One of key the reasons developer IO Interactive is an inspired choice for adapting Ian Fleming’s secret agent James Bond for a new video game is the team’s work on the Hitman series. Focused on a variety of stealthy sandbox missions where you can use any method to take out targets hidden in lavish, exotic settings, Hitman’s house gameplay style fits well with the conceit of a Bond adventure – especially as IO’s flagship series already has plenty of 007 influence baked in.
But for 007 First Light, the developer wanted to offer a different spin on the open-ended gameplay it refined across earlier Hitman games. Along with familiar action set-pieces and slick gun battles, First Light’s character-first approach to missions will let you use Bond’s social skills and resourcefulness to overcome challenges. This created an opportunity for the dev team to make a more social, personality-driven stealth-action game, one that gives you the tools to make the most of the tense, over-the-top situations Bond finds himself in.
“It’s been fantastic re-evaluating our learnings from the Hitman series for a James Bond game,” said narrative director and Bond IP creative director Martin Emborg. “Agent 47 shines as a character because he’s nobody. He’s like the grim reaper that walks in dead-faced, does his job, and then gets out. But for 007 First Light, it’s the complete opposite, because Bond is all about that charm and being cheeky and irreverent.
As I discovered in my recent preview, it’s clear that 007 First Light puts emphasis on punchy forward-momentum in its overall structure, which is packed with big set-pieces and more laid back encounters. Think Hitman’s freeform gameplay, but channeled through tightly designed levels in the vein of Naughty Dog’s Uncharted series. Unlike the sandbox design of the Hitman games’ clockwork-like levels, 007 First Light is a narrative-driven adventure that takes Bond on a variety of more linear-ish missions, yet the open-ended problem solving is still in full effect.
