We reviewed 007 First Light

Driftwood
Tuesday, May 26, 2026 | 2:00 PM
6 comments

GSY Review PS5 Xbox Series X PC

The release of 007 First Light this week is a bit of a milestone for all the reasons we mention in the very first paragraph of this new in-house review, but for us, it’s above all the immense satisfaction of having been able to finish the adventure just in time to share our detailed impressions with you. It was a real marathon that we don’t regret at all, even though it was intense. So without further ado, we invite you to discover our verdict on James Bond’s return to video games, knowing that we’ve taken great care to reveal almost nothing about what awaits you.

Verdict

By intelligently blending their past work with what Naughty Dog has achieved in the blockbuster video game genre, IO Interactive kept us smiling from start to finish. The production may not yet match what the Californian studio is capable of (though we’re still waiting for their first true game on this generation of consoles), but in our opinion, the Danes’ expertise allows them to deliver combat sequences that are even more satisfying than what we found in the Uncharted series (or even The Last of Us, albeit with a radically different approach). Not everything is perfect; the AI is still a bit too passive for our taste, and the game sometimes handles checkpoints in a slightly odd way—for instance, when James dies in the middle of a firefight at the Slovak airfield, the game has us restart right after that failed firefight, just as we have to catch up to the plane on foot. But aside from these minor details, it’s truly an excellent showcase of what the blockbuster TPS genre has to offer. Some might criticize it for being too traditional, even though certain scenes managed to surprise us with some pretty unique moments, but for us, James Bond finally has a game worthy of his legend, because it doesn’t overlook a single element of what made him who he is. Needless to say, we’re really looking forward to seeing what happens next in his adventures, which get off to a great start here. Patrick Gibson and the rest of the cast are excellent—so much so that we feel they could easily take over from Daniel Craig and his co-stars on the big screen. But beyond that, what we want to remember most is the immense enjoyment we got from playing First Light over the course of the nineteen hours it took us to complete it. Just like in any feature film, the end credits close with the promise of the hero’s return, and we certainly hope that the game’s sales will do justice to the work of IO Interactive, which is clearly no longer just a studio with a single major franchise.

On the upside
A fast-paced adventure
The most faithful adaptation of the James Bond films
Spectacular staging
Thrilling combat
High-quality production
A well-cast cast of characters
Good variety of situations
Classic and effective, but also imaginative at times
DualSense used effectively on PC
The unlikely guest star had us laughing

On the downside
No path tracing or ray tracing at launch on PC
AI response time
We would have liked more variety in approaches
No French audio
Waiting for the next installment

Our PC video

unknownuser0001

Commented on 2026-05-26 20:45:02

It is a shame that IOI still keeping their stupid business model which is that their single player game is not truly offline, as a matter of fact they went further and reports say that the game is not even fully on the disc but maybe I misread. Unfortunately money talks and not enough people punished damn during the recent hitman trilogy. But I might play this with used copy.

The AI part is worrying me, don't want to spoil much so I would rather not watch your whole 45min PC video but if the said AI behavior is in it then would you please give me a time stamp for it?

In reply to

Driftwood

Commented on 2026-05-26 21:25:37

You can totally play offline.

AI is mostly slow when in stealth, by that I mean that it takes them a while to notice Bond even when he is in plain sight, but you also can see them take their time in gunfights (though deary can come very quickly too for Bond so they can shoot well). It's not more of a problem than in Hitman games or even the Uncharted series honestly, but it'd be nice to have the option to tweak this. I really loved the game, so I don't think it's enough to weaken the overall experience. The car chase séquence and the gunfight séquences are the same as in the State of Play if you want to watch something.

Commented on 2026-05-26 21:58:07 In reply to Driftwood

But don't you need to download a patch first? After you can play offline but then it is not truly offline as you still need to rely on their servers initially.

It is fine then but you are right to expect better after all these years, last of us 2 AI was not perfect either. I'm glad that we finally have a decent Bond game, it was a long wait :D

Commented on 2026-05-26 22:12:05 In reply to unknownuser0001

Sure updates require an online connection, as with other games. The only downside to playing offline is that you don't have the leaderboard for the Tacsim mode, but the review guide clearly stated that offline play was possible.

dc_coder_84

Commented on 2026-05-27 00:33:49

Hey Driftwood, what do you mean with "Spectacular staging"?

Commented on 2026-05-27 08:29:19 In reply to dc_coder_84

The way the different set pieces are staged and presented, the cinematic aspect of the gameplay séquences (and even the cutscenes), which are such an overhaul over what they used to do in the Hitman series. We have an expression in French that I never really know how to convey in English.