The roots of IOI’s Hitman are clear from the start of First lightbut they become even more apparent once you reach the end of spy school. You must first infiltrate a crowded nightclub to track down a suspect, which is reminiscent of a handful of classic Hitmans. levels. The scale of the game really becomes apparent in the second mission, where you search for a former MI:6 agent in a boutique hotel (which also hosts a chess tournament). The hotel itself is huge, impeccably designed, and filled with dozens of guests and attendees, many of whom are involved in scripted routines or conversations. This part of First light The mechanical pocket universe feels more alive than many soulless open world games.
It’s not a completely immersive simulation like the Dishonored games, but in true Hitman fashion, you can achieve your goals in multiple ways. Don’t expect to go there with guns. In most scenarios, First lightThe “License to Kill” feature prohibits you from shooting enemies unless they draw their weapons first. It’s really just a reminder that you’re not playing a cold-blooded assassin, and it encourages you to spend your time stealthily moving through environments and taking out enemies silently.
Fortunately, the game is more forgiving than Hitman if you blow your cover, which could alert the entire map and force you to reload a save. If an enemy spots Bond, you can simply beat him up or knock him onto nearby surfaces. Things get trickier if multiple enemies see you, but you can still continue your mission once you take care of them.
While First light remains relatively grounded most of the time, it wouldn’t be a Bond game without some elaborate set pieces. You’ll find yourself doing parkour across the rooftops of London (a nod to Casino Royale opening), have fist fights where you crash through several floors and run through cars in a garbage truck. There are also a handful of shootouts where you’ll have to mow down dozens of enemies, which offer visceral thrills but also quickly feel repetitive.
IOI clearly spent more time thinking about stealth than large-scale action, and it’s sometimes hard to know where to go when 20 people are shooting at you. I replayed the first major shootout, which took place at an airport, about 10 times before finding a way to survive. (For those who get easily frustrated, you can also lower your difficulty level on the fly.)
Perhaps it was simply a result of skimming the game for this review, but it was hard to ignore the pacing issues throughout the game. First light. As the action and nefarious conspiracy heat up, the game gets bogged down in extended stealth sequences, fetch quests, and half-hearted boss fights. They don’t ruin First light overall experience, but I definitely feel like it could use some narrative tightening.
