Many James Bond games have passed us by, and we were starting to wonder if 007 would ever have an adventure worthy of the name again. Thanks to IO Interactive, the innovators behind Hitman, reviews say 007: First Light is a bona fide action game with a license to thrill.
007: First Light is the first Bond game in nearly 15 years, and I had to double-check that fact to make sure it was correct! Not counting Cypher 007 (a small app can’t fall into this category), this means 007 Legends from 2012 was the last one.
Good James Bond games are genuinely few and far between, but 007 First Light sounds like it’s so amazing that it’ll knock The Living Daylights out of you.
007: First Light Reviews Are on the Thunderball
With 51 official Metacritic reviews registered and an unbelievable 88/100 score (at the time of writing), this makes 007: First Light the best James Bond Game since GoldenEye 007 on the Nintendo 64 back in 1997—29 years ago.
Unless it suddenly drops five whole points, this puts it above James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing (83/100 on Metacritic), which is my personal favorite Bond game, not that you asked.
Metacritic likely doesn’t have every GoldenEye 007 review posted at the time, but the game’s score still stands at 96/100, making it one of the greatest video games ever.
007: First Light doesn’t quite reach these sky(fall)-high heights, but it’s easily one of 2026’s best games, adding to an already stellar release schedule at the halfway point.
It’s bound to be in most Game of the Year conversations now, and we might have a new James Bond series on our hands. Hopefully, IO Interactive is allowed to make more, because as they say, in for a Moneypenny, in for a pound.
If you need more convincing, check out the 007: First Light launch trailer.
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Andy is Insider Gaming's Senior Evergreen Editor and has been in the games journalism sphere in one way or another for over 7 years. His video game taste is as…
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