007 First Light (2026)

This took me forever to finish because frankly, I didn't want to pick it up. I just don't understand the praise for this game, I found it to be extremely predictable, repetitive, clunky, and mind numbingly boring at times.

This was a great 007 movie, it had all of the hallmarks of a classic Bond movie, and I would absolutely go to the theater to watch this. But it made for a dull game. Every level was structured exactly the same, with minor differences in the order that you do things. You're lurking around, navigating some minor traversal puzzles figuring out where to go. Next, you're doing espionage, eavesdropping and gathering information to figure out what you need to do. You now sneak around enemies, having to incapacitate them when necessary in order to get to your objective. Now you're killing guys, full out gunfight, rushing to the exit. And usually this is where the car chase comes in, though it is rarely ever actually a car.

It just.. wasn't fun. I enjoyed it the first few times, but it literally is just the same thing with a different backdrop every level. I think the compelling story is what is supposed to keep you invested, and it is interesting. But not interesting enough to save the dull gameplay. The levels are also quite long, starting one feels like a huge commitment, which is what led me to often dropping this for days before coming back to it.

Linear games exist and they can be good games of course. But the cardinal sin of this game is that it want to convince you that you have unlimited options when it is clear that you don't. I don't like coming out of a cut scene to be automatically pointed in the direction of the open floor panel that I need to jump into, with painted lines on the wall telling me where to go. When I need to gather information, I don't like having two little blue bubbles on my HUD telling me exactly who I need to eavesdrop on in order to get the intel I need to progress the story. You've crafted a massive, intricate set piece and you are funneling me away from exploring it because you want me to pickpocket a guys phone off of him.

But what is most disappointing is that I know what IO Interactive is capable of. I know what this game could have been. I enjoy the Hitman games a lot, and I think the style of gameplay is quite conducive to a good 007 game, but they opted for a more cinematic experience on rails. Hitman is fun because it gives you a sandbox with many different toys hidden all around, breadcrumbs to achieve the goal that you need to achieve. Maybe you'll do one of the handful of wacky assassinations they have set up for you, or maybe you'll find your own way to do it. You have so many resources as your disposal. That's what this game could have been. But instead I just got the same dull gameplay loop over and over again.

I really wanted to like this, I'd like to see another Bond game by IO Interactive that is a hair less cinematic and more of a video game.

Wish there would have been more driving parts. Reminds me of Uncharted 4 where we got total driving insanity with set pieces. This game needed more of that, and less walking and running around stealth (Hitman) segments.

Combat stood out, along with voice acting, visuals and performance. The amount of NPCs in these locations was incredible.

The game was still so enjoyable. Must play 4/5 for me. Really liked it.