007 First Light leaves me shaken, and deeply stirred. Cue title sequence.
James Bond — the iconic globetrotting secret service agent, known for some of the best action scenes put to film, charming wit, and completely shameless yet legendary product placement (I still really want an Aston Martin). Bond’s impact on the big screen is undeniable, from film classics of the Connery era in the 60s, to Craig’s bold reinventions in the 2000’s — all of which has made 007 one of pop culture’s most enduring icons. Not to mention video games such as Nightfire and Goldeneye, gaming titles that have left an impactful legacy on the industry and rooted 007 as a gaming icon just as much as he is a film icon.
That being said, it has been 14 years since Bond’s license to kill has been renewed for gaming — that was until 2020, when it was announced that IO interactive, the studio behind Hitman, would be bringing Bond back to the hands of gamers. Here we are now, 6 years later, and Bond is showing the world once again — there is simply no one quite like him.
007 First Light is first and foremost, a James Bond origin story. Taking all the things we know Bond to be, and making him earn all the prestige that usually comes with it. It plays as a cinematic and linear experience, filled with stunning locations and set pieces, delightful characters both classic and new, as well as an extremely fun gameplay premise.
In my 15 hour play-through, not once did I want to stop playing this game. While the game does suffer some pacing issues towards the latter points of the story, I was always just anticipating the next mission. Whether it was me talking my way out of a failed stealth sequence, dodging between cover in gunfights desperately searching for ammo (or to throw the gun itself at someone), to getting into close-quarters combat and repeatedly smacking someone’s head into a shelf — I just absolutely adored being this version of James Bond.
In a cinematic gaming experience such as this, alongside feeling great to play, you should also expect a narrative that is of fulfilling quality. I believe that IO Interactive achieves exactly that. It starts off incredibly strong, building characters up that provoke the player to naturally bond (pun intended) with them. There are fresh depictions of classic Bond characters such as the head of Mi6 in M (Priyanga Burford), Bond’s chairwoman Miss Moneypenny (Kiera Lester), and my personal favourite iteration of the classics: Q (Alastair Mackenzie), who is particularly more colourful in this adaptation. In my opinion however, it is the cast of original characters that bring this narrative to life. From Monroe (Chris O’Reilly) and Cressida (Jessica Rhodes), other 00 trainees like Bond, to the Bond girl in Isola (Noémie Nakai) who inverts the damsel trope of the role — often times her the one saving him. I’d also highlight the standout performance of Lennie James as Greenway, a hesitant mentor to Bond and a former 00 agent which the narrative serves as one of the more tragic characters in the cast. Patrick Gibson plays James Bond himself, and is fantastic at that — online chatter already lifting him to the upper echelon of Bond actors. It’s not that he is imitating any particular version of Bond well, but the writing team over at IO and Gibson’s delivery of the role creates a Bond that is unique to this experience and allows the game to establish its own version of the character.
On top of this being quite the character-driven Bond story (more similar to Craig than anything else), it also uses the Bond character to form a message that I think works quite brilliantly. That in the main antagonistic force being of corporate nature and AI — the story makes a point to highlight the qualities of Bond’s character; a person driven by heart, instinct, and human nature even in a role of service, and uses that contrast to orient those as hostile forces. As mentioned, I do find the logic of the pacing and plot points towards the latter end of the game a bit cheap compared to the earlier parts of the story. However, I still think these parts are well done and entertaining, if just a tad nonsensical.
The olive in this martini? The soundtrack. Not only does it use the motifs of classic Bond tracks suitably for the sequences in which they appear — but they also finally gave Lana Del Rey her Bond theme, and it is really fantastic. It plays during the title sequence, and now having completed the game, its just as on the nose as all good Bond themes should be.
007 First Light is sitting at an 87 on Metacritic by 60 critic reviews and a Very Positive rating on Steam from 6,500 user reviews. PC gamer a noticeable outlier and minority in their takeaway, calling it “uninspiring” and “clumsy” while still acknowledging its value of being a good Bond story.
All in all, Bond is back in gaming. There is promised sequels already in the works, and I quite frankly cannot wait.
The Verdict: 8.5/10
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