{"id":13125,"date":"2026-05-05T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-05T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextlevelnews.co.uk\/blog\/2026\/05\/05\/007-first-light-second-take-preview-007-first-light-feels-like-the-fresh-start-that-bond-fans-deserve\/"},"modified":"2026-05-05T15:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-05T15:00:00","slug":"007-first-light-second-take-preview-007-first-light-feels-like-the-fresh-start-that-bond-fans-deserve","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/nextlevelnews.co.uk\/blog\/2026\/05\/05\/007-first-light-second-take-preview-007-first-light-feels-like-the-fresh-start-that-bond-fans-deserve\/","title":{"rendered":"007 First Light Second-Take Preview: 007 First Light Feels like the Fresh Start that Bond Fans Deserve"},"content":{"rendered":"
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If I\u2019m being honest, I must say that I didn\u2019t exactly love the way that the last run of Bond films wrapped up. To be clear, I\u2019m not down on Daniel Craig. In fact, like many fans, I\u2019m of the opinion that he’s the best to ever take the role \u2013 but there\u2019s no question that his five-film run as 007 had more ups and downs than an Aston Martin\u2019s ejector seat. Casino Royale and Skyfall are surely two of the very best entries in the entire 60-year canon, but Quantum of Solace was undercooked, Spectre was one Fat Bastard away from being an Austin Powers-style parody, and although No Time to Die course-corrected to some extent, its bloated length and bleak tone has meant that I haven\u2019t felt the need to return to it since its 2021 release. No Time to Die? More like no time to rewatch.<\/p>\n

After a three-hour hands-on with 007 First Light at a recent BiliBili: First Look event in Shanghai, my biggest takeaway from IO Interactive\u2019s upcoming spin on Ian Fleming\u2019s superspy series is that it feels like the fresh start that Bond fans deserve. We\u2019re now five years on from the denouement of the Daniel Craig saga, and with precious few confirmed details surrounding the next big screen outing for Bond besides the welcome hiring of Dune director Denis Villeneuve, it appears unlikely we\u2019ll be getting a new Bond movie for another two years at least. That could well end up being the longest break between Bond movies in the series\u2019 history. Thus the imminent release of 007 First Light could not be better timed, and I\u2019m pleased to say that from what I\u2019ve played so far I couldn\u2019t imagine a better way to break the big Bond drought. <\/p>\n

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Of course, if we\u2019re talking Bond games<\/em> the wait for a new release has been exponentially longer and, given the last Bond game was the thoroughly dreadful 007 Legends in 2012<\/a>, the wait for a good<\/em> Bond game has been even longer still. Now with IO Interactive, it feels like we\u2019re finally back in safe hands. With its Hitman series, the Danish developer has more or less been making James Bond games in all but name for well over two decades at this point, and its expertise in stealth and subterfuge certainly seems more tailormade for 007 than a Tom Ford suit. From the books to the big screen, the team\u2019s love and respect for the source material is clear in First Light, and it pays careful homage to the character\u2019s origins \u2013 such as the way its fresh-faced Bond gains a permanent scar in the story\u2019s opening mission, much like the one described in Ian Fleming\u2019s first novel but never portrayed in the films. <\/p>\n

At the same time, IO is demonstrating considerable restraint so as not to be too slavish to the series\u2019 signature hallmarks. You won\u2019t hear Monty Norman\u2019s iconic Bond theme rattled out during each and every shootout like so many Bond games of yesteryear. Instead it\u2019s held back to properly punctuate his most outrageous stunts, like when he slips behind the wheel of a garbage truck at the end of the story\u2019s Kensington mission to barrel through a sequence of hastily improvised roadblocks. That measured musical approach makes it all the more exhilarating when those iconic orchestral horns eventually kick in.<\/p>\n

Quantum of Solace<\/h2>\n

I also appreciate that IO is putting just as much effort into building the world around Bond as it is into regularly blowing it up. Though the Kensington mission surges from a breathtaking sniper battle, to a basement level boss fight, and Bond\u2019s eventual belligerent escape through crush hour traffic, it begins relatively sedately with 007\u2019s return to the apartment he shares with two other young MI6 operatives. Since I\u2019d just taken multiple runs through First Light\u2019s training course in Malta, all of which began with stealthy intentions but inevitably devolved into scrambling Uncharted-style firefights, I appreciated the opportunity for a bit of a breather in Bond\u2019s humble dwellings before the gun and gadget-based carnage continued.<\/p>\n

IO Interactive is putting just as much effort into building the world around Bond as it is into regularly blowing it up.<\/section>\n

There are countless cute touches to pore over here. An unfinished game of hangman sits on the kitchen table, seemingly spelling out the words \u2018Poison Tip Umbrella\u2019. On Bond\u2019s bedroom bookshelf are manuals about tying nautical knots presumably from his naval days, as well as a book on ornithology, making it clear that he\u2019s been an avid \u2018bird-watcher\u2019 from the beginning. There\u2019s also a photo of a young Bond with his parents and a silver brooch left by his late mother to study up close. I can\u2019t really recall a previous Bond game that has taken the time to flesh out 007\u2019s character to this extent and, although it may sound somewhat minor in the scheme of things, I genuinely enjoyed these small touches just as much as the ensuing over-the-top action spectacle. You can even stop to mix yourself a cocktail at the drinks cabinet.<\/p>\n

The many tiny yet vital details like this really helped me to quickly buy into this new Bond, as did the drama of the opening naval mission in Iceland that goes awry and lays the platform for his recruitment into MI6. IO\u2019s decision to make this an origin story for the youngest-ever Bond \u2013 not counting James Bond Jr, because of course I\u2019m not \u2013 means that everything that would otherwise come across as a tired trope is instead presented in a fresh light, or indeed a First Light. <\/p>\n

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We get to experience the intensity and hesitance of Bond\u2019s first kill, the first time that he charms his way into a private party, and the first time he absently sips from a poisoned glass of champagne because he\u2019s too distracted by a new female friend. That then leads to Bond\u2019s first chairbound interrogation that uses a nifty provoke and stall minigame to create a level of tension very much on par with the not-so-friendly private chat with Le Chiffre in Casino Royale \u2013 mercifully minus the wince-inducing knotted-rope whacks to Bond\u2019s dangling double-Os. All of it feels entirely new to the character, reinforced by a performance from actor Patrick Gibson that has the cocky confidence of youth but perhaps not all of the wisdom of experience.<\/p>\n

Live and Let Die<\/h2>\n

I won\u2019t pretend that I\u2019m enamoured with absolutely every aspect of First Light, however. For starters, I\u2019m not completely convinced by its melee combat. It\u2019s rough and tumble as proper Bond fisticuffs should be, and I love the way that during a scrap you can grab anything within reach to crack over an assailant’s skull \u2013 whether its bottles and cups from the countertop in Bond\u2019s kitchen apartment, or pool balls from the breakout area in the art museum\u2019s security wing. But it also feels somewhat loose and clumsy at times, especially against multiple foes. Although I might get used to it with a bit more practice, I definitely struggled to get into a consistent groove with Bond\u2019s brawling versus smoothly headshotting henchmen or triggering environmental hazards with the Q-watch, both of which I felt comfortable with almost immediately.<\/p>\n

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Speaking of the gadgets, it also strikes me as being a little bit stingy that you only get a few uses out of the high-tech tools supplied by Q Branch before you need to manually recharge them. Bond\u2019s Q-watch can be used to temporarily blind guards with the zap of a laser, or to drop chandeliers from the ceiling in order to lure them away from their post, but the use of each sneaky skill results in a substantial hit to Bond\u2019s watch battery. I can understand the need to put restrictions on the player so that they\u2019re not constantly triggering technological traps like they\u2019re Home Alone in an Apple Store, but even so it does feel a little bit videogame-y to regularly stop what you\u2019re doing in order to rummage around for conspicuously placed car batteries in an attempt to scrounge up some juice. Bond\u2019s gadgets should feel cutting edge, not like they have all the battery stamina of a five-year-old iPhone you keep in your desk drawer on the off chance your new one is lost. A simple cooldown timer may well have sufficed.<\/p>\n