007 First Light Preview: I’m Fond, Quite Fond

007 First Light is the James Bond game I’ve always dreamt of, and I don’t make that claim lightly. You see, Casino Royale was a childhood favourite of mine. I’m not entirely certain that at the age of nine I should’ve been in a cinema watching Mads Mikkelsen attempt to break Daniel Craig’s balls but alas, I was. It’s not for this reason that I adored the film though, you depraved goons. I’d never seen something so thrilling, or that so wonderfully mixed grit with glamour. Certainly, this is something that the franchise has always sought to do but I’m perhaps biased in saying that my personal introduction to it is amongst one of the best examples.

I yearned to be Vesper, the dying part aside; to be whisked away on a globetrotting adventure filled with action, romance, and allure. Eventually, I came to realise that being in a James Bond film would perhaps be far safer than actually finding myself in a real-life spy caper. That’s mildly more achievable, but I shockingly can’t say that Eon Productions has ever come knocking with a role offer. To this day, I still rewatch that film endlessly and feel that innate yearning for adventure.

The reason that I preface you with all of this information is that it really does feel like 007 First Light could offer exactly what it is I’ve been dreaming of for as long as I can remember. IO Interactive’s upcoming action-adventure title is shaping up to be the definitive immersive James Bond experience, offering high-octane action, sleuthy hijinks, and thrilling car chases, all wrapped up within one suave, glamorous, and highly polished package.

I had the opportunity to attend a hands-off preview of the title at this year’s Gamescom, watching a live playthrough of the very same mission you may have just watched in the 007 First Light edition of State of Play. As such, there’s little benefit to me recounting exactly what it is that I saw down to the minute details; you can now officially go and feast your eyes upon the gameplay footage yourself. I will set the scene though.

007 First Light, Credit / IO Interactive

The preview consisted of developers playing through the game’s opening mission, albeit with a few cuts due to time constraints. The mission, if you’re yet to watch it, sees Bond whisked away to a high society gathering (a chess match, if I correctly recall) where he’s tasked with infiltrating the premises. He’s not the lead on this mission though, relegated to standing in as the team’s chauffeur; after all, Bond is without his 00 status at this point. It’s a perfectly poised starting point, if you ask me. The player’s inexperience at this stage somewhat reflects Bond’s own, creating an interesting synergy where both parties lack patience and discipline, boasting more tenacity than sense.

It’s with this in mind that the mission soon goes south, but that follows an early look at what the game’s stealth system has to offer. Given that IO Interactive is behind the acclaimed Hitman franchise, it’s no real surprise that 007 First Light’s stealth mechanics look very accomplished. Admittedly, the glimpse we received in the preview was brief, but it granted us enough time to see Bond making use of both environmental distractions and a handy gadget (what appeared to be some kind of dart), with that latter area being I’m something I’m most excited to learn more about as developers continue to unpack the title’s gameplay systems. From what I’ve seen, it looks as if Bond will be able to perform silent takedowns with the usual indicators allowing the player to see whether any NPCs are suspicious or alerted with regard to your whereabouts.

The gameplay then suddenly jumped ahead, with Bond and company making a rapid vehicular getaway with pursuers hot on their tail. I can’t exactly tell you why the mission went south; that’s not something we were shown and at the time of writing, nor do I have any clue whether that was revealed during the State of Play presentation. What I can say is that my early impression of the game’s car chases is that they look truly spectacular, with set pieces matching the cinematic glory of the films. Of course, there’s no passivity here though. You’re implicit, taking full control of the wheel. I wish I could tell you that I have some impression of what that feels like - the thrill or the ease of control - but I’m in the same boat as everybody else with no hands-on experience to speak from.

007 First Light, Credit / IO Interactive

It’s at this point that things were cut a little short, again due to time constraints, so my thoughts on 007 First Light’s gunplay are perhaps the briefest of all. In fact, I’m probably, like you, processing the State of Play right now and formulating a new analysis. I do, however, recall appreciating the camera positioning during firefights. While it’s somewhat become the norm, I’m always relieved to see third-person titles pull the camera in towards the player’s shoulder whilst aiming. It makes for a combat system that feels much more intuitive and intense.

It’s still very early days for 007 First Light; I don’t want to reach an assessment before getting my hands on the title, but I find myself hard-pressed to come to any other conclusion than this is exactly the experience we’re all hoping it will be. There’s most certainly an Uncharted feeling here, and I’m thrilled that’s the case, but 007 First Light brings with it its own personality - one that perfectly balances suave sophistication with the scrappiness of a distaste-for-authority upstart. If you’ve ever wanted a slice of 00 life, I’m not sure you’ll find a better opportunity.

007 First Light is scheduled to land on 27 March 2026 on PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch 2, Windows PC, and Xbox Series X/S.