First Light absolutely nails the feeling of embodying James Bond. From the gadgets and stealth mechanics to the intense shoot-outs and incredible cast, this honestly feels like the best Bond game to date. The game constantly gives you the freedom to approach situations however you want, whether that means sneaking through levels like a stealth master or going in as a cold-hearted assassin. That being said though, the freedom of choice is also a semi illusion since it leads you to the same point anyways. In short you can chose how you get to that point, but the way you do things dosnt alter anything in any meaningful way.

The overall gameplay feels like a servicable blend between Hitman and Uncharted, mixing cinematic action with open-ended stealth in a way that works surprisingly well. I played the game on the hardest difficulty, and I’d definitely recommend it if you want the combat to shine. Enemies become much more aggressive, hit way harder and encounters can actually get pretty difficult at times, which made everything way more rewarding. The engine itself also deserves praise because everything feels extremely responsive and fluid, from movement to shooting and everything els.

That said, the gameplay isn’t perfect. Quick time events were too easy and the melee combat also felt somewhat off. A lot of the takedowns felt cheesy, and sometimes the system just seemed outright broken. There were multiple moments where enemy targeting during melee encounters didn’t work properly, leading to awkward or frustrating moments. Boss fights were also something i felt should have been given more focus and probably could have been done in a better and more engaging way.