James Bond's video game return is a delight from start to finish, with Hitman develop IO Interactive expertly lending its spy expertise to creative a new breed of interactive spy thriller.13:11, 26 May 2026Updated 13:11, 26 May 2026IO Interactive effortlessly crafts a James Bond ideally suited for the modern age of video games, mixing in elements old and new as part of a genuinely authentic third-person spy thriller.‌Stylish, charming, tactical, resourceful. Regardless of the medium he’s portrayed in, James Bond is a lot of things to a lot of people. Above all else, however, he's a character ripe for reinvention - and you only need look at the character’s vast video game history for evidence. Having completely reworked its own beloved Hitman series roughly a decade ago via the more systems-driven World of Assassination trilogy, then, I can think of no better developer ideal for reinventing literature’s most beloved spy for this new gaming age than IO Interactive. It also helps that the studio already knows a thing or two about secret agents and espionage, of course.‌007 First Light not only carries the weight of having to be a great Bond game, though. It’s also charged with satiating people’s thirst for such an adventure after a long 14-year absence. And fortunately, by working in IO’s experience crafting creative stealth sandboxes into a more action-based, linear format that perfectly suits the cinematic nature of the IP, it’s a task that this younger, leaner, and (in several cases) rougher take on the character easily rises to.‌The result is an interpretation of James Bond that is by no means perfect, yet isn’t afraid to take risks with its narrative and gameplay in a manner ideally suited to match the current era of video games we are in. Just like Bond himself, 007 First Light is a sublime mix of principles old and new, confidently laying the groundwork to shake and stir players with the surprising spy thriller it sets you on. Needless to say, if you’ve ever wanted to roleplay fiction’s most capable agent, 007 First Light is a wonderful way to do so.The first thing that struck me about 007 First Light is just how confident it is in establishing all the familiar tenets of Bond. From the iconography of MI6 as a spy institution, the characters working within it, and all the cool gadgets and weapons its Q-lab division allows for, there’s a whole checklist that comes with an IP this storied, and it’s one that IO Interactive effortlessly works its way through with charm and grace across 10 pulse-pounding chapters.‌Ostensibly, this is a third-person shooter with melee action and stealth elements, true, yet almost every mission offers a neat blend of objectives that routinely flitter between linear and freeform, giving you moments in which you’re able to improvise and tackle scenarios in various ways.In this sense, 007 First Light gives you the means to ever so slightly shape your own version of Bond. A fact that makes sense given that his journey here from Navy aircrewman to 00 agent is one of self-discovery. In practice this means using a litany of gadgets such as Bond’s laser watch, poison dart phone, and missile-launching pen to get around levels as creatively as possible. Notice how I didn’t say, ‘quietly’ either. Because yes, unlike Agent 47’s more secluded approach, the beauty of Bond is that he’s able to adapt when the crap inevitably hits the fan. And luckily, for the most part, both the ranged and melee combat mechanical options implemented by IO see you well-equipped to help you do so.Ducking and popping out of cover is arguably when 007 First Light feels like its most old-school self. And admittedly there’s nothing too groundbreaking about the way Bond is afforded to massacre faceless foes whenever that gratifying ‘Licence to Kill’ indicator finally pops up on the screen. However, gunplay works wonderfully when combined with tools that can see you blind, flash, or completely decimate enemies should you have the right electrical and chemical resources to do so.‌Because just as much as guns and gadgets, your environment also plays an important part in helping you approach firefights, mostly with exploding barrels, yes, but also air vents that can be blasted open to, say, mask your position, or heavy hanging objects that can squash any unsuspecting combatants when they least expect it.The brilliance of such a freeform, environmentally-led combat system is that it feeds perfectly into Bond’s improvisational aspects, where suddenly that nearby coffee cup is waiting to be picked up and thrown or a computer can be hacked to distract or blow up an enemy. Suddenly, finding yourself without a firearm is no longer a guarantee to make you feel powerless. Instead, the same tools and approaches you can use to take down enemies quietly also transfer brilliantly into Bond’s brand of all-out action. Both manners of combat are strangely quite cathartic.READ MORE: Lenovo Legion Go 2 review - the most extreme gaming handheld, in every wayREAD MORE: Assassin's Creed Black Flag Resynced has a feature I wish every game would haveA true bondIf there’s one element of combat that is a tad undercooked it's surprisingly brawls, which somehow plays like a less elegant version of the Arkham fighting system I thought had long since been perfected. Sure, Bond has the ability to dodge heavy attacks, block lighter ones, and counter on occasion when mobs get in close as expected. However, the yellow flashes that indicate you can counter hits fail to tell you how many hits in a chain are incoming, meaning I always found myself playing it too safe by blocking and dodging for fear of not countering enough.‌This only worsens the more enemies that surround you, where I couldn’t follow up on a counter because another enemy was about to hit or tackle me. Overall, 007 First Light’s melee is fine, yet it is surprisingly a tad sloppier than I hoped.No Bond game would be complete without its raft of exotic locations, of course, and in this area 007 First Light also delivers. Whether it’d be a chess tournament taking place at a lavish mansion in Slovakia, a sun-kissed training facility in Malta, or a holiday resort in Vietnam, there’s always plenty of excuses to get lost in a raft of varied highfalutin locations Bond fans have come to expect. The ways you engage with them are thankfully always different, too, with eavesdropping opening up multiple avenues and sub-objectives designed to get you closer to your next target. It’s not too dissimilar to the already-brilliant Mission Stories system seen in the most recent Hitman games.Unlike Hitman, however, Bond is less about elegance and more about getting the job done in the most efficient manner possible. Does this result in a sandbox system where the environmental clues and areas of engagement are still spelled out for you? Yes. But it works well enough to always keep you moving to that next unknown environment, while the loadout of gadgets you choose can subtly influence exactly how you’re able to get there. No laser watch, for instance, means not being able to blast the locks of vents, but temporarily stunning someone using your camera makes pickpocketing their key card a breeze.‌Story-wise, 007 First Light doesn’t push the envelope too much past the style of spy espionage we’ve come to expect, but what stands out above any plot twist or sudden surprise act are the well-rounded cast of characters. The likes of M, Moneypenny, and Q are all portrayed brilliantly with a good degree of nuisance, but it’s Lennie James’ John Greenway - Bond’s mentor of sorts - that goes a great distance to sharpening Bond into the better agent he’ll eventually become. I came to really enjoy his and Bond’s father-son dynamic.None of this would mean anything were Patrick Gibson’s central performance as Bond himself not tip-top, and fortunately he does a brilliant job seamlessly moving back-and-forth between the young agent’s brasher and then more charming side when required. There’s a decent slimeball villain here, too, but don’t go in expecting a lot from Lenny Kravitz’s much publicised role as Bawma, which ends up being little more than a cameo.‌007 First Light is the kind of licensed game that could have gone very wrong, very quickly. And yet, ever since it was first announced that IO Interactive was the studio behind it, Bond fans like myself have enjoyed an acute sense of calm knowing that the IP was in safe hands. Turns out it always was.The game might not quite be the game-changing take those initial raft of previews promised and the melee combat is slightly inconsistent, First Light is the type of high-budget Bond game where it counts, so much so that I already can’t wait to further put my skills to the test in the raft of tactical simulation missions that make up the end game.007 First Light won’t leave you fully shaken and stirred, then, but in the absence of a big-screen Bond, it’s a just as engaging and capable take on Fleming’s IP that masterfully mixes stealth and all-out action. And it does this while still finding myriad ways to let you creatively roleplay as cinema’s most desired secret agent. If not the Midas touch, IO Interactive has certainly provided its gold finger to this authentically made spy universe.Article continues belowRating: 4/5