007 First Light Slammed Over 'Embarrassingly Bad' NPCs As Fans Rush To Its Defence
Topics: James Bond
Featured Image Credit: IO Interactive
Topics: James Bond
James Bond games never really went away, but while some feared we'd never return to the highs of GoldenEye 007, 007 First Light is a welcome breath of fresh air in a franchise that's remembered for the bad just as much as the good.
Remember that for every GoldenEye 007 and 007: Nightfire, we've had a 007 Legends or 007 Racing. Thankfully, 007 First Light has critical acclaim in its crosshairs and looks destined to go down in history as one of the 'best' outings for our martini-swilling hero. As we wait for an update on what Amazon plans to do with the film franchise and the search for the next James Bond prepares to get underway, Patrick Gibson does a stellar job of stepping into Daniel Craig's shoes for a more junior version of the iconic MI6 agent.
Many have praised First Light for its compelling origin story, reactive physical combat, and Hitman-meets-Uncharted-inspired gameplay. Our glowing review of 007 First Light said: "007 First Light is an exquisite taste of slick spy action and blockbuster storytelling, and is fully what a Bond game should be, but rarely is.”
Still, it seems that not everyone is impressed.
The lack of detail in 007 First Light is EMBARRASSINGLY bad. It's 2026 and we still have statue NPCs that don't react to anything. YIKES! pic.twitter.com/66jx4ABIaN
— Michael Does Life (@MichaelDoesLife) May 26, 2026
In 2026, you'll forgive gamers for expecting souped-up NPCs that are powered by the latest AI and can have full-blown conversations with us. However, as Fortnite's whole Darth Vader NPC controversy confirmed, this isn't always the case. Secondly, a game like First Light is an action-driven game that largely relies on what’s happening right in front of your face. Who is honestly strolling up to every non-playable character in a pounding nightclub when you can throw a smoke grenade and get straight into the nitty gritty?
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Over on X, Michael Does Life delivered his own takedown of First Light and complained that the sleek spy thriller's NPCs are letting it down. Going further than most, he vented: "The lack of detail in 007 First Light is EMBARRASSINGLY bad. It's 2026 and we still have statue NPCs that don't react to anything. YIKES!"
During one clip, we see Bond driving his Aston Martin into an NPC, who stands there like a bollard. We'll admit it's not the best use of an NPC, but as many in the comments explained, it's a tiny part of a much bigger driving level where you're supposed to be zooming past bystanders.
While a vocal minority supported Michael Does Life, most were against him. Several accused him of making a career out of bashing AAA releases as 'clickbait', noting his recent run of scathing reviews telling people not to buy Resident Evil Requiem. One First Light loyalist wrote: "I can’t believe this NPC wont dodge my car in a 20 second training hypercut segment, refunding now."
Another chuckled: "Too many people expect a GTA-like experience but guess what, not every studio is Rockstar. Just enjoy the damn story."
Maintaining that Bond games have always been like this with NPCs, another concluded: "Most games ever created do not have the level of detail or realism that most people in 2026 have come to expect from every single video game being released.
"Games like Red Dead and Crimson Desert and GTA have completely jaded gamers to have insanely high expectations for video games when in reality Tetris is still one of the most played video game ever and needless to say you cannot ram your car into random civilians in that game either…"
It's true that one clip from Lego Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight shows how Gotham City's LEGO residents will barrel roll out of the Batmobile's path, but if you want to see that, go pick up Traveller's Tales' latest title.
READ MORE: 7 Best James Bond Games Including Our Ranking Of 007 First Light