007 First Light Review

A young, resourceful, and reckless James Bond is hitting the scene with IO Interactive‘s reimagined origin story 007 First Light.

We’ll spare you the overplayed “shaken not stirred” line – see whether this up-and-coming MI6 agent earns the number with our review…

007 First Light Review

In true series fashion, 007 First Light starts with a bang as a young James Bond finds himself in a helicopter crash. Out on a Navy training mission, he finds himself caught up in MI6’s happenings.

All previously sent MI6 agents have been captured, with yours truly the only one alive from the crash.

Following orders, Bond rescues the crew and blows the base up – also true to series form.

For his troubles, MI6 calls Bond to enlist in the recently reopened “00” program.

Running for six months, some recruits aren’t quite happy about this – but they decide to train Bond anyway.

007 First Light’s tutorial is truly wonderful. Akin to a movie montage, it provides quick info and gadgets to play around with. Players will get story beats and be ready to go in no time.

Before earning that cherished 007 title, Bond needs to complete one last mission…

Agent 009 has been located, and these new recruits need to bring him in.

Clocking in approximately 21 hours, 007 First Light is a meaty game with plenty of room for exploration.

Featuring third-person shooter gameplay with plenty of stealth options, 007 First Light’s shot also aims true. While guns handle well, its improv combat steals the show.

Run out of bullets? Throw the gun.

Engaged in fisticuffs? Slam his head into the sink.

No gun and got a guy in a distance? Lob that 8-ball straight to his skull.

007 First Light’s many options are truly staggering, always managing to be fluid every single time.

While host to the occasional clipping or wonky animation, 007 First Light’s presentation is at the top of its class.

Playing as Bond, 007 First Light naturally features a number of social activities.

An early main mission features a big chess tournament, tasking players with blending in to find Agent 009. For those that get caught in a restricted area, players can attempt to bluff their way out of trouble.

Bonds have always been smooth, and Patrick Gibson‘s rendition of James Bond in 007 First Light absolutely nails the character.

Of course, you can’t have Bond without Q-lab – and 007 First Light literally has the right tools for the job.

While still a recruit, players can pick from eight licensed watches for one’s spy gadgets.

This poor guy in Q-Lab always ends up being the test dummy each new gadget – always a fun time.

Without spoiling them all, 007 First Light features a watch laser, a stun flash bang combo, and a poison dart that makes people have to relive themselves. Missions also provide electronics and chemicals to refill one’s gadgets – there are a ton of options to play with.

That being said, I’m not the biggest fan of 007 First Light’s driving mechanics. Casually driving to a location while chatting is fine, but driving fast shows some flaws. The cars are nice, they are sponsored, and I do want to drive them; they just don’t gel like the gadgets do.

007 First Light feels like a James Bond movie in the best possible way. From its world, to James Bond himself, to even the other characters, the whole cast of 007 First Light absolutely nails their roles.

Do note that James Bond works alone in 007 First Light – no multiplayer modes are present. Not a dealbreaker on our end, but multiplayer aficionados best continue their Oddjob reign of terror in Goldeneye 007.

James Bond’s triumphant return to gaming in 007 First Light proves to be one of 2026’s best titles.

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