007 First Light

We’ve learnt never to assume a game’s final quality from even the most positive preview, but we were thoroughly impressed by First Light, which proved to be considerably better than we were expecting. The thought of future Bond films being owned by Amazon is very disquieting, no matter the talent involved, but no matter how all that turns out it’s very clear that Bond’s video game career couldn’t be in better hands. [Hands-On Impressions]

One of the largest differences I felt when playing First Light compared to IO’s Hitman was the feel of gunplay and physical combat. Both felt much more refined. Guns have just the right amount of kick to them, and fistfights are surprisingly more methodical. You can’t just spam button presses. Enemies will properly dodge and block Bond’s incoming strikes and hit back hard. [Hands-On Impressions]

On the surface, Bond might seem a natural fit for IO: all glitz and gadgets that make it feel like barely a skip away from the world of Hitman. But what I saw had me feeling that the studio has not leaned into its strengths, trading the absurd clockwork worlds of Agent 47 for a more tightly choreographed, linear, and "cinematic" game that IO has never been all that good at. The last time it tried was Hitman: Absolution. We know how that worked out. [3-Hour Hands-On Impressions]

First Light looks incredible, too. The level of detail in both the linear and open areas blows IO's other games out of the water, with the shifting of the camera closer to Bond's back, compared to that in Hitman, really elevating the immersion. Bond also moves unbelievably realistically and smoothly. Clambering along Icelandic cliffs and pushing his way through busy museum crowds looks so natural, with Patrick Gibson's performance emanating charisma and a hint of immaturity. [3-Hour Hands-On Impressions]

The game itself looks fantastic, with each contained level allowing for a huge amount of detail that would be impossible if this was a large open-world game. [Hands-On Impressions]