There are few fictional characters who have experienced the kind of longevity and versatility as MI6’s favorite operative. James Bond first debuted on the page in 1953 in the novel Casino Royale, and in the decades since Ian Fleming introduced him to the world, he has been in an obscene number of books, 27 different feature films (depending on how you count), a number of different comic books, and several video games. In terms of pure recognizability and cultural presence, he might only be rivaled by someone like Dracula or Sherlock Holmes.
The last theatrically released Bond film in 2021, and the end of Daniel Craig’s era (defined by white-knuckled grit and realism courtesy of the Bourne movies, and an interconnected web of lore recognizable as the influence of the MCU) to a proper conclusion. Five years later, fans are waiting in quiet agony for updates on Denis Villeneuve’s upcoming reboot, which certainly won’t be coming until after the release of Dune Part 3. Until then, there’s another Bond property on the horizon that is bringing a fresh perspective to the franchise, and if the first looks are any indication, it’s going to be a worthy successor to the gentleman spy’s cinematic legacy.
007 First Light, the upcoming video game developed and published by IO Interactive, recently released a brief but intriguing glimpse at a rather precarious situation for the young agent, whom players will accompany as he undertakes the mission that will grant him his iconic 00 status. In the clip, Bond and his in-universe MI6 mentor John Greenway are tied above a pit filled with ravenous alligators, being aggressively monologued towards by Bawma, an African crime lord played by none other than music icon and actor Lenny Kravitz. It’s an extended cinematic and may not seem like much, but the atmosphere of it all – the absurdity of the situation Bond has ended up in, the theatricality and eccentricity of his enemy, the expectation of an impossible escape – feels so cinematic, and genuinely thoughtful in a way the character’s video game excursions haven’t been for a while.
The last officially licensed James Bond video game — which was also Activision’s last game with the property — was released in 2012 to dismal reviews. Part of what made 007: Legends such a failure was the shameless attempt to recolor the iconography of the franchise with a generic Call of Duty first-person shooter paint, which is the exact opposite of what IO seems to be doing with First Light.
Not only is the game offering an immersive open sandbox with an emphasis on puzzle-solving and stealth as opposed to the shoot-everyhing approach, but it’s building its own mythos for the character from the ground up, starting with being the first game not based on a cinematic Bond’s likeness since 2001 (Dexter: Original Sin’s Patrick Gibson will be stepping into the role) and continuing with its own interpretations of M, Q, Miss Moneypenny, as well as a host of new characters like Kravitz’s leopard-print pirate Bawma. Could this do for Bond what Indiana Jones and the Great Circle did for that franchise?
With licensed video games getting so much better over the decades in terms of replicating lived-in worlds and creating thoughtful gaming experiences tied to specific properties (from the Batman: Arkham series to, again, the excellent Indiana Jones and the Great Circle), it’s a shame that Bond has been stuck in the rut of the FPS genre for so many years. IO is rectifying that mistake with an experience that looks as if it will truly put players in 007’s shoes. Or so fans can hope.
Even though the big Amazon MGM reboot Bond film is still a while away, it’s reassuring to know that pop culture’s eternal agent won’t lose that cinematic spectacle when he comes back to consoles.
