One of the very first things you’ll notice is just how good 007 First Light looks visually on the whole, both in cutscenes and general gameplay. Especially playing on PS5 Pro where the latest version of PSSR is in use, the game is a feast for the eyes, both in low-light settings and densely packed brighter areas.The lighting in this game is astonishing and the reflections in water and mirrors are equally impressive. In the very first mission, James Bond encounters a broken mirror in a room he sneaks into and the reflection you see is perfect.This level of detail is found throughout the game, and the sound design is equally impressive too, with a superb score, great soundtrack, including tracks from Chase & Status, and immersive, real-world sounds.007 First Light is a feast for the eyes (IO Interactive, Amazon MGM Studios)007 First Light is a James Bond origin story where a heroic act leads to him being enrolled in MI6’s 00 programme, which is being rebooted. A mission to stop a rogue agent ends in tragedy, and he has to join forces with a mentor, who initially dislikes him, to expose a deep conspiracy and stop a looming coup at the heart of the State.It took me around 14 hours to roll the credits across the game’s 10 main chapters and this length felt perfect because it tells a focused story. Without going into any spoilers, 007 First Light often makes you think you’re going one way and then does a complete 180 on you. There are plenty of twists along the way and some moments genuinely made my jaw drop. A huge plus for this game is character development. Seeing Bond transform from a fresh-faced recruit to a hardened spy is engaging and the supporting cast, including M, Moneypenny and Q, mostly pulls its weight in that aspect too.That’s because the writing throughout this game is simply exceptional. 007 First Light’s writers have done an amazing job at making this feel like a James Bond game through his quips, famous phrases and drink of choice.The interactions you hear from NPCs throughout 007 First Light are incredibly true-to-life and relatable in some cases (IO Interactive, Amazon MGM Studios)But it’s the smaller interactions, like the aforementioned binman one, that really elevate this game and make every environment feel real and lived in. At an underground rave, there’s a queue for the cloakroom with NPCs moaning about how much it costs to store their coats for the evening.At a glitzy gala, there’s a couple feeling bad about leaving their child with their babysitter for the night. At a hotel resort, people are worried about the big problems in their own little worlds, such as their drink running dry.It’s these smaller, detailed interactions that are actually quite insignificant to the main story but are so significant to that sense of world building and immersion. That level of detail should be commended.Patrick Gibson's performance as James Bond is outstanding (IO Interactive, Amazon MGM Studios)Moving on to the cast, Patrick Gibson is a standout as James Bond. He brings this young character to life and his performance here is one of the best you’ll see from a protagonist in gaming.This becomes immediately apparent when Bond makes his first kill in the opening mission. In a chaotic moment, he’s coming to terms with what he’s just done before having to snap out of it and get to safety and you genuinely feel the emotion Bond is feeling here. That high bar is kept up by Gibson throughout.The supporting cast is generally strong across the board too. I was quite disappointed in Lenny Kravitz’s performance as Bawma though. It didn't feel quite as real or genuine as others and stuck out a bit when he’s in the same scenes as the stellar Gibson.Being able to bluff and talk your way out of sticky situations after being spotted, instead of having to resort to combat from the off, is so incredibly satisfying and unique (IO Interactive, Amazon MGM Studios)There are so many different gameplay elements to 007 First Light and there’s always something new to keep things feeling fresh as you progress. The main elements are spycraft and action.There are also sections where you play through what would usually be told in other games at cutscenes. This helps to keep 007 First Light feeling immersive as you get from A to B while speaking with others and you can choose how you want certain interactions to go in some cases.Gameplay has linear stretches and more open sections. Throughout, 007 First Light makes it feel as though you’re Bond as you’ll usually have a number of different options in how you want to achieve an objective.Even getting from A to B in linear sections, in some cases there are different paths to pick from. In open sections where you have to infiltrate a guarded space or secure intel for example, there are a number of different ways you can do this.An example in the gala is that you need to get to a security room but don’t have clearance. To pass guards, you can steal a pass, pretend to be a member of the press to get clearance or even grab a key from behind the bar to go through a hidden entrance. This level of freedom is incredible and offers a lot of replay value.The amount going on in the dense main gala room of this section is nothing short of astounding (IO Interactive, Amazon MGM Studios)Where possible, stealth and remaining anonymous is the best approach and gadgets are the key to maintaining this. The Q-Lens and Q-Watch are central to this and more gadgets for these unlock as you progress.The Q-Lens highlights enemies, opportunities and gadget targets and the Q-Watch can be used to hack objects and be loaded with other gadgets such as a laser, a dart to make enemies sick, a missile pen and more. These can be utilised not only to take out enemies but speak past authority too. The Q-Watch also has a loadout system, letting you choose different tools for each mission. This is critical as it’s no use taking smoke grenades to a gala for example.But that’s not all – Bond can eavesdrop, pickpocket, distract, disguise, bluff and lure. These actions are quintessential Bond and can be performed very easily.For example, you can use your Q-Watch to stun an enemy, pickpocket a pass, grab a disguise and use that pass to get through a guarded area without anyone batting an eyelid. This is just one of a number of ways to achieve objectives. The freedom you have as Bond is exceptional.Battling through a red room of enemies where screens can be manipulated to distract enemies and break when shot (IO Interactive, Amazon MGM Studios)Acting stealthily and not being spotted is key but when things hit the fan, which they inevitably do for Bond, this is where a whole different gameplay aspect comes in with combat and vehicles. It’s essential to master melee as this is the most unforgiving aspect, especially when you’re surrounded by enemies, again, staying undetected feels critical. Bond can strike and perform combos, block and parry, sidestep, grab and grab rush, use the environment such as striking enemies with bottles and perform finishers.Enemy attacks flash different colours, meaning you have to either parry, dodge or sidestep as required. Gunplay plays a key role but guns can only be used when Bond has a licence to kill – in other words, when enemies have shown an intent to kill him first. Bond can pick up weapons dropped from enemies, aim and shoot.You need to be quite proficient with each weapon type, from pistols and SMGs to snipers and more because ammo can actually be quite scarce and you’ll often find yourself picking up a different weapon to beat the threat in front of you.Bond can also perform shots at enemy knees to down them briefly or at arms to disarm them. Headshots are king, as always, and canisters can be shot at to explode, weapons can be thrown at enemies when they’re empty and Bond can focus to slow down time for the perfect, precise shot.The gunplay is what you’d expect from a third-person cover shooter in this regard but chaining attacks and defence mechanisms with your Q-Watch is where 007 First Light comes alive. Some boss fights even require Bond to solely manipulate the environment to his advantage.There are a number of vehicles you’ll control too, including cars, industrial vehicles and boats. Each one you control feels unique in its own way and are most welcome, being such an integral part of James Bond.James Bond frequently uses his charm in 007 First Light (IO Interactive, Amazon MGM Studios)How 007 First Light performs is the main area of criticism I really have. As previously mentioned, on the whole, the game runs great, running at an upscaled 4K at 60fps (frames per second) in Quality mode.However there is a bit of clipping here and there, such as bigger weapons clipping through Bond’s clothing. There is the very occasional pop-in texture and some textures don’t render too well up close (even though they’re zoomed in on and are a focus of what’s in front of you in story missions) and looks very pixellated which does break the immersion.I did have a case where I was about to perform a finisher on an enemy - but the enemy cut into place on the floor and Bond still performed the finisher on thin air. This took me a bit by surprise and completely out of the immersion.Towards the very end of the game, in the final mission, I also encountered some very noticeable frame rate dips when there was a lot happening on screen. There's a lot of replay value in 007 First Light through the way you can interact with NPCs, achieve objectives and complete different challenges (IO Interactive, Amazon MGM Studios)There’s a lot of replay value in 007 First Light because of the different ways to achieve each objective. On top of that, each mission has its own set of challenges to achieve and that’s before you even get started on Tacsim.Tacsim stands for tactical simulator and is its own mode where players take on a series of missions where Bond must achieve certain objectives, usually in the quickest time. These range from being proficient at taking down enemies to replaying certain sections from the campaign with new objectives.Escalation missions see players take on tactical trials which are more contained trials and operational missions unlock as you progress the main campaign. These task players with completing new objectives in sections you’ve already played from the game. Completing these gains XP which unlocks more gadgets and cosmetics. There is a global leaderboard for each trial and getting as high up as you can quickly becomes addictive. Each mission also has its own challenges to complete which earns additional XP, meaning there’s excellent replay value even in these standalone trials.It’s a clever way of doing an online mode without it feeling forced and feels very Hitman. Developers have said more missions and additions will be made to this going forward and this will be a great way to keep players engaged long after the credits rolled and keep us coming back for more when new content gets rolled out.