007 First Light Plays Like Uncharted, Not Hitman

When IO Interactive, the studio behind Hitman: World of Assassination, announced it was making a James Bond game, the assumption was obvious. Big open sandbox levels, multiple assassination routes, disguises, social stealth. Bond at a gala, piano ready to drop. That is not what 007 First Light turned out to be.

Multiple outlets got over three hours of hands-on time with the game this week, and the consensus is striking: First Light is a linear, cinematic third-person action game. If you've played Uncharted, you already know the template. Cliff-face traversal, tightly directed set pieces, and combat arenas that funnel you forward along a controlled path. IO Interactive itself splits the game into what it calls "Guided" gameplay, which is the Nathan Drake-style linear action, and "Core" gameplay, which borrows Hitman's open-ended zone design. But even those Core sections ultimately funnel back to mandatory story beats.

I think this is a smarter call than people will initially give IO credit for. Hitman works because Agent 47 is a blank instrument of chaos. Bond is a character with personality, relationships, and a narrative arc, and cramming that into a pure sandbox would've diluted both the story IO clearly wants to tell and the identity of Hitman itself. Art director Rasmus Poulsen put it plainly in interviews during the preview event: "Hitman is an agent of chaos. Bond is a hero, and has to be a hero." That distinction matters for how you design a game from the ground up.

The preview builds start with Bond as a young Royal Navy aircrewman, not yet a Double-O, crash-landing on an Icelandic beach after his helicopter is shot down. From there, the game layers in stealth mechanics, environmental hand-to-hand combat, and a "Bluff and Lure" system tied to an Instinct meter that lets Bond charm his way past guards or quietly take them down. Ammo scarcity in certain sections pushes players toward stealth rather than shooting, which feels more authentically Bond than mowing down corridors of goons ever did. Previews also highlight a significant visual leap over Hitman: World of Assassination, with detailed animation blending and atmospheric lighting drawing particular praise.

007 First Light is listed on the PlayStation Store for PS5, with Xbox Series X/S, PC, and Nintendo Switch 2 versions also confirmed. Reviews are already being tracked on OpenCritic, though no scores are live yet and no firm release date has been announced beyond a 2026 window.