For twenty-five years, one sentence has hung over every James Bond game like a bad review waiting to happen: "…but it's no GoldenEye."

Rare's 1997 shooter didn't just define Bond games — it defined a genre, and then it stood there, arms folded, daring everyone who came after to match it. Nobody did. A parade of movie tie-ins came and went, some decent, most forgettable, all living in the shadow of a Nintendo 64 cartridge.

So when IO Interactive — the Danish studio behind the brilliant modern Hitman trilogy — announced a Bond game, the reaction was equal parts excitement and dread. On paper it was perfect casting: nobody builds a stealth sandbox like IO. But "perfect on paper" is exactly what's been said about every Bond game since 1997.

Here's the good news, and we'll say it plainly: 007 First Light is the first Bond game in nearly thirty years that earns a place in the same conversation as GoldenEye. It launched on 27 May 2026 to an 88 on Metacritic and OpenCritic — the highest any Bond game has scored since 1997, and IO Interactive's best-reviewed game ever, edging past even Hitman 3.

This is our full review — what works, what doesn't, and whether it deserves a spot in your PS5 library.

The story: Bond before he was Bond

The smartest decision IO made was refusing to adapt a film. Instead, First Light is an original origin story — a young, gifted, dangerously reckless James Bond, fresh out of Navy training and thrown into MI6 before he's ready.

It opens the way every good Bond opens: with a bang. Bond survives a helicopter crash on a Navy exercise, only to find himself tangled in an MI6 operation gone wrong — every agent sent in has been captured, and the newest, greenest recruit is suddenly the only one left standing. From there it becomes the story of how a talented, arrogant kid gets forged into the 00 we all know.

What makes it land is the supporting cast. This is a Bond surrounded by people who don't trust him yet, and watching them slowly come around is the emotional spine of the game:

• John Greenway (played by Lennie James) is the standout — a weathered mentor handler running the classic "cynical veteran resents the cocky newcomer" arc, executed with far more heart than it has any right to have.
• M, Moneypenny and Q all appear in early, formative versions of themselves — you're watching relationships that will define a career being formed for the first time.
• Patrick Gibson's Bond is rebellious and arrogant in a way that works precisely because he hasn't earned the swagger yet. He's Bond in rough draft, and it's a genuinely great performance.

The campaign runs a tight, cinematic arc that most players finish in the 14 to 20 hour range depending on how much optional content you chase. It's globe-trotting, it's stylish, and — crucially — it understands that Bond is about tone as much as action: the classy social infiltrations, the exotic locations, the one-liners, the sense that our hero is always the most composed person in a very dangerous room.

Gameplay: Hitman's DNA, a brand-new licence

You can feel IO's fingerprints everywhere — but the fear that this would just be "Hitman with a tuxedo skin" turns out to be unfounded. First Light takes the studio's best instincts and reshapes them around a different fantasy.

Where Hitman dropped you into wide, non-linear sandboxes and said "figure it out," First Light is more guided and more cinematic. Levels still offer multiple approaches and hidden routes, but they're built to flow like set-pieces in a film rather than open puzzle boxes. It's a deliberate trade: a little less replayability for a lot more momentum and story.

What you actually do

• Social stealth. The heart of it. You infiltrate glamorous locations, read rooms, and use conversation as a weapon. A new bluffing system lets you talk your way out of suspicion — steering wary guards into secure zones or into position for a takedown, purely through dialogue. It's the most "spy" that any Bond game has ever felt.
• Bare-knuckle combat. The hand-to-hand fights are a genuine highlight — punchy, weighty, and brutal in the best Bond tradition. Critics singled these out repeatedly.
• Gunplay and gadgets. When stealth breaks, the shooting is solid, and Q's gadgets add the expected 007 flavour without turning it into a pure action game.
• TacSim missions. Standalone challenge missions that extend the game beyond the campaign — and IO has confirmed it's adding more of them post-launch, so the disc keeps growing.

Mechanically it's often described as an Xbox-360-era design philosophy — driving, shooting, punching and sneaking — but executed with a modern polish that makes each system feel intuitive and responsive. It rarely reinvents anything, but it does everything with real confidence.

Presentation: a 60fps Bond film

This is where First Light flexes. The production values are pure Hollywood — dense crowd scenes, gorgeously detailed environments, and expressive character animation that sells every smirk and every tense negotiation.

On PS5 Pro, IO made a bold call: instead of the usual "Quality vs Performance" toggle, the game targets a smooth 60fps without compromising the visuals — a rare treat for a blockbuster console release, and a sign of how well-optimised this thing is.

And then there's the music. The soundtrack is worth the price of admission on its own:

• Lana Del Rey performs the original theme, "First Light" — a gorgeous, franchise-worthy Bond song that opens the game and sets the entire tone.
• The score, by The Flight, ranges from grand orchestral swells to Portishead-style trip-hop, and it deploys Bond's signature musical stinger at exactly the right moments.
• It exercises restraint — it knows when to go big and when to let a quiet vista breathe. Several reviewers admitted to just standing still to listen.

What holds it back

No game scores a perfect ten, and First Light has a few honest flaws worth knowing before you buy:

• The driving sections. This is the most consistent criticism across every review. The vehicle segments are slow and repetitive, and they lack the white-knuckle thrill a Bond car chase promises. They're the weakest part of the package.
• Less replayable than Hitman. The more linear, cinematic design is a strength for pacing but a mild weakness for longevity — you won't be replaying levels a dozen ways like in World of Assassination.
• The ending wobbles slightly. Some players felt the finale doesn't quite stick the landing after such a strong build-up, and a couple wished the campaign ran longer.
• Occasional jank. The odd NPC pathfinding hiccup or physics glitch pops up, though nothing game-breaking.

None of these are dealbreakers. They're the difference between a very good game and a flawless one — and the story, stealth and presentation more than carry the weight.

Pros & cons at a glance

So — is 007 First Light worth it?

Yes — comfortably. An 88 across Metacritic and OpenCritic, with a critic split of roughly 94% positive and zero negative reviews, is "buy it" territory by any measure. But scores only tell you so much. Here's who it's actually for:

Buy it if…

• You want a story-driven, single-player spy thriller — the campaign is the entire pitch and it's the part critics rate highest.
• You love IO's Hitman-style systemic stealth and want to see it reshaped around Bond.
• You value presentation — cinematic set-pieces, an original score, and blockbuster polish.
• You want a complete game at launch — a full campaign plus challenge content, no battle pass, no online grind.

Think twice if…

• You only play multiplayer — this is a single-player experience through and through.
• You bounce off stealth games and want pure run-and-gun action.
• You need huge replayability over a tight, cinematic story.

For the vast majority of PS5 owners — especially anyone who loves a great single-player campaign — this is one of 2026's essential purchases. It's the rare licensed game that treats its licence with genuine care, and the best argument for a Bond gaming revival we've had in a generation.

007 First Light — your questions