After years of false starts and cancelled projects, James Bond is finally back in a big-budget video game, and 007 First Light arrives carrying a heavy weight of expectation. These are early impressions based on the opening hours rather than a final verdict, but the game already makes a confident first impression.
The premise is a smart one. Rather than dropping you into the shoes of a fully formed super-spy, the game casts you as a young recruit just accepted into a newly revived Double-0 programme. That framing gives the story room to grow and lets the game teach its systems naturally, as your character learns the trade alongside the player.
What stands out first is the presentation. The set-pieces are unmistakably cinematic, leaning into the globe-trotting glamour the franchise is known for, and the production values feel the part. The early Aston Martin sequences in particular do exactly what you want them to, channelling decades of film history into something playable.
Mechanically, the game leans toward stealth and patience rather than loud, run-and-gun action. Approaching a situation carefully, reading a room and choosing the quiet route is usually more rewarding than charging in, and that restraint suits the character. It asks you to think like an agent rather than a soldier, which is a welcome change of pace.
It is not flawless. In the opening hours the pacing occasionally sags between major moments, and some animations and transitions can feel a touch stiff. These are the kinds of rough edges that either smooth out as the game opens up or start to grate, and a fuller verdict will have to wait until the later missions reveal whether the variety holds.
Still, the foundations look promising. A confident sense of style, a clever take on the Bond origin story and a design that values cunning over chaos add up to a reboot worth paying attention to. If the back half maintains the quality of the introduction, this could be the game that finally does the licence justice.
We will publish a full, scored review once we have spent more time with the campaign. For now, 007 First Light looks like the most credible attempt at a Bond game in a long time. Stay tuned to ExstarHub for the complete verdict.
