More importantly, it feels like playing through a Bond movie rather than simply playing a Bond-branded game. The story itself is not extraordinary, but the game presents it with enough style, pace, and confidence that it becomes a genuinely strong cinematic experience.
What impressed me most is how the game maintains that cinematic feeling even outside the cutscenes. The dialogue is rich, and Bond’s interactions with other characters make the world feel alive. The game understands that a Bond fantasy is not only about action. It is also about walking into a room, reading the situation, talking your way through danger, and feeling like the smartest person there.
The game is divided into multiple levels, and each one has its own atmosphere. These levels usually give you enough space to observe, plan, and decide how you want to approach a situation. That said, the game sometimes helps the player too much. By pressing L1, you can activate a special view that marks important points in the environment, even if you have not properly explored that part of the level yet. This takes away some of the pleasure of discovery. In the second half of the game, I often found myself spamming L1 and simply running toward whatever the game had marked for me.
The action is also very enjoyable. There are multiple ways to get out of a situation: you can bluff, lie, lure enemies toward you and take them out silently, or just fight everyone. I liked that the game does not treat any of these approaches as the “wrong” choice. It does not aggressively punish or reward one playstyle over another, which makes the player feel free rather than judged.
Combat is especially satisfying when Bond uses the environment. The way he throws enemies into objects, grabs nearby items, and turns the room itself into a weapon makes fights exciting to watch and play. At its best, the combat feels improvised, stylish, and very Bond.
However, the second half of the game leans too much into large shootouts. There are several sections where Bond is surrounded by a huge number of armed enemies, and the game starts to feel more like a regular first-person shooter. You are expected to use gadgets and pick up weapons from fallen enemies, but some of these encounters go on for too long. They do not ruin the game, but they do weaken the cinematic rhythm that makes the earlier sections so enjoyable.
The story is good enough for a game this fun, but it has some clear weaknesses. The villains are probably the least interesting part of the experience. They feel shallow, and their motivations are not strong enough to fully buy into. They quickly turn into familiar villain clichés rather than memorable characters.
The handling of 009 is also disappointing. The first half of the game revolves around 009, an MI6 agent believed to have gone rogue. He is one of the biggest driving forces behind the story, but the game does not do enough to make him feel important. For most of the first half, he is only discussed in dialogue. Then, when we finally find him dead and learn that he was innocent, the twist does not land emotionally. Because the game tells us so little about him, the reveal is more confusing than tragic.
Even with these flaws, 007 First Light leaves a very good aftertaste. It made me want to consume more James Bond content, which is probably one of the best things a Bond game can do. It has problems in several areas, but the overall quality, style, and energy are strong enough to make it one of the best cinematic action games I have played recently.
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