007: First Light showcases a young James Bond and promises a hybrid of Hitman and Uncharted, but the balance between stealth and action still remains a mystery

Imagine a perfect James Bond game. What is the first thought that comes to your mind? For me, it has always been the duality. On one hand - an elegant, cold professional with a license to kill. Stealth infiltration, tricks and gadgets, the quintessence of what the Hitman series represents in video games. On the other hand, Bond is a man for dirty job. An action movie hero who participates in crazy chases on the rooftops of Istanbul, jumps out of speeding trains, and gets involved in shootouts in secret bases hidden inside volcanoes. This is a world of bravado, explosions, and cinematic scenes, which for many gamers is the essence of the Uncharted series.

So when I heard that the new Bond game, known as 007: First Light, was supposed to be such a hybrid experience, I felt genuine curiosity. After a 25-minute closed show at gamescom, during which the developers presented the gameplay, I can confirm that the game is taking exactly the direction I wrote about above. The only problem is that, on paper, the idea seems brilliant, its implementation in the presented demo raises as much hope as serious concerns. The game has the potential to be the best "Bond" in history, but it could just as well become a chaotic and indecisive game in terms of its character. We will find out the result on March 27, 2026, when the game releases.

"Uncharted Mode"

The first half of the First Light identity is pure, unrestrained madness in the style of Uncharted. And unfortunately - "madness" is the key word here. The demonstrated fragments clearly showed that the developers focused on scale, showiness, and a scope that sometimes borders on self-parody. The shooting presented was rather chaotic and heavily exaggerated. The clashes were based on a simple scheme - hordes of enemies popping out from behind every cover and lots of interactive, exploding barrels, which are supposed to facilitate the elimination of enemies. It's a well-known and liked formula, but in the demo it seemed somewhat generic and lacking depth.

The real problem, however, arose when the game shifted into high gear. In the demo, we saw a typical car chase, which - although dynamic - didn't show anything we haven't seen hundreds of times in other titles. However, a moment later the action escalated to a level the scriptwriters of Fast and Furious would not be ashamed of. The hero took part in a chase after a transport plane, and at the last moment, attach himself to its landing gear and get on board during the flight. This exaggerated action movie scene evoked in me strongly mixed feelings. On one hand, it's spectacular. On the other - is it still James Bond, or a Marvel superhero? This exaggeration in constructing the action is my biggest concern after this show, even though Bond movies have never shied away from it. However, if every mission is to end in such an absurd way, the game will quickly lose touch with reality and turn into a festival of increasingly improbable stunt performances. It's easy to simply overdo it.

"Hitman Mode"

The second pillar of gameplay, namely the inspirations from the Hitman series, is currently a much bigger unknown. The developers promise immense freedom and various approaches to completing tasks in dedicated, semi-open locations. We have to infiltrate, impersonate, sabotage and eliminate targets in a subtle and thoughtful way. Sounds fantastic. Unfortunately, during the 25-minute demo, only one such solution was shown.

It's hard to judge from such a small fragment whether the promise of sandbox freedom will be fulfilled. We saw several different options, but ultimately the developers presented only one specific variant, which raises justified concerns. Will the "Hitman" part of the game actually be an extensive sandbox full of possibilities, or just a marketing slogan that turns out to be missions with two or three predefined paths?

Additionally, what we saw of stealth systems does not inspire optimism. The show revealed scenes in which the artificial intelligence of the guards was very low - with enemies not noticing Bond sneaking right above their heads. In conjunction with the lack of evidence for real freedom, this element of the game left me with a huge question mark. Its quality will determine whether First Light will become a game for dozens of hours during which we can test new strategies, or whether this title will turn out to be just a one-time, linear adventure.

Beginning of an agent

Among all these mechanical doubts, however, there is one element that shone the brightest during the show - James Bond himself. From conversations with the devs and from what I watched on the screen, we are up for an extremely interesting interpretation. The developers strongly emphasize that the plot and the main character are to be very important in their work. And you can feel this approach.

The presented mission did not show Bond as we know him from the latest movies - an infallible veteran who has already seen everything. On the contrary, you can feel that he was still a "newbie" in the service of Her Majesty. A young, perhaps somewhat overconfident agent, who is just learning the trade. That's an interesting narrative move. Such genesis of the character not only allows for a fresh look at this icon, but also perfectly harmonizes with the gameplay. We can develop together with him - learn new tricks, gain experience and observe how he transforms from a greenhorn into the legendary Agent 007. This gives the story a personal character and the potential for a much deeper and more engaging narrative than a simple "save the world from another villain".

Technical aspects and conclusions

Lastly, it should be mentioned what was clearly visible - the game is still in the early stages of production. The technical condition of the demo left something to be desired, there were minor errors, a glitch requiring a game reset, or frame drops. Of course, this is normal for a game that has a long way until it gets released.

The most important conclusion from the show, however, is that 007: First Light is a game with a gigantic, albeit highly risky, potential. The "Hitman meets Uncharted" formula could turn out to be a bullseye. The same goes for presenting Bond's beginning. The problem lies in balance and execution. The developers have to make a decision about what this game is really supposed to be. An intelligent, tactical stealth game with action elements or a mindless, Hollywood-style shooter with stealth elements? Maybe they will manage to perfectly combine these two approaches?

The presented demo suggests that for now the scales are tipping dangerously to the other side. If the developers fail to deepen the stealth systems and tone down some of the most absurd action sequences, we may get a position that will be spectacular, but hollow. However, if they find the right balance, and the promises of freedom in solving problems turn out to be true, there is a high chance that we will play the best James Bond game ever made.

007: First Light

March 27, 2026

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• Overview

• announcements (games)
• Agent 007 / James Bond (franchise)
• IO Interactive
• gamescom 2025