I haven’t played a Bond game since Goldeneye on the N64 — but 007 First Light could finally change that

Throwing punches... And anything else I can get my hands on

30 Apr 2026, 15:00 by https://www.techradar.com/uk/author/matt-hanson · TechRadar

Features By Matt Hanson published 30 April 2026

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I’ll be honest: I’m not really much of a James Bond fan. I’ve seen a couple of the Pierce Broson films that mainly bored me, and that one with Christopher Lee and an extra nipple, but that’s about it.

However, like any 90s kid who had a Nintendo 64, I adored the Goldeneye 007 game, and some of my fondest gaming memories involve crouching in a (virtual) toilet and shooting any friend that tried to find me.

Apart from that, though, I've about as disinterested in James Bond games as I was the films. However, my interest was piqued by the announcement that IO Interactive, the team behind the fantastic Hitman series of games, was making 007 First Light, Bond’s next digital adventure.

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The Hitman games, especially Hitman 3, feature a smartly-dressed killer travelling the world to exotic locations to take down villains. On paper, that sounds very similar to the exploits of a certain Mr Bond, but I still had my reservations. So, when I was given the opportunity to play a few hours of 007 First Light ahead of its release on May 27, I leapt at the chance, keen to see how the combo of IO Interactive and the Bond franchise would work. I was very pleasantly surprised.

Die and let die

Hitman’s fancy globe-spanning locations and large, detailed levels that allow you to complete objectives in a variety of inventive ways, seems like a perfect fit for the world of Bond, but the cold ruthlessness and moral ambiguity of Agent 47, the titular hitman of the series, doesn’t match up to the wisecracking, and fundamentally good, Agent 007 of the films I’ve seen.

Of course, just because IO Interactive is making 007 First Light, it doesn’t mean it’s going to be the same as a Hitman game - the devs are obviously talented enough that they could make a completely different type of game, but I think we’d all agree that would be a missed opportunity.

At a special preview event held in a very fancy hotel that would make a perfect Hitman level, I was given a few hours to play some carefully-selected parts of the game. As 007 First Light is a far more narratively-driven game than any of the Hitman games I’ve played (which could sometimes feel like a series of set pieces loosely tied together, which the episodic release schedule of Hitman 3 didn’t help with), I’m going to be very careful and not spoil any twists and turns, lest IO Interactive send a bald guy with a barcode neck tattoo after me.

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