007 First Light
Developed by IO Interactive · IO Interactive
Action-Adventure · PS5, Xbox Series X/S, PC · 2026-05-27
“The best reviewed game IO has ever made and the best Bond story in years, still living in the long shadow of a 1997 shooter.”
The Hitman studio gave James Bond an origin and it landed: an 88 on Metacritic, a user score near 8.7, IO's highest rated game ever, edging past Hitman 3. Roughly 1.5 million copies in 24 hours. You took a tired licence and made it sing with cinematic storytelling and that trademark systemic mission design where every level is a puzzle box.
But best reviewed is not flawless. The pacing wobbles, the gunplay is merely solid rather than spectacular, and the launch had the usual technical niggles. When the stealth and the systems are this good, the moments where it becomes an average third person shooter sting more than they should.
And then there is the ghost in the room. You made the best reviewed Bond game in history and GoldenEye still wears the legacy crown, because nostalgia does not read Metacritic. Beating the numbers is one thing. Beating a memory people have been polishing since 1997 is the real final boss, and that one does not have a health bar.
- 01
A cinematic Bond origin story critics rate the best since Casino Royale.
- 02
Signature IO systemic mission design that makes each level a sandbox.
- 03
Production values and presentation worthy of the franchise.
- 04
A confident stealth and action blend that plays to the studio's strengths.
- 01
Uneven pacing that sags in the middle stretch.
- 02
Gunplay that is competent but never exceptional.
- 03
Launch window technical niggles.
- 04
Living up to GoldenEye nostalgia that no score can dislodge.
Bond fans and stealth lovers who want a smart, cinematic origin story with the sandbox DNA of modern Hitman.
Players who only want twitch perfect shooting, and GoldenEye purists who will compare every second to 1997 and never be satisfied.
Your website, CV, or whatever you made. I'll roast that too.
A full teardown from €2,99. No mercy.