007 First Light Review

This review is labeled Researched. We have not played the game ourselves. What follows is built from published critic reviews, review aggregators, technical and system-requirement reports, and player-facing coverage, and we say where outlets disagree. See How We Review for what that distinction means.

Why this Bond game got people’s attention

For most of the last two decades, Bond games have been a punchline. The film series moved on, the licence bounced between studios, and nobody had released a major Bond game in over a decade. So when 007 First Light arrived on May 27, 2026, with a Metacritic score of 88 and an OpenCritic score of 89, it was a bigger surprise than a typical “good game” headline would suggest.

To put those numbers in context: the Metacritic score is the second-highest any James Bond game has ever earned. The only title ahead of it is GoldenEye 007 from 1997, which sits at 96. It is also the best-reviewed game in the history of its developer, IO Interactive, the studio behind the Hitman series. On OpenCritic, 97% of critics recommend it. IGN gave it a 9 out of 10 and called it the best Bond game the reviewer had played. Tom’s Guide went further and called it the finest Bond game in nearly 30 years. Not every outlet was that glowing. GameRant gave it 4 out of 5 and called it “a mostly great start” to IO Interactive’s take on Bond.

Scores only tell you so much, though. What matters for a $69.99 purchase is what the game actually asks you to do, and which parts people liked and disliked. So here is the picture that emerges across the reviews.

Who is this Bond, and does the story work?

First Light is an origin story with no connection to the films. You play a 26-year-old James Bond, recruited into MI6’s revived 00 programme after a heroic act, who has to earn the 007 designation. Patrick Gibson plays him, and his performance is one of the things reviewers keep mentioning. Gemma Chan, Lenny Kravitz and Lennie James are in the supporting cast.

The standalone setup is a smart decision, and it explains a lot about why the game was received so warmly. A game that had to match Daniel Craig’s Bond, or Pierce Brosnan’s, would be constrained by the audience’s memory of an actor. A fresh Bond lets the writers build the character from scratch, and it also means you do not need to have watched a single film.

Two practical points are worth knowing before you buy. First, the story is linear and has a single canon ending, with no branching dialogue choices, so this is not a role-playing game where your decisions bend the plot. Second, the game is built around roughly 15 main missions, which come to about 20 hours for most players, with some outlets timing around 21 hours. If you like to see everything, completionist timings run to 30 to 35 hours.

How it actually plays: stealth first, fists second

The biggest question for anyone who knows IO Interactive’s reputation is whether this is “Hitman with Bond’s face”. The honest answer from critics is: partly, but not really.

IO has stripped back some of the sandbox depth of Hitman. You will not find the huge social stealth playgrounds where you plan an assassination for an hour, nor the endless replay loops that made those games famous. Windows Central’s verdict is that it is among the best stealth-action games in years, but several other critics note the stealth is not quite as polished as Hitman’s. What you get instead is a more focused, more cinematic version: you spend considerably more time sneaking, investigating and improvising than you do fighting, but each mission is shaped more like a story beat than an open puzzle box.

When things go loud, the combat is where reviewers have the most fun. The close-quarters fighting is described as dynamic and contextual, with moments that feel lifted from a film, and the melee system borrows its flow from the Batman Arkham games and Uncharted. You can beat guards senseless or aim for total stealth in many segments, which is a freedom that suits Bond, a character who is sometimes graceful and sometimes brutal.

Then there are the gadgets. Q supplies a toolkit that lets you blind enemies, destroy cameras, hack computers and more. Crucially, gadgets are not infinite. They recharge by collecting resources around the level, so you cannot use them as a skeleton key for every problem. Before each assignment you pick which gadgets to bring, and that choice carries real weight: a gadget that solves a surveillance problem is useless if the level is full of patrolling guards. This is the part of the design that seems to give the game its character, because it nudges you to plan like a spy instead of just rushing.

The part critics did not like

A review that only listed praise would not be much use to you. Here is where the reviews dig in.

The driving. This is the most common complaint. Reviewers describe the driving as casual and fine when you are cruising to a location and chatting, but they say it shows its flaws as soon as the pace picks up. Some felt a little cheated, because a Bond game raises expectations for car sequences. The game also has no free roam or free driving: the vehicle sections are scripted parts of the missions, not an open-world drive.

Pacing. A few critics note that the cinematic pacing occasionally breaks the spell, with story sequences that cut into the flow of play.

Launch bugs. Early players hit crashes and bugs on release. Reporting says most were addressed by patch 1.0.1, but if you are the kind of buyer who avoids early patches, that is a useful detail.

Hitman fans may feel let down. If you want maximum freedom and replayability from a stealth game, the more linear structure may feel like a step back. This one is story-first.

What it looks like and what you need to run it

First Light runs on IO Interactive’s own Glacier engine, not Unreal Engine 5, and uses ray tracing and dynamic global illumination. On consoles, reporting says the PS5 Pro targets 60 fps, while base consoles offer a 30 fps quality mode or a 60 fps performance mode. The game needs around 80 GB of storage.

On PC, the published minimum specification, aimed at 1080p and 30 fps, is an Intel Core i5-9500 or AMD Ryzen 5 3500, an NVIDIA GTX 1660 or AMD Radeon RX 5700, 16 GB of RAM and 8 GB of video memory. The recommended specification, aimed at 1080p and 60 fps, is an Intel Core i5-13500 or AMD Ryzen 5 7600, an NVIDIA RTX 3060 Ti or AMD Radeon RX 6700 XT, 32 GB of RAM and 12 GB of video memory. Outlets noted that the requirements were later updated in a way that is friendly to older PCs, so check the Steam page before you decide your machine is too old.

Platforms: one thing to check before you buy

The game released on May 27, 2026 on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. The Nintendo Switch 2 version is a different story. Our earlier version of this review listed it as available at launch, but reporting from TechRadar and others says the Switch 2 port was delayed, and later coverage points to a March 2027 target, with the developer aiming for a stable 30 fps. If you only own a Switch 2, you should not buy yet. We flagged this correction in our work log so it does not get lost.

Price, editions and extras

The standard edition is $69.99, which is the usual top price for big current-generation releases. There is also a very expensive limited “Legacy” package at $299.99, which is a collector’s purchase, not something most players need.

The game is single-player only, with no multiplayer and no online requirement, so you are not paying for a service. Beyond the campaign there is a Tactical Simulator mode with extra challenges, modifiers and bonus gear. The game launched without a New Game+ mode, but one report says a free Extended Operations update on October 1 adds New Game+ with extra outfit and gadget choices, so the replay value is improving.

Who should buy it, and who should wait

Buy it now if you like story-driven action, you enjoy sneaking through a level more than shooting through it, and you have wanted a Bond game that does not feel like a movie tie-in cash grab. The critical consensus is unusually strong, and the single-player focus means no hidden costs.

Wait for a sale if $69.99 feels like a lot for a roughly 20-hour linear campaign. Dedicated Hitman fans who want sandbox depth may be happier getting a patched, discounted copy. Since publishers rarely discount big releases in their first few months, waiting is a patience play, not a guarantee.

Skip it if you want an open world, free driving, or multiplayer. None of those are here.

Our overall read: this is one of the rare licensed games that critics and players seem to agree on, and the weak spots are specific and limited, mostly the driving and some pacing. If you were a Bond fan waiting for a reason to be excited, this is that reason.

What to play next

If 007 First Light’s story-first, single-player design suits you, our Pragmata review covers another recent single-player game that critics rate highly, built around a very different idea: hacking and shooting at the same time. Looking ahead, Gears of War: E-Day launches on October 6 and Fable is due in February 2027.

FAQ

How long does it take to beat 007 First Light? Roughly 12 to 20 hours for a casual playthrough of the main story, around 25 hours mixing in side content, and 30 to 35 hours for full completion, per outlets that timed it. Another outlet put the main game at about 20 to 21 hours across roughly 15 missions.

Does 007 First Light have multiplayer? No, it’s a single-player-only campaign, with no multiplayer modes and no online requirement.

Do I need to have played Hitman to enjoy this? No, it’s a different IP and gameplay focus, though fans of IO Interactive’s stealth design will recognise some of the DNA. Critics say the stealth is more streamlined than in Hitman.

Is 007 First Light connected to any Bond film? No. It’s a standalone origin story with a 26-year-old Bond, separate from the film series, and the developers have talked about it possibly becoming a trilogy.

Is 007 First Light open world? No. It is a linear, narrative-driven action-adventure with no free roam and no free driving, even though it includes vehicle sections.

Is 007 First Light on Nintendo Switch 2? Not yet, according to reports. The game launched on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X|S on May 27, 2026, and the Switch 2 version has been delayed, with reporting pointing to March 2027.

What are the PC system requirements for 007 First Light? The minimum is a Core i5-9500 or Ryzen 5 3500, a GTX 1660 or RX 5700, 16 GB of RAM and 8 GB of VRAM for 1080p at 30 fps. The recommended is a Core i5-13500 or Ryzen 5 7600, an RTX 3060 Ti or RX 6700 XT, 32 GB of RAM and 12 GB of VRAM for 1080p at 60 fps. It needs about 80 GB of storage.

Sources: TechRadar — 007 First Light review, Windows Central — 007 First Light review, The Gamer — 007 First Light review scores, OpenCritic — 007 First Light, Game Rant — Things you need to know about 007 First Light, TechPowerUp — 007 First Light PC specs, GamesHub — Switch 2 release March 2027, TechRadar — Switch 2 version delayed, Wikipedia — 007 First Light, Business Standard — 007 First Light price, platform, availability, GamesRadar+ — How long is 007 First Light?