Review - 007 First Light
"I Would Like You to Join His Majesty's Secret Service"
007 First Light
IO Interactive / PC, PS5, XBSX
Played on PlayStation 5
Story & Lore
James Bond is one of the most recognizable names in all of pop culture and entertainment. However, adapting him to the video game market has been a mixed bag. The most famous game to come out of the franchise was the Nintendo 64 classic Goldeneye, which is one of the industry’s most consequential games, despite aging badly due to the technology and controls of the time. Since then, we’ve had adaptations to the Brosman and Craig films, as well as some new concepts. These have been mixed to negative, and none really stood out except if you’re nostalgic from growing up with them. So, I wanted First Light to deliver a great James Bond experience that comes close to the best films in the series. I’m happy to report that First Light not just comes close, but is right up there among the best Bond stories.
In First Light, we are placed in an origin story, establishing this as a new canon based in today’s world. Bond goes down on a military mission and finds himself as the sole survivor, and then gets MI6’s attention by saving hostages instead of saving himself. From here, you’ll enter the reignited 00 program and get through training, as well as find yourself chasing a batch of villains that include the rogue former 009, the pirate king Bawma, and a man who wears an intricate golden mask who's part of a larger conspiracy. As you progress, you don’t have the 00 number just yet, hence the marketing around “earn the number”. I can’t get into it due to spoiler territory, but every major moment in the game adds layers and new questions to the overall story, ending with a bang that perfectly sets up this new Bond universe, with hints of a potentially exciting future.
Characters & Writing
The heart and secret ingredient to First Light is the ensemble of characters, which is shockingly good. What I love about the Daniel Craig Bond films is the expanded focus on characters like M, Q, and other supporting characters who aren’t just props in Bond’s story. In this game, we get the same treatment, as series regulars such as M, Q, and Moneypenny all feel like fleshed-out characters with their own personalities, goals, and even a little bit of character arcs. Bond himself is a great new version of the character, who feels even more modern than Craig, which is not something I expected to say. He’s still a rookie, so you can see there’s still a lot of morality in him, where he’s willing to ignore MI6 to protect the people important to him, and he takes the license to kill seriously. There’s a moment early in the game where he does his first kills, and it reminds me of a great scene in the movie Casino Royale that shows a more human side to the character, even if just for a moment. He also has the one-liners and that charismatic charm that make him fit the old slogan - guys want to be his best friend, and girls want to be with him.
The MVP of the ensemble is Greenway, Bond’s mentor who is pretty hard on him. As the story progresses, Greenway’s arc gets more interesting, and by the end, he’s easily the most important character in the story, the heart of it. We also have Isola Vale, a mysterious spy who Bond has no idea who she works for, but turns out to be a sort of Catwoman figure in the game, which I loved the idea of creating a character like this. She’s the badass Bond girl in the game, while Theresa is the attractive sex idol Bond girl of the story. Q is here, reverting to the older version after his portrayal in the recent films and just as quick with words. Moneypenny and M are here to give Bond his orders, as well as scold him. I liked what we got from them, but I hope that in a potential sequel we see a little more of Moneypenny that goes beyond just being in our ear during missions.
The villains are solid for the most part, especially once it starts to come together what exactly is going on. However, I do think the pirate king Bawma was a bit underwhelming, mostly thanks to a mediocre performance by Lenny Kravitz. The rest of the villains are great, and the reasons behind everything are too realistic in today’s world to ignore.
Gameplay & Mechanics
First Light is interesting in how it plays. One part is mission-based, similar to the Hitman games. Then, we get big action sequences that remind me of Uncharted. Most of the game focuses on the mission structure, with plenty of stealth. This took me aback at first, but I started to vibe with it once I got a hold of the mechanics. Before every mission, you’ll equip your Q-Watch and gadgets that include a poison dart, shockwave camera, hacking, and more. This does a good job giving you that feel of the crazy gadgets the Bond films are known for, including some shout-outs and easter eggs when you visit Q Lab.
The stealth and mission structure is varied, with multiple ways to tackle your goals. If you get caught, the game doesn’t punish you, since you have a bluff feature that has become my favorite tool and has prevented things from getting hairy plenty of times. As someone that’s not super great with stealth games, I appreciated this, and I never felt annoyed or like I was being punished for not being good at stealth.
The gunplay isn’t bad, but I wouldn’t call it out of this world. It plays fine, and the service pistol feels good when you’re on a roll, but switching between weapons and ditching them got a little annoying due to the lack of ammo you get. I also had to tone the difficulty down when I got to these more action-oriented segments because I was having trouble with them. Still, once everything starts to click, you’ll use your pistol, throw it at an enemy when you run out of bullets, and then use your Q-Watch to blow up a pipe next to them. The more fluid you become with all the options, the more badass and Bond-like you’ll start to feel.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t crazy about the cover mechanics, which I thought were just not good. I don’t think they thought through this part of the gameplay, but I had several issues going in and out of cover, and I think they chose a clunky way to do it. It doesn’t feel as seamless as it does in Gears of War, and sometimes it felt like the game didn’t understand I was trying to cover. The car scenes aren’t the best either, as they’re more on-rail than I thought they would be. However, I do give them points for each car section being awesome and having some cool moments.
There are also some small sections in the game that involve making dialogue choices, surviving torture, or trying to sneakily hack into a phone, which I liked as concepts. However, the dialogue choices don’t really matter, and it did have me scratching my head about why they had those to begin with.
Lastly, quick shout out to the training mission which is literal montage in gameplay mode, which is just incredible piece of development. If/when you play it you’ll see what I mean, but it’s one of the coolest things I’ve seen in a game all year.
World & Level Design
The levels you sneak and fight in are designed relatively well. It’s nothing that’s going to win best design of the year, but nothing feels out of place or as if it were added without thought. The car chase scenes, despite being more on-rail than I wanted, still have plenty of sequences that fit well, and the developers did a great job incorporating those moments into the game while still transitioning from set piece to set piece. When you have to climb something or go somewhere, none of it confused me, and that’s the best place to start.
As for the world, it feels like a James Bond world. The MI6 headquarters, the nightclub, Vietnam, the fancy events you crash, all fit the world of Bond perfectly. The Vietnam section, which is mostly a luxury hotel resort, is designed like a real resort destination and, despite opening up a little compared to other levels, doesn’t leave you lost or confused. It’s all put together in a way that tells you these designers love the franchise.
Audio & Sound Design
The score and music for First Light is perfectly Bond, which is what I wanted. The main Bond theme doesn’t get overused, and when it hits, you can feel the adrenaline pump into your heart, each moment feeling the right time to play it. The background score is subtle, fitting the spy aesthetic. The game even pulls off a Bond title song, sung by Lana Del Rey. I am a sucker for Bond opening songs, and this one is a banger, which comes off just as good as the ones you listen to in the film franchise.
The overall sound design also fits the spy aesthetic. The silencer has that satisfying pew sound, and the guns have their own clicks and roar. The punches, grunts, and enemy noise mix together for a good sound during up close combat encounters. The car and engine sounds are like those in a racing simulator. I have to give props to the sound team here; they make it sound like a Bond story, from the guns to the cars to the subtle score in the back.
Art Direction & Graphics
IOI’s Glacier engine shines here. The game has a specific look that marries well into the Bond franchise and world. It’s realistic, but also has an art style that feels unique to the game. The cars look like cars from a spy film, the characters look like spies, and the action scenes fit; it all comes together to look like a Bond film - which, of course, is the point. Graphically, it all looks good. Sure, there’s a weird moment or two with faces depending on the camera, but I think it’s a really good looking game in the art direction it’s going for.
Direction & Performances
The character ensemble is helped by the amazing performances some of these people gave for this game. Everyone does a really good to great job, with the exception of Lenny Kravitz, who just sounded to me like he was phoning it in. Maybe his voice doesn’t fit a villain, and that’s what was throwing me off, but it’s the only performance that took me out of it. Patrick Gibson is a great Bond, capturing the character's charm while also putting a subtle new spin with his more human side and focus on his friends. In fact, if they can’t find a new Bond soon enough, he wouldn’t be a bad one even in the films.
Priyanga Burford plays M perfectly, coming close, though just close, to Judi Dench’s version of the character. Kiera Lester hits it out of the park with Moneypenny, showing a straight-laced employee who starts to see Bond as a friend. Alastair Mackenzie portrays Q closer to the character's older self while retaining the wit from the recent Craig films. Bart Edwards portrays one of the main villains and does a hell of a job, playing a great foil to Gibson’s Bond. Noémie Nakai plays Isola, the Catwoman-type spy in the franchise, and she plays it well, fleshing out the character as mysterious, helpful, and shady.
However, as previously mentioned, the MVP is John Greenway, and a big part of that is Lennie James's performance. Lennie captures the complicated Greenway and knows what to do. You can feel the anger and disappointment, as well as the struggle within him to embrace Bond but to protect himself from getting too close. From the moment he shows up on screen to the last time you see him, you’re invested in him, and even you as the player find yourself hoping to get his approval.
The side characters, even ones that barely have time, are all done pretty well, including Raquel Cipriano’s performance as Bond girl Theresa Lorca, who captures the attractive allure and smarts of the character.
User Experience
This game is not a bad experience. Actually, you can argue it gives you too many hints, but I liked that, considering that the amount of things you can do during the action and stealth sections could feel overwhelming once you have a bunch of gadgets and various ways to tackle the problem. You can also check hints on all the different ways to accomplish a mission. The only part of the experience I wasn’t crazy about, as I mentioned, was the cover mechanics, and I did find the game more difficult than you would think at first in the gunplay sections.
Replay Value
This is a high replay value game. Not only does the variety of ways you can solve a mission give you plenty to replay, but also the game’s length, as it’s not some 60+ hour epic. I finished it in about 15+hours, which is short these days. There’s also plenty of tactical missions you can try, which help you hone your skills and extend gameplay sessions. I plan to replay this one in the next year or two, and try new ways to tackle certain missions.
Recommendation
If you’re a fan of either the Hitman games or Uncharted games, I can’t help but beg you to play this game. If you’re a diehard Bond fan, I can’t help but beg you to play this game. It’s not a game that’s hard to pick up and learn (even if again, you may need to tone down the difficulty in the action segments), and its story is going to keep you hooked. I will say, expect more Hitman than Uncharted, so if that bothers you, you may need to wait to see if you can play it a little first before committing to it.
A - Great
007 First Light feels like the franchise’s Batman Begins, a perfect way to kick off a hopeful video game version of the character and of the franchise, which has a lot of potential. This feels like a spy game, which says much more than previous games in the series. The character ensemble is phenomenal, and by the end the story has you begging to play more. It’s a game that, behind the Bond spy missions and action, has a surprising amount of heart and leaves you caring for Bond and his entourage in a way that not many Bond films are able to do. Without a doubt, the best James Bond video game ever, move over Goldeneye. The number has been earned.