At the gamescom 2025, MeinMMO editor Nikolas Hernes was able to view the new game based on James Bond, and after the first gameplay, he was quite excited because it fits perfectly with the Hitman formula, but is still different.
At this year’s gamescom, IO Interactive showed us about 30 minutes of gameplay from 007 First Light. You couldn’t play yourself, but you could watch various sequences. Initially, I couldn’t imagine how the game would be implemented, but I was positively surprised.
You could tell that IO Interactive had made the previous Hitman trilogy. If we believe what was shown, we can expect a good James Bond game that takes the most important elements from Hitman and refines them with its own accents.
The Hitman suit also fits a James Bond
What could be seen? The developers showed us one of the levels with several sections. The initial situation feels directly like something out of Hitman. In a huge estate, James Bond and his team have to infiltrate a chess tournament and find a rogue agent.
Actually, Bond is only supposed to stand guard, but the hot-headed young agent sees something suspicious and ventures into the tournament. What was shown felt very much like one of the Hitman levels from the last parts. There are several ways to enter the estate, disguise oneself, or move around the house.
However, unlike Hitman, there is a greater focus on the story here. Dialogues and small cutscenes contextualized the level. James Bond and his colleagues are further characterized through short scenes. I found this change quite good to differentiate from Hitman and the non-descript Agent 47.
James Bond presents himself in the level as a hot-headed agent who can flirt charmingly but also has his quirks. This is also a nice difference from the last Bond films. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much to see in terms of gadgets yet. However, the iconic watch already indicated that there’s a different arsenal compared to the bald hitman from the previous game.
This could turn out quite well, feeling to me like an interactive movie but also like a playground for agents.
The small changes create a completely different dynamic, even though the gameplay mechanics fit both worlds and characters. Another major difference from Hitman is the locations that were shown to us.
Action sequence with cars and planes
What is meant by action sequence? In the demo, the developers emphasized that cars are an important theme. Therefore, they presented a chase scene that took some unusual turns. The dent derby looked good so far and was able to generate quite a bit of tension just by watching.
A great moment for me was the sequence afterward. The developers showed an action sequence at an airport. Initially, Bond shoots through various enemies until he boldly jumps onto a flying plane. An epic battle then takes place on the plane, both inside and outside.
The well-staged scene ends with an impressive jump from the plane and the attempt to quickly grab a parachute.
That looked really good and fun and fits perfectly with the James Bond franchise. Such action set pieces could break up the open levels and create the right Bond feeling. The close combat and movement animations felt smooth, and combined with the well-known music, you already got goosebumps just by watching.
007 First Light has the potential to become a really good game. At least that’s what the first gameplay sequences we could see promise. If the game builds on the gadgets that the franchise has to offer and brings linear aspects into the gameplay alongside the open levels, this will be more than just a new Hitman game in a new disguise.
However, the quality of the game depends on the levels and the many possibilities they will offer. Until one can be convinced of this, it seems that we will have to wait a bit longer. If you want to check out a completely different game, we have the perfect candidate: Actually, I don’t like games like Escape from Tarkov, but a parody on Steam still made me have fun
