I was so excited for the new 007: First Light release. As a huge James Bond fan, the last game before 007: First Light was 007 Legends, which was released in October 2012. Having been 14 years since the last game and 5 years since the last James Bond movie, No Time to Die, I am excited to play this game.
IO Interactive, the creators of the Hitman game franchise, and MGM Studios collaborated on the game. The game tells an original narrative inspired by the novels and short stories by Ian Fleming, showing a young James Bond played by Patrick Gibson. The 26-year-old agent must pass basic and advanced training to join MI6 and be granted his 00 status. The story in the early part focuses on James Bond in the Navy and his recruitment to MI6.
The graphics and gameplay look amazing and very movie-like; they do not disappoint. The controls are a little bit different on keyboard and mouse, with the hardest part for me being driving. The game has a great walkthrough with close-up shots where you can really see the person’s facial features in detail, but even far away, you can make out clearly who the character and actor are during the game. The story is very well done, fitting in nicely with the James Bond movie timeline.
I did get the downloadable content since I preordered. I am sure there will be more of this as time moves on.
I like how Omega Watches, which has a HUGE product placement deal with the James Bond franchise since the 1990s, even has a scene to promote their watches, and you use the watch in the game as a gadget like the Bond of the old days.
The only complaint I have so far is that 007 First Light does not have a multiplayer mode; it is a strictly single-player experience from start to finish. There is no online matchmaking, co-op, or split-screen gameplay available. This might change in time with an update, but nothing has been said about it yet.
007 First Light was released for PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S, with a Nintendo Switch 2 version scheduled to release later in the year. I have played several hours and will be playing more this weekend, but so far the game has been great.