The 007 series has a staying power in pop culture that can’t be topped. For decades, the films have given us some of the greatest action set pieces, villains, spy tech, and yes, even romance, but if I’m being honest, my first introduction to it was GoldenEye 007 on N64. Even in those polygons, I could tell I was witnessing something genuinely badass. A one-man army who can be tortured to the verge of death before somehow narrowly escaping and always getting the girl. Sadly, the video game entries have been lost due to mismanaged visions of what a 007 gaming experience should be, but Hitman developer IO Interactive is here to set things right.
I mean, sure, we’ve had to wait quite a while for this game, and even I had to attend hands-off press events that eventually led to another delay. For most games, this isn’t a good look, but I don’t see the team at IO Interactive falling into that category for this project. Instead, I applaud them for being open to delivering the best 007 experience they can, and after finally playing it for three hours, all I can say is, “wow.” But let’s unpack that in this preview.
Preview Impressions – Three Hours With 007 First Light
During the 007 First Light preview event, I was able to play through three sections of the game, which included the opening, training, and one of the later, more sandbox-driven levels. From the opening, one thing is pretty clear: this isn’t Hitman. Honestly, I think that’s what I was mostly looking for here. Anyone can see that Agent 47 and 007 are incredibly similar, which had me worried the game would simply be Hitman with James Bond and friends. However, that’s not what’s going on.
Instead, IO Interactive seems to be using its sandbox experience as a foundation while letting Bond change the rules. Agent 47 enters a space like a ghost, studies the room, and turns people into accidents waiting to happen. Bond still has that room-reading quality, but he’s much more bold and way more charismatic about it. There’s stealth here, but there’s also swagger, improvisation, and that very specific Bond ability to make a terrible idea look like the only smart option in the room.
Sandbox Design & Player Choice – Bond Breaks the Hitman Mold
The game appears to mix linear moments of Bond getting from one place to the other by any number of possible ways, and I mean any, given that at one point I was driving a garbage truck through a mall. However, it then supplements those transitions with more sandbox areas where players have choices on how they wish to approach a situation. In this opening stage, I was asked to free two groups of hostages, but it was ultimately up to me how to handle it.
It’s important to note that the game plays by 007 rules, and Bond typically won’t use a gun unless he needs to. This system alone pushes the player to think a bit more creatively when facing enemies and utilizing gadgets. I didn’t feel like I was being punished for not shooting everyone. Instead, the game made me think about the room, the guards, the tools around me, and how Bond would get out of a situation without immediately turning it into a shooting gallery.
Gadgets & Resource Management – Nuance Over Firepower
While I typically tried to stay quiet, I didn’t really feel comfortable with the gadgets until a few hours in. Their inclusion and usage are a bit nuanced, as materials around the level will charge batteries or other gauges, allowing Bond to shoot someone with a dart that makes them sick or disables an alarm. The requirements for these actions are a lot, which I enjoyed because it means you can’t just rely on any one system. It made every gadget feel like a choice instead of a free answer, and you’re pushed to keep that creative momentum no matter what kind of situation you’re in.
Combat, Difficulty & Environmental Destruction
What’s interesting about my time playing is how little I even had to use my weapon. Many times, I opted for stealth, and when I did encounter enemies, the combat system was quite responsive and really fun to get right because the on-screen action looks so freakin’ cool when you do. I say that knowing that playing on Normal difficulty came with Bond dying after maybe seven to ten hits from an enemy. However, just a few hits will fill the screen with red, which I felt needed to be calmed down just a little. Regardless, I enjoyed the challenge overall and felt that Bond and the enemies’ HP were relatively grounded in reality.
The cooler moments of combat happen when you’re able to just go crazy in the environment. Throw a cup at one enemy to blind him for a second while you take out his friend by rushing him into a piano. There were objects in the environment that I would get caught next to just to see what would happen when you fought near them, and I simply loved the stage interaction.
For example, throw an enemy into a bookshelf and all the books knock off. Do it again, and the wood starts to break on the shelf. There are multiple tiers to the environmental destruction, which makes it a shame sometimes to get through an area undetected because you don’t get to see the cool action of what it would look like breaking someone over a table. That sounds ridiculous to say, but also, come on, it’s James Bond. If I can send a guy flying into expensive furniture, I’m probably going to do it at least once.
Controls & Accessibility – Streamlined for 007 Fans
The downside here is that, while creative, the gameplay is a little more straightforward in its controls. Most of the action and systems are relegated to only a few buttons. I anticipated this, given that 007 fans aren’t always gamers, but there were moments where I wanted a little more mechanical depth from what Bond could do directly. Still, I think the balance with the overall challenge and the consequences of getting caught does create a fun gaming experience, no matter your trophy list.
I also found that the creativity in navigating the sandbox area didn’t really clash with what Hitman does, such as using disguises and more brutal tactics. James Bond goes in and out of every situation with style and grace that’s really hard to explain, but all I can say is that if you’ve ever wanted to be James Bond, this is it.
Story & Character – A Promising Origin Story
I’m looking forward to getting to play through more of the story and getting my heart broken when a love interest dies, which hasn’t actually been confirmed, but we all know no one is safe, and being James Bond can be a very lonely experience. I’m not completely aware of the stakes that Bond is currently facing, but the origin story is being handled better than I could have imagined. Bond is just an insanely difficult character to get right, especially when this game is dealing with him before he becomes the fully formed legend everyone already knows.
And while we can gush over Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan, and Daniel Craig for decades, I don’t know many characters outside of Uncharted’s Nathan Drake with this much charisma. But hey, IO Interactive, you’re cooking here, and I’m sorry for all the times I was bummed about not being able to see more gameplay early because the wait was worth it.
007 First Light is coming to PlayStation 5, Xbox Series, and PC via Steam on May 27, 2026.
