James Bond games are a rare breed of action thrills and movie tie-in hijinks. Goldeneye 007 is a genre definer, while 007 Legends put the series into a decade-long coma. With new hands at the helm in the form of Hitman legends, IO Interactive, there's never been a franchise so perfectly matched for a developer. My five-year-long wait to see 007 First Light in action ends at Gamescom 2025, as I get behind the scenes at an exclusive preview.
Seeing the studio's CEO, Hakan Abrak, remove the tarp from Bond's Aston Martin DB5 outside the game's extravagant booth sets the tone early. Bond is back, but it's not an ordinary return to our screens. He's younger, inexperienced, and more stubborn than Daniel Craig's cocktail order in Casino Royale. Adorned with a scar on his cheek and emotionally tortured by the demise of his parents in a climbing accident, I say it confidently that 007 First Light is already one of the most true interpretations of Ian Fleming's works.
My hands-off preview splits into two segments: one showcasing stealth and the other serving up action. Bond isn't like Agent 47; he's a spy, and our favorite bald globetrotter is an assassin. There's discretion to Bond's actions, whether he likes it or not - something our still unnamed Bond actor delivers well. Rather than spawning into a mission like Hitman, First Light picks up with Bond and his fellow MI6 comrades mid-travel, putting the player directly into the driving seat.
We're hot on the tracks of 009, a rogue operative embedded in a conspiracy bigger than Bond can comprehend. It evokes Goldeneye and Skyfall's narratives at first. But IO isn't interested in derivatives, and that notion makes itself clear; Bond is starting on the back foot. Much to his dismay, Bond is undercover as a chauffeur, while his teammates don the more alluring roles of espionage.
@pockettactics Tactics, Pocket Tactics…. We can't wait for 007 First Light and the car unveiling @gamescom was a highlight this year 🏎️ #JamesBond #007 #Gaming #Gamescom
There's no white tuxedo to wear, at least not yet. The usual hallmarks of IO shine early on, literally, as we drive through postcard-worthy hills and scenic rural roads. It's the type of location escapism that the studio works brilliantly within, translating it over from Hitman without skipping a beat. When Bond arrives on-site at The Grand Carpathian Hotel, his team relegates him to parking lot duty. It's a far cry from seeing him wooing potential love interests and playing word tennis with villains.
And I love every minute of this, as it feels pulled from the pages of Charlie Higson's Young Bond books. There are shades of doubt in his ability as an operative, but there's a hunger to defy the rules. It isn't long before Bond throws his hat off in a cheeky nod to his Moneypenny interactions, before becoming part of the mission.
"There's a lot he still needs to learn. As a recruit, he needs to rely on his team. He needs to be as open as he can be for input; he may, in the beginning, try to do things his way. [He might] figure out, 'okay, maybe I don't have it all yet, as I think I do'," senior producer Theuns Smit tells me in a post-preview interview. "You get to take on and be Bond your way. This means that as Bond is busy growing and maturing; you're going through it. As a player, you are in there with them,' Smit adds.
Although James is discovering himself, it doesn't take away from feeling like the iconic spy. Hitman thrives on adding your spin to situations. There's no method to the madness because each sandbox wants you to push the boundaries. First Light is mixing linear and expanded moments without compromising the essence of being Bond.
The hotel is currently hosting a chess tournament, one that lovingly references From Russia With Love's impeccable set design. For me, just as a movie fanatic in general, the aesthetic is ravishing. Dashes of Ken Adams and Syd Cain jump out at me. The celluloid tones of Guy Hamilton's movies fuse with Roger Deakins' stunning digital cinematography. It's clear that IO understands Bond's visual language, and that's reinforced when I chat to franchise art director Rasmus Poulsen.
"You're looking back at retro Bond. You see car chases in the Alps. There's a certain quality to some of the things. For instance, the color tone of the sky. I was researching old film stock and the look of it. There's a whole bunch of key important factors there […] how our light is compressed and whatnot," Poulsen passionately expresses.
He dives into the particular hues film stock can produce, noting Deakins' influence, telling me that "we were very inspired by the color tones, like this dusty cyan blue for the sky. At the same time, having something pop, like costumes, and to have things stand out […] very Deakins-esque in terms of color grading and in terms of color approach". Those flourishes fall around each footstep as First Light's refined social stealth comes into play.
Eavesdropping and observing your surroundings are at the foundation, but Bond's persona is a larger factor to consider. If you're confident enough, dialog trees present alternative situations, like getting into the hotel without infiltration. Bond can't always use his bluff, a core mechanic to the game, on his way to success, though. Smooth talking isn't the play, but talking to hotel staff, stealing a lighter, and causing a distraction? That's one way to do it.
Throughout that interaction, gadgets are front and center. Bond's history with Omega watches continues, with Q-Lab upgrades, of course. Sorry, Sean Connery purists, you won't find a Rolex Submariner here. Clearly inspired by the NATO-strapped Seamaster Diver watch, it comes equipped with tools such as scan vision, a shockwave camera, smoke pods, and knockout darts. I can already tell how satisfying it will be firing those off into henchmen.
Not only is the watch a means of avoiding combat, but it weaves itself into the game's UI. It isn't intrusive, either. It lends itself to the spycraft at work and keeps MI6's Quartermaster with Bond in a more tangible sense. After all, Q is more important than ever to this tale. Poulsen explains that "Q is this really stylish, dapper guy where Bond gets his sense of quality and sense of style from in our take. And that means that he's really, really important for us. And then, of course, as design nerds, we just go nuts with Omega."
He adds that working with Omega is more than just honoring Bond's lineage, but "it's just such a joy to get to be an interior decorator with a Q hat on in the Bond universe." It has me eager to see more of Q, because Bond's aura is still electrifying. It's a first for me in my career, but one note I decided to write in my journal is simply "Bond is fit." Walking around the hotel, guests notice him, and maids whisper about his appearance. One mentions leaving him an extra mint on his pillow, should they find his room.
Little touches of personality and humor present themselves the more you listen to the world around him. It's crucial to the mission, too, as IO describes his endeavours as building a case. Not everything is about fist fights and gun battles. Bond is a spy, and that requires detective work. We didn't get to see too much of this, though, as IO wants to avoid story spoilers. Instead, the preview shifts to action.
To do that, the IO presenter on-site whisks quickly through the game's menus. By my account, there are at least 25 story chapters in First Light right now. Chapters are the key thing to note, as each mission likely isn't focused around one location like Hitman. Thumbnails for them show story beats that are logically moments before Bond's hotel antics, for example. Other menu options show Tac Sims, Gyms, and Challenges.
I wager that Tac Sims and Gyms are chances to refine your combat chops. In the build-up to punching out henchmen, we get behind the wheel of an Aston Martin DBS Vantage. He's just stolen it from the hotel parking lot, and it belongs to an undercover French intelligence spy, Agent Charlotte Roth. She's on the warpath for 006, too, but her motives are unclear. There have been some ace car sequences in Bond games over the years, and James Bond: Bloodstone 007 had the advantage of the former Project Gotham studio, Bizarre Creations.
I'm not worried, though. The Vantage's wheels screech, burning hot rubber along the mountain roads, or ripping up wheat in fields. It all looks exhilarating, and I'm curious to see whether other vehicle moments factor in some Q-Lab goodness. Capping off the pursuit leads us to a private airport, and it's teeming with bad guys to dispatch. Bond's combat is rugged, leaning into the brawler nature of Sean Connery and Daniel Craig's take. He isn't afraid to fight dirty, as he can use enemies briefly as a shield before pushing them off ledges to their death.
That's because Bond's got a license to kill, at least for now. Lethal combat is given to Bond at the decision of MI6, depending on the situation. There's no way out of this alive without some bloodshed, so Bond is free to defend himself. It oozes style, with Bond flicking guns up from the floor with his feet, checking the chamber for rounds before he sprays enemies from cover. Smashing foes with his fists looks like it packs a whallop, just as it should.
Smit comments on this, relaying that Bond "still needs to be a responsible MI6 agent, you don't just run in and start blasting, so to speak. When met with force, you then have the opportunity to reciprocate." It's a mechanic we've never seen in a Bond title before, so having it restricted surely feels earned.
As the preview comes to a close, Bond does something I never thought the series would do. It embraces the only other series worth considering as a rival, and that's Mission: Impossible. Leaping aboard an AC-130-style plane, Bond runs across the wings and battles two foes, each second ticking down to take off. At this point, the hairs on my neck rise, and I'm smiling like a child. It might be taking notes from modern-day contemporaries, but this is Bond.
Inside the plane, he can hack into it directly, with the shoulder triggers used to tilt it from left to right. Fights are off-kilter as a result, and it adds a fun dynamic to reaching the cockpit. But surprise, surprise, there's no one there, and there are only two parachutes left. 006's forces have taken them. Think Bond, think? What do we do? Jump out after them.
It's all scored by brass horns and string sections jumping between a style that bleeds John Barry sparks and David Arnold melodies. Smit won't reveal to me who is composing the new Switch game's score, but I have to say, the Arnold vibes are very strong. I'd love to see him back on the franchise for the first time since Quantum of Solace.
It's a rip-roaring end to the preview, that's for sure. The fact that this is coming to Nintendo Switch 2, having seen all this unravel, well, that's another aspect I need to see performance-wise. However, hype is a dangerous thing, and it's killed off any contenders for our best Switch games list in the past. But never say never, because from day one, I've been a firm believer that if anyone can nail a fresh Bond game, it's IO Interactive.
If Bond's next adventure sounds good to you, you can lock in your 007 First Light pre-order now, which includes the Specialist Edition.