I want to preface this review by laying out my gamer credentials. I love GoldenEye to death, but my true nostalgia belongs to the later Pierce Brosnan era primarily with Agent Under Fire, Nightfire, and my personal favorite, Everything or Nothing. After Blood Stone, I waited patiently for a good new James Bond game.

And waited. For over a decade.

When IO Interactive announced they were taking the reins, I was over the moon. I love IOI. Hitman 1-4 were my sh*t back in the day and I sunk - and continue to sink - countless hours into Freedom Fighters. I knew if any studio could rescue Bond after the disaster of 007 Legends, it was them.

I establish this background because, inevitably, some people will see a positive review for a modern game from a She/They trans woman and write it off as catering to a "woke audience." But the reality is this review comes from a lifelong fan of both James Bond and IOI. And I'm here to tell you: this is brilliant revival and reboot of James Bond.

Right out of the gate I want to emphasize that Patrick Gibson is an exceptional James Bond - enough that I want him to start starring in new films. The demeanor they built for this revitalized version of a young agent-to-be James Bond captures Bond's signature suave charm mixed with a smug cavalierness. From the stupid one liners that actually made me bust out laughing, to his disdain for authority, and him banging 4 chicks in the game, this Bond is fun as all hell.

The story is also pretty good as well. It's strangely less about the espionage of the game's main villain, and more about Bond becoming 007 as well as his relationship with his mentor John Greenway. Without spoiling too much, I really enjoyed their progression from hating one another to respecting one another. It may not be Shakespeare. It won't blow your mind with any deep or thought-provoking meta narrative, but I'm a passionate believer that a poor story told well is infinitely better than a good story told poorly.

There are neighsayers that will claim this game plays itself. I'm sorry, but you people are a joke. You play a game from a book-turned-movie franchise and expect it to not be heavy on the cutscenes and story especially when this is trying to establish a brand new era for James Bond. But I get it. Admittedly, the first 2-3 hours of this game are a story-rich tutorial that is interact able (which is honestly really cool), but these people base a 20 hour experience off the first 3 hours of the game. It's laughable.

So what do you get for $70? You get the hallmarks of what James Bond games are known for - brutal fistacuffs, shooting, and driving. The newest additions to this game above the others is the sections where you're gathering clues to progress through these massive maps where the purpose is to blend in and optional stealth with gadgets and environmental hazards/distractions. All of these are genuinely really fun and allow for many opportunities. For example, in the first real mission you take on as a field agent, the beginning area allows you to progress in several ways. You can eavesdrop on a woman who hid a press pass nearby, allowing you access to not just the entrance but any area with security checkpoints. Or you can sneak your way into a window from two areas, but doing so means that you'll have to find alternate paths to get into areas blocked by security. And that remains true throughout the rest of the game.

However, as fun as the stealth and espionage can be, the real star of this game is the combat system because it is actually sublime. There is something so satisfying about charging into a room, shooting at guys until it clicks, then throwing the gun at a dude, charging into another guy, catching his gun in mid air, and then blasting him to smithereens. And that's just one thing you can do. The hand-to-hand combat is amazing not just because your available options, but also because of how enemies react within the environment. People will slam into furniture, Bond will smash people into props, and everything either reacts naturally or breaks apart in a comical action movie like manner. Enemies can bump into each other, roll over desks and railings, and so much more. One of my favorite moments was near the end of the game. I had botched a stealth approach and ran out of ammo on my gun. I sprinted over two desks to vault kick a guy behind the second one. He proceeded to stumble backwards into a fire extinguisher, which ignited and sent him flying. The blast also caused me to roll back over the desk, but I was able to snatch his gun and blast one of the enemies that was shooting at me. The combat is hilarious in the most badass way imaginable.

Genuinely, my only real gripe with the game is that I wish the vehicle sections were longer. Some start and end so abruptly that it's a little disappointing.

As a side note, the 20-hour narrative is just one aspect of the game. There's an entire challenge mode called TacSim that pits you in unique situations that come with challenges for you to complete. And they are updating this with new content as well. There also going to add a new mission to the story later this year, so in true IOI fashion, we can expect this game to continue receiving new content down the line.

Overall, First Light is a great starting point that I can't wait to see the future of.