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Review
007 First Light
A third-person spy action-adventure from IO Interactive, starring a young James Bond at the start of his career. It mixes stealth, shooting, parrying and set-piece action in a cinematic single-player story. It is an origin story rather than a continuation of the films. Is it your kind of game?
SpyThird-personStealth and shootingXboxSwitchPCPlayStation
8/10
Game Avant verdict
A cinematic, well-cast Bond origin story that swaps Hitman's freedom for momentum, and mostly gets that trade right, although its structure asks you to accept a lot of direction.
By GameAvant · Published Oct 8, 2026 · Updated Oct 9, 2026 · 16 min read
Screenshots
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IGDB
81%
187 ratings
Steam:
90%
32,903 reviews
Fits you if
you want a story-led spy game with stealth, gunplay and cinematic set pieces.
Skip it if
you want multiplayer, an open world or a long, systems-heavy game.
Availability
Where to play
Steam
$63.99
Facts
- Platforms
- Xbox · Switch · PC · PlayStation
- Release date
- May 27, 2026
- Length
- About 17 hours
- Difficulty
- 3/5 (estimated)
- Genres
- Shooter · Adventure
- Themes
- Action · Stealth
- Perspective
- Third person
- Modes
- Solo only
- Languages
- 3 languages
- Text in your language
- Yes
- Steam Deck
- Verified
- Microtransactions
- None
More about 007 First Light
007 First Light is IO Interactive's attempt to answer a question nobody else had seriously tried: what did James Bond look like before he earned the two zeroes? Released for PC and consoles, the game puts you in control of a 26-year-old, still-unproven Bond, an MI6 agent who has the instincts and the nerve but not yet the clearance, the reputation, or the licence to kill that define the character everyone already knows. The entire campaign is structured around watching him earn all three, and IO Interactive commits to that premise by making him fallible in ways a veteran Bond never is: missions can go sideways because he oversteps, undersells a bluff, or simply has not learned yet which rules actually bend. Mechanically, this is a deliberate departure from IO Interactive's own Hitman series, and the studio is upfront about that trade. Hitman built its reputation on sandbox freedom: multiple entry points, improvised disguises, and systems that rewarded patience over momentum. First Light flips that formula toward a directed, cinematic structure closer to a spy thriller than an open playground. Missions still offer meaningful choices, built around systems like the licence-to-kill rule, which forces real consequences onto the decision to use lethal force rather than letting it be a default, and a bluffing mechanic that lets Bond talk his way past situations a shootout would otherwise resolve badly. A gadget-and-support system nicknamed the Q-Watch ties the toolkit together without turning Bond into a walking arsenal. The trade is the whole story of this game's reception. Players who show up expecting Hitman's open-ended planning will feel the campaign's rails, and there is no pretending otherwise: First Light asks you to accept its pacing and its structure rather than rebuild it yourself mission to mission. What it offers instead is unusually strong production value for an origin story: a cast that plays Bond's inexperience convincingly rather than just loudly, a consistent tone that never tips into parody of the franchise's own tropes, and mission design that uses its linearity to build toward specific, memorable beats instead of just filling time between cutscenes. This is best understood as IO Interactive proving they can direct a story as tightly as they can design a sandbox, which is a different skill and one they had not shown off before. Fans of the Bond franchise looking for a faithful, well-acted origin story will find exactly that. Fans expecting Hitman's freedom under a new coat of paint should recalibrate their expectations first, because this is a different kind of game built from the same studio's hands, and it succeeds on its own terms rather than the terms of what came before it.
The thing you'll love. Or hate.
Momentum over sandbox
You may love it because
The missions are built to keep moving, so each one plays out like a set piece from a spy film with a clear rhythm and few dead ends.
It may frustrate you because
Anyone arriving from Hitman may miss the open, repeatable levels where the fun was in inventing a new plan every time.
A licence to kill with conditions
You may love it because
Lethal force is allowed only when enemies show lethal intent, which gives every takedown a reason and keeps Bond from feeling like a mass murderer.
It may frustrate you because
The rule limits improvisation, and it can feel restrictive when a situation looks like it deserves a harder answer.
Directed spectacle
You may love it because
Cutscenes, quick-time events and scripted moments make the campaign feel like a film with Bond's confidence built into the pacing.
It may frustrate you because
Directed sequences reduce how much of the story is decided by your own choices, and a scripted moment can interrupt a plan mid-execution.
Read the full review
16 min read
· By Game Avant
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Frequently asked questions
- How long is 007 First Light?
- About 17 hours to finish the main story.
- Which platforms is 007 First Light on?
- 007 First Light is available on Xbox · Switch · PC · PlayStation.
- Does 007 First Light have co-op?
- No, 007 First Light is single-player only.
- Does 007 First Light run on Steam Deck?
- Verified
- What does 007 First Light cost?
- $63.99 on Steam.
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