase ends. While the second vehicle moment is far better, it still feels far too scripted when several other aspects of this game are more formed via player choice. We do have additional moments where Bond is behind the controls of some sort of vehicle, and those segments are fun, but the one big moment to really redefine what a Bond car chase could be in a modern game simply falls flat.
When it comes to combat, Bond has a decent selection of tools to get the job done. However, before we talk about guns and gadgets, let's talk about Bond’s melee options as he gets more than a workout here. As Bond requires a license to kill, he will often have to resort to punching his enemies out. Enemies can charge at you with attacks that can be blocked or dodged, and depending on your difficulty, those will be given a color. Yellow attacks are their basic strikes whereas red are attacks you'll need to dodge. Bond can return the favor with both types of attacks as you can grab enemies and guide them along, throwing them across railings, into toilets, or against walls or across tables. These attacks are location and object sensitive, meaning they are often different in each environment.
Standard punching can translate into combo attacks with kicks or gut punches, but rarely more than that. For as much as 007 First Light seems to borrow from Uncharted, I do wish Bond's arsenal of attacks was a bit deeper. Still, you can charge enemies and pull off harsher attacks when they are stunned or opened for attack. Melee combat thankfully feels impactful, with solid crunches to your punches, and terrific animations as you achieve victory. And while it is never really shown in the campaign, you can topple over an edge and use an enemy as a cushion. This was only ever shown to me via the tactical simulation mode, which can at times feel like a series of tutorials.
However, you'll also have your gadgets to aid in combat, and confusion, allowing you to slip by or open them up for being knocked out. From shooting a laser in their face to stun them, a miniature missile, to smoke pods, and poisonous darts, there are several gadgets that you'll want in your restrictive loadout. However, the best gadget you'll always have with you is the Q-Watch. This allows you to locate objectives, scan through walls, detect if someone has something to pickpocket, and much more. It is a versatile tool that gives you an edge.
Shooting is pretty decent without being deeper than it needs to be. You can shoot enemies in the leg to stun them, shoot the gun out of their hand, to headshots, body shots, and more, doing what you expect in a third person cover-based shooter. Body shots will use up more ammo, and if you tag team your foe with both your guns and bullets, you'll certainly conserve more ammo as you can run up for a melee take down.
Bond will have access to his standard pistol, but everything else needs to be found. I do find it oddly convenient that in the initial mission you cannot use found weapons as they are coded for their respective owners, however, that bit of inconvenience never shows up again, no matter who you are attacking. Still, you'll need to survive with the bullets you find, the guns you have available, and you can even throw your spent rifle at an enemy to quickly stun them. This is on top of explosive barrels, traps, and hanging cargo pleading to be dropped on someone below. There is also a few moments of using a rather large object via your Q-Watch that was extremely fun, and had me on quite the roll.
Visually, 007 First Light is a step up for IO Interactive, but Bond's newest adventure is not without its fumbles. Environments, and cutscenes are incredible, especially the latter with their use of some good facial capture. However, NPCs and non-cutscene conversations between Bond and his allies leave a bit to be desired. I do like that NPCs are not just copy and pasted and actually have unique faces and outfits, but the quality of their faces and facial animations are nowhere near the quality of the cutscenes.
From luxury resorts, hi-tech factories, prestige gala events, dance clubs, and top secret bunkers, the environmental density of these locations are solid, with some fantastic level design that allows for some good set pieces, shoot outs, and your use of gadgets. I would say that the Pearl Resort in Vietnam and Aleph, a large settlement in the Sahara Desert, are my favorite locations due to the population density and overall aesthetics. Still, there isn't a bad location that you'll visit as each offers something that feels very Bond.
While I do have some minor issues regarding the camera during some melee encounters, and the lackluster car chase, not to mention the start and stop pacing throughout the story, IO Interactive has really pulled off the best Bond game to date, giving us depth to a character that often is just regulated to being a generic action hero. Gibson's Bond is what you'd want from an origin story, as he is a Bond that feels perfect for the modern age.
Developer - IO Interactive,
Publisher - IO Interactive.
Released - May 27th, 2026.
Available On - Nintendo Switch 2 (TBA), PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC.
Rated - (T) - Blood, Language, Suggestive Themes, and Violence.
Platform Reviewed - Xbox Series X/S
Review Access - A review code for 007 First Light was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
Jeff is the original founder of Analog Stick Gaming. His favorite games include The Witcher III, the Mass Effect Trilogy, Hi-Fi Rush, Stellar Blade, Hellbade: Senua’s Sacrifice, and the Legend of Heroes series, especially Trails of Cold Steel III & IV.