During Gamescom I was invited to attend a special preview of 007: First Light by IO Interactive. The presentation, a live demonstration of the game played on PlayStation 5 hardware, was designed to give a vertical slice impression of the gameplay in Bond’s upcoming origin story. Additionally, I was also given the opportunity to talk to the Senior Producer Theuns Smit at IO Interactive about the game. You can watch that interview below as well. Finally, of course I asked about the Nintendo Switch 2 version of First Light, but at this time IO Interactive is unable to speak to performance and platforms of the game. So please keep that in mind as we’re about to delve into this preview.

IO Interactive just may be the perfect studio to be handed the keys to the James Bond license. I’ve spoken at length before about my love for Hitman: World of Assassination and in hindsight, it almost seems like the trial run for a full-on James Bond title. 007: First Light follows Bond in a brand new origin story as it tells the story of how Bond earned his 007 title. During the preview we were shown an extensive look at one of the first missions in the game, in which James and his fellow trainees from MI6 are tasked with tracking down the rogue agent 009 at a luxurious hotel. Bond, tasked with being the chauffeur and ordered to be the lookout, abandons his post when he spots a strange bellhop disposing of some luggage. From there we were shown how missions can be approached in First Light.

Much akin to World of Assassination, the world is very much your oyster. There are a plethora of tools available that enable James to reach his objective. You might be able to distract guards and sneak in through an open door, but being a spy in this particular game is much more about using your perception to spot openings to decide your approach. For our demonstration, a wheelbarrow filled with leaves was a perfect distraction. But that required a lighter in order to quite literally create a smokescreen. Here one of the new gadgets seemed to provide assistance. James’ watch is able to stun enemies from a distance, depending on the amount of energy available. This seemed to be refilled as time progressed or certain goals were cleared. This opening is truly where the game resembled Hitman the most, with a recognizable, albeit modified UI and the ability to highlight targets and goals with a sort of ‘hitman vision’. Yet, it retains that quick wit and charm that Bond is known for. After lighting the leaves on fire, allowing Bond to climb into a window, he springs on the cleaning crew. Yet with a quick: “I’m a security inspector and I’ll report that this window has failed the test”, you avoid being tackled by a group of guards. After entering the hotel, there seemed to be many ways to follow the mysterious bellhop and figure out what was happening. Either by making small talk with the bartender, or stalking the man while avoiding the ire of James’s colleagues.

As we moved forward through the demo we were shown a scene at a later time, where 009 was making his getaway. With the help of another agent, you give chase by car. This particular driving segment was action packed. While unclear how choreographed this would be while actually playing, the driving seemed stiff but designed to keep players on a specific track. Don’t expect a Burnout Paradise-like approach here, but something a bit more on-rails. Police cars, trucks and even sheep were blocking roads, forcing the player to go off-road and drive through the countryside while giving chase. This is truly where some of the polish and graphical fidelity of the game was shown off. The gorgeous but varied landscape really gave off this feeling of a grandiose globe-spanning adventure, which makes it truly fit that feeling of watching a Bond plot unfold. As the car chase wound down, it became clear that 009 was heading for an airport to take off and leave the country. As James stepped out of the car, a message lit up on the screen: “License to Kill Granted”.

For how much I love the Hitman games, I wouldn’t necessarily call them excellent shooters. The gunplay always felt a bit clunky, reinforcing the idea that Agent 47 is here to be a stealthy unsuspicious killer. For Bond, this approach wouldn’t really fit. But thankfully that also means that the action gets time to shine. The license to kill is saved for specific moments, where there is no other option than to get your guns and hands dirty. Truly, in the small cinema we were viewing this gunplay the vibes were electric. Blowing up fuel depots at the aforementioned airport had both an auditive and visual impact I’ve rarely seen in games. Shooting and aiming was smooth and quick, but also required some quick thinking on the player’s part. One of the best moments was that when Bond runs out of ammunition, he doesn’t just toss the gun to the floor, but throws or wacks it at his enemies with a satisfying clunk. It was very much an action set piece, but the gameplay shift felt pretty natural for Bond. There’s also the possibility of going in for a fistfight or shoving opponents down ledges or into other objects. It makes fights feel visceral and intense, all the while Bond was struggling to make his way to the airplane about to take off.

Climbing aboard the plane, the final setpiece revealed itself, with the plane slowly not just losing cargo, but altitude and even twisting in the air. Shooting crates and baddies while hanging upside down felt like the perfect James Bond action movie scene that probably even Mission Impossible would be impressed with. The action kept accelerating and when James needed to find his way out of the plane and into the sky to grab a parachute, it truly clicked what kind of action game IO Interactive is going for. Uncharted meets Hitman with segmented levels that tell an overarching story. While at first IO Interactive may have sounded like a perfect fit, the more interesting approach is that they didn’t simply give Agent 47 a wig and a tuxedo. It feels like the studio is spreading its wings and showing the skills they’ve been honing in both the design of their levels, as well as the grandiosity of their storytelling.

In truth, while I am still unsure how a Nintendo Switch 2 will pull off the spectacle I witnessed in this demo, First Light is now one of my most anticipated games for next year. The mix of a singleplayer action game, infused with the stealth and espionage I’ve come to love from the Hitman series makes it clear that IO Interactive is the kid at the candy store who has decided to share the candy with all their friends. What remains to be seen is how varied the gameplay and structure will be over a large amount of levels and how this ties back into the story they’re trying to tell. James Bond as a character has always reflected the time and culture of when his stories have been told. If 007: First Light is the sendup of the singleplayer action driven narrative game over the last decade, then it seems that we all might be in for a treat.