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When a trailer debuted at last year’s Summer Games Festival for 007: First LightFans breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that IO Interactive studio was behind it. Players believed that IOI’s beloved Hitman stealth and assassination games would provide a good foundation for a game about the world’s most famous spy. And you know what? They were right – at least during the three hours of 007: First Light, I got to play.
In an art deco-themed Los Angeles restaurant, I tried out three chapters of the game, giving me an idea of what’s in store for potential players curious about the first James Bond game released in 14 years. While 1995’s GoldenEye was hugely popular, subsequent Bond games have been much less successful at adapting the spy’s adventures to the medium. From the preview, it looks like 007: First Light could be a confident and inspiring look at the James Bond franchise. We’ll know for sure when it launches on May 27.
The uses of Bond’s toolkit varied depending on the situation.
A lot of that comes from how much 007: First Light relies on the Hitman gameplay it’s built on, to the point that it feels like a spy story wrapped around games IO Interactive has already made. That’s not an inherently bad thing, but there were several moments where it felt like Bond was just another disguise worn by protagonist Hitman Agent 47. Much of 007: First Light’s character arc will rely on the strength of its overarching narrative – not only to set it apart from the lighter-hit Hitman games, but also to live up to the high-octane global action and adventures of the James Bond films and books.
And as a brand new version of Bond, complete with Unique origin story007: First Light has a lot to prove. I’m not surprised, then, that the first of the three chapters I played began at the beginning of the game, with Bond as a Navy pilot. This is followed by a peek into his training as an MI6 agent and finally a game segment after the conspiracy (and tragedy) sends him into high gear to infiltrate a fancy party.
What I played probably wasn’t representative of the entire game, and there were plot twists that I was forbidden from writing about. But I can say that it looks like it will be a unique 007 adventure that doesn’t change the boundaries of any of the films. It offers something they don’t: In this game, Bond has close friends, and their influence on him changes the story. Maybe he’ll grow into the womanizing lone wolf agent that fans know so well, but at least in the early parts of 007: First Light, he’s more sociable and human than we’ve come to expect from the super-spy.
How 007: First Light retells the story of James Bond
As the game begins, we are shown a young James Bond, played by Patrick Gibson, as a Navy crewman on a routine mission who is about to have a very bad day. On his way to training near Iceland, his helicopter was shot down over open water. He barely makes it to shore. Bond, confused and cold, is just an unassuming soldier in a flight suit for the time being, evading patrols by unknown gunmen and disabling his radio to call for help.
An MI6 agent responds, relaying instructions and pressuring an unarmed Bond to scout out what turns out to be a secret MI6 research base that has been hijacked by a mysterious mercenary group. Part tutorial, part introduction, the first mission shows the seeds of the young cabin crew’s deception potential. He records key details to identify the mercenaries, bluffs his way past the militants and infiltrates to free imprisoned MI6 researchers, guiding them to safety during a frenetic gunfight before eventually blowing up the base. Like any good Bond introduction, the story’s theme song follows, “First light,” sung by Lana Del Rey.
The second part I played was more free. After this promising debut, Bond is recruited into MI6 agent training on the sun-kissed Mediterranean island of Malta, culminating in a mock infiltration obstacle course to test the mettle of every would-be spy. As Bond, I slipped under the guise of coaches monitoring my performance and fellow trainee agents cheering me on or taunting me with lighthearted banter as I made my way.
Here I learned the basics of 007: First Light’s stealth system, which is very similar to Hitman’s. I crept through the tall grass and shadows, stealthily nabbing the guards as I worked toward the exit. I also got my first experience with the game’s simple but basic gadget system, using a watch to disable cameras and other electronic devices, then recharging them by grabbing batteries from a phone or the occasional car battery I came across. (Later, you can pick up chemicals on disoriented and drugged targets from a distance.) When you accidentally alerted a guard, Bond’s trusty fists—combined with a decently deep combat system that features parrying, dodging, and throwing—helped him deal with enemies. Of course, weapons will also do the trick.
The third section is where things go sideways – and Bond begins his transformation into 007.
007: First Light gives Bond relationships he can’t escape from, for once
Sometime after completing training, Bond heads into a mission that goes awry and his entire team is grounded. After recovering, he returns to Kensington, London, the apartment he shares with fellow agents with whom he has become close. Bond moves from room to room, thinking about the silly little things that come up when you share a home and a life with close friends: restaurant menus and little notes that speak of human connections. It felt like the most daring departure 007: First Light ever made. Young orphan Bond has his own small family.
As he realizes after finding a fake suicide note in his room, he has enemies. Bond battles several assassins and dashes across rooftops while trying to evade a sniper, using his smartwatch to distract them and buy time. He tracks down the last person at a party thrown by a tech mogul – which, naturally, he has to infiltrate.
Hitman fans know what comes next, and the mission plays out just like in those games. Bond gets a ticket from the pickpockets’ pockets, then has to find a way upstairs to track down the latest killer. How you do it is up to you: Do you pretend to be a photojournalist showing up for an interview? Trick your way in front of security guards? Steal a security pass? This part of the preview – finding a way to outwit the glitzy party attendees and tricking or fighting my way past layers of security – felt like the perfect combination of Hitman and James Bond.
Even less so is the subsequent boss fight with the final assassin, since Bond’s vision of the devices pinpoints enemies through walls, draining the tension as I sneak up to ambush my enemy over and over again until the climactic end. After that, I ran through some boring back rooms before returning to the party to find Agent Ruth, a beautiful and mysterious woman who had apparently appeared earlier in the game, making her a femme fatale in classic Bond girl style. She and Bond are soon locked up by the game’s antagonists (who, again, I can’t reveal).
After narrowly escaping death and sneaking around for a while, Bond takes on a climatic gauntlet through a video art gallery – a long hall where screens glow a moody red as dozens of armed and armored figures appear. Here we go: a pinnacle Bond moment. Although the previous encounters had seemed like short tests on how to use the full array of weapons, grappling tools, and gadgets, this was the ultimate test. You hacked an electronic art installation to create a smoke screen, dealt with guards, surprised enemies and shot them. After emerging under fire from more enemies, I stole a garbage truck and careened through the streets while the 007 theme was playing. Fin.
007: First Light is a promising game, although it’s not perfect, as there are issues like erratic footsteps and the sound of my voice pointing me in the wrong direction when enemies sneak up on me – which is crucial in a stealth game and I hope they can be fixed before release. Hitman fans may be divided over how much of their favorite gameplay has been repackaged for a Bond adventure – a great match that may seem all too familiar. Those new to IO Interactive games will likely enjoy it.
But despite how polished the stealth gameplay is, a lot hinges on the plot that IO Interactive is setting up, one that marks a fresh departure from other Bond novels by telling the story before the spy became a super-spy, yet will be difficult to get right. We’ll soon find out when 007: First Light is released on May 27.