A New Origin: Zach's Thoughts on 007 First Light

This post is not sponsored nor endorsed by IO Interactive, Amazon MGM Studios, Delphi Interactive, or any other business/organization. All views are the author's own.

Twisting.

If there's one word I would use to describe 007 First Light. It would be that. You never quite know how the game is going to go — but you don't want to back away. It keeps you in, and immersed in the adventure that IO Interactive set out to create for you.

For someone who has not played that much stealth, or is a relative novice in the grand scheme of the James Bond cinematic universe, the game is a welcome sight to see. But, on the flipside, if you are like me and not that into stealth, or linearity, then it may irk some.

But alas, after 5+ years, it is here. The first James Bond game in over a decade, and I'm excited to break it down right here.

Warning. This post may contain spoilers to 007 First Light!

Prior to now, the last James Bond game to be released was 007 Legends by Activision, which butchered the IP so much so to the point that Eon Productions, the owners of James Bond on screen, revoked the license. No new game came out or was known about until IO Interactive announced "Project 007" in November 2020. It has been agreed upon and explained that Eon chose to partner with IOI after only a two-year pitching process and extensive persuasion. Which was helped by the success of the Hitman franchise.

What followed was five years of near-total secrecy, until last June when bits and pieces were slowly announced, culminating in the global release last week.

The story, is entirely original. 007 First Light allows the player to take control of James Bond, a young and sometimes-reckless recruit in MI6's training program, as he uncovers a conspiracy that shakes Great Britain down to its core. Along the way, Bond goes on a globetrotting spree, exploring locations such as Malta, Slovenia, and Vietnam in an effort to learn more and take down who needs to be brought to justice.

Unlike other spy/action games, where your whole shtick is generally running in and trying to take out the person as quickly as possible. 007 First Light forces you to take your time and blend into the environment. You cannot shoot someone in the game just because, they need to want to kill you, then you can go guns-blazing. There is an extensive emphasis on taking out opponents silently using either a gadget from Q-Lab, or by going up from behind to dispatch them. The game does not like you being loud with your appearance.

But when you do go loud, it is loud. You will suddenly have dozens of trigger-happy mercenaries looking for you, and as the game is not that big into you using firearms, it is a bit irritating at times. But just goes to prove that this is a true Bond and spy game at large: focusing on quiet rather than a big bang.

Outside of the usual people-snatching-and-dispatching, you can pickpocket, and grab items along the way in sometimes unconventional places to continue your mission or keep your gadgets fully charged. (Don't get me started on using cleanex for the dart phone). This, alongside the classic eavesdropping on others' conversations, enables Bond (and the player by extension) to live out the ultimate spy fantasy. At least, that's what the International Spy Museum says.

Oh, and there's also bluffing your way through people who know you're doing wrong, in typical Bond fashion.

In essense: players and individuals who prefer to take things slow and steady will find no shortage of doing such tasks, and taking their sweet time. For me, by the end, I was getting slightly inpatient. So I was using guides to help me find certain items and get past checkpoints. I probably could have spent another 2-3 hours on the game in the latter half, but I was itching to get through it by that point.

007 First Light builds off its predescesor: Hitman World of Assassination when it comes to IOI's propietary game engine Glacier. Which the developers believed was so promient they added it to the game's launch sequence.

Truth be told, all of the game levels and interfaces are very well made. You can have Bond face a direction and see all sorts of detail and tidbits that allow you to be immersed within the world. The developers made sure that you were in the locations as they intended. From an open-air Africa to the corridors under MI6, you definitely feel like you are in the moment. The game also shines with far-away areas as well that are not accessible, which has been attributed to the improvements in streaming within the engine itself.

Opposite the visuals, the sound and audio design of the game is discreet, yet plays the part very well. When I was first opening the game, alongside going through some of the mission sequences, it felt like one of the more immersive Disney theme park rides (in a good way!). You are the spy of the story, and the backdrops, dialogue, and music choices help back up that line of thinking.

I also want to supplant in the casting choices and character development of the game. Over the course of the game, you see James Bond go from a reckless recruit to a slightly-less reckless secret agent with the company of an expansive network. While some of the guards act more like a video game enemy than anything else, the actual main characters of the game, from M (head of MI6, played by Priyanga Burford) to John Greenway (played by The Walking Dead's Lennie James), everything comes together by the other characters' performances to make this game truly shine.

Plainly, there are two major gripes with the game that I do hold: the hand-to-hand combat, and the relative linearity of the game.

007 First Light tries very hard to have there be one correct way of fighting enemies. Using one button when the enemy has a yellow glint, another for the red, and two buttons combined to fully knock them out. This is an attempt at smoothing the fight choreography, and may work better when there aren't 20+ mercenaries who are more than happy to jump you the second someone is brought down.

By the end of the game, I found it to be the most efficient to run to the exit (which you can only use when there are no hostilities near by, which is a different albeit minor issue unto itself) and just snipe the enemies with 1-3 bullets or luring them nearby and mashing the buttons together. Is this how the game was supposed to be played? Probably not. But trying to do the whole fight sequence with everyone will most likely end in your death… so there's that.

I feel like it also says something that whenever you die, you have the option to directly change the difficulty right then and there of the game's AI. But that's not for me to say for you.

The other major facet I have a gripe with is the linearity and the rough pace of the game. While the maps where the missions take place look huge, you are really only in a very small confined area, or you are along a clearly defined path. Which, is fine, I guess. But there's not much room to improvise or do things in a way that the game does not want you to do. In the fight sequences… sure, you can do whatever. But getting from point A to point B is clearly measured, and there isn't much wiggle-room to deviate from.

This also plays into the linearity of the game. There are a few places that seem like natural stopping points, but it will keep going. The story keeps moving, and while there are some "quieter" areas, you just have to hope you're stopping at a decent place. Another aspect of the linearity that doesn't play in the game's favor is you have no idea how far along you are in the story. After the Vietnam level, I presumed that it would end in England… I was wrong. I don't want to get into too much detail, but you don't really know what's next. Every other scene in the game is a twist. Some of them are good, I'll admit. But by the end I was just wondering how deep is this going until we quickly sky-rocket back to the unloading area, and what else could they possibly do. (Spoiler: quite a lot, actually.)

I thought for a while about what this section would entail. Whether or not I would give the stamp of "go nuts" or be more careful.

Looking back, I did enjoy playing the game as a whole in the long run (note: I haven't played the tactical simulations yet, only the main storyline, as the former is a whole different ball park that requires me to truly master the skills… and I'm not at that point yet). It definitely surpassed my expections , and I can see myself going back to replay certain missions/levels because they were cool.

But I likely will not go through the whole main story for a while. I wouldn't necessarily call it a one-and-done type of a game. There's more, but that's beside the point.

If you like like true stealth games, espionage, James Bond, or layered step-by-step torytelling, then 007 First Light is for you. Full stop. But, if you aren't quite into the linear idea (or prefer more open-world and being able to dictate your path more clearly against what the game wants you to do), alongside major combat-focused scenes and missions, then you might want to consider something else.

Overall, it's a good game with a few hiccups, and if spies are your cup of tea, then you won't be disappointed.

I don't really have too much to say here at the moment. I knew that this game was going to be reviewed for a few years now, and it just happened to come in at a time when content is... going slower than anticipated.

Hopefully there will be more coming soon. But there's no guarantee. Regardless, thank you for continuing to read ZachsThoughts. See you soon!