IO Interactive crafted quite the new adventure for James Bond in 007 First Light, but there was one moment, a singular encounter, that convinced me these developers had done their research and knew the character. In that solitary scene, I felt the connection between the game and movies, a property I grew up with. It wasn’t when the bullets were flying, speeding around in those expensive cars, brawling with security, or even climbing out of bed with that girl who had the cute smile; rather, an instance of grief, vulnerability, and a realization of how deep the conspiracy was starting to spread.
That was the moment I felt like James Bond, and I had pissed the right people off enough that they came after me.
People remember the famous scene where Bond finds Jill Masterson murdered in his hotel room, covered in gold paint (Goldfinger), after getting assaulted by Oddjob, knocked out while raiding the fridge. Who attacks a man in his own kitchenette? Sleeping in itself is a danger for spies, as this secret agent once woke with a deadly tarantula climbing on him (Dr. No).
Sometimes the bad guys get really creative, like when they used a poison liquid on a string, trying to get it into Bond’s mouth while he slept, but Aki rolled over, taking his spot at the last moment, dying instead (You Only Live Twice, just mind the potential racism).
These are just a few examples that show that Bond is constantly getting jumped at his temporary lodgings or safe houses, places where he should be able to relax and take a moment to consider everything that has happened up to that point, but the man has even been attacked in his own childhood home (Skyfall), so in a way, this is an important part of the character the game incorporates well.
What doesn’t kill you…
After First Light begins with an excellent tutorial montage, a trip to the nightclub turned surprise assignment, and a truly harrowing first mission, we catch up with Bond driving through London, fuming about everything that has transpired with John Greenway in the car. Even though his student is clearly upset and going on about a mole in MI6, Greenway tells James to go home and wait.
“In other words, just do nothing.”
“More has been asked of lesser men.”
So after dropping Greenway off at the pub, he calls Moneypenny, figuring she’d understand, at least feel his pain in this moment, but there’s a level of detachment required for this job that our hero is still developing, and Moneypenny has her own ways of dealing with tragedy.
“We just put three agents in the ground.”
“That doesn’t give you permission to stop living.”
Frustrated, we return home to the nice flat the company provided where the three trainees used to live. It’s a mess. Monroe has left his shoes on the floor, in the way again, and yet, this time he can’t come and pick them up, because he was one of the agents they buried. An unclaimed package waits for Cressida as well, from her mother, items to pamper the once-vibrant girl, who is now confined to a wheelchair because of how bad things went tits up. They were his friends, and nothing with them will ever be the way it once was.
Memories are like open wounds
As Bond moves through the apartment, we see the menu from that Indian place the trio would always go to lying on the island, Cressida’s mug, the one Monroe bought her that read, “YOU’RE A KNOCKOUT!” Another reminder. Just like the flyer for the martial arts movie marathon, the couple’s final date. They seemed so happy together.
The once-welcoming posh flat seems to only be comprised of shadows, grief, and doubt now. An eerie reminder of what has been lost, failure, and missing out on things that could have been, all at once. There is a letter from Cressida; she mentions how there are too many memories for her to stay here, to face even a single night in this place, and she tries to assure James that none of this is his fault, but we know better. Sometimes the enemy is loss.
Bond continues his tour of what feels like a memorial–no, a tomb. We find the mnemonic card game Monroe was always challenging us to, and suddenly it’s harder to stop the flood in our mind. James pours himself a drink to numb it all, offering a soft ‘cheers, mate,’ to someone who can’t possibly hear it. The whiteboard, which usually offered helpful messages about spycraft, says “The greatest vice is that of carelessness. The next greatest vice is that of vanity.” Were we careless? What else could we have done?
You come at the king, you best not miss
Now in Bond’s room, we see family photos and keepsakes, then a target sheet with a heart drawn on it for when he wanted to practice his aim. It was a gift from the lovely couple, the best flatmates a bloke could have asked for. Lost in the past for a moment, we notice the note by the window, from us, written by “James Bond.” It’s an apparent suicide note. We know we didn’t write it, but the tone and sentiment certainly line up, prompting a second's pause.
Just when we try to put the note down and think about it, realizing what someone was doing, a man clad in black with most of his face covered tries to choke us out. That’s when the words appear at the top of the screen under a bright red line: “LICENSE TO KILL,” and this fight is on. Soon, we’re destroying the desk, putting holes in the wall, and it’d have probably been worse, but in this moment, I am pissed off, angry at being attacked in my own home, especially while I’m trying to grieve.
“James Bond, I presume,” we say to the downed man for a bit of wit before checking his phone to see they’d been watching me since I entered, multiple people. “You brought a friend.” Why did we assume it was just one? A little sloppy, too comfortable here getting caught up in the emotions, but that’s done with. Someone else is here, waiting in the kitchen. He’s tougher, but we’re using the time to ask important questions. This one doesn’t seem up for a chat either as we break some windows and further damage a residence that was already in need of cleaning.
Throwing a bottle at him, slamming him through the double doors after making a “tea time” joke, and everything feels like it is going well – getting some aggression out – with him pressed up against the wall until he says, “Take the shot.” A green laser sight on my chest. It’s a bullet he’ll take for me, but now they’re shooting up the place, I’m diving behind furniture, and realizing there is no way MI6 is getting any of that deposit back.
Take the fight to them
My best bet is to get to the balcony and make a path across the rooftops, minding my cover. This is just making me angrier though. Not only are these people trying to kill me, but they’ve destroyed a place I care about, interrupted my remembrance. I want payback, for them and me, and this time I’m the only one who can get hurt, so I move faster, a bit more careless, ignoring the whiteboard.
The big Bond energy is definitely flowing, and I realize I’m going to have to climb this damn crane just to get over to him. I blind the shooter with some lights and maneuver the heavy machinery into place, giving me a runway while dodging more bullets. Things are falling apart. I slide in and see my target. The whole thing is cinematic as hell, jumping from rooftop to rooftop and taking a spill. My vengeance will have to wait as I climb down the building and take a moment to assess my wounds. I’m not done yet…
This leads into one of the game’s bigger missions, but I had to take a small break after that part. The buildup, drama, and loss, without the immediate gratification, all felt like some classic Bond, the darker side of what it means to be in his position, and it’s easy to love. 007 First Light isn’t perfect, but that’s a sequence that will stick with me and raised the value of the overall game at that moment, making me feel like the team knew what we needed to go through to become James Bond, to earn it, to feel it.
For more on Bond’s newest adventure, read our 007 First Light review. And make sure to keep up with upcoming releases, reviews, guides, and tech coverage with our 2026 Video Game and Tech Release Calendar.
