007 First Light releases Tuesday. IO Interactive's Bond game has the best reviews of any major 2026 release so far.

[ECWAlex98]

007 First Light releases on Tuesday June 2 after today's review embargo lift. The consensus across major outlets is that IO Interactive has delivered something exceptional. Edge Magazine gives it 10/10. IGN calls it the best spy game ever made. Eurogamer says it makes everything about Bond feel new again.

The social stealth mechanic has been praised universally. The 1990s pre-00 setting gives the game creative freedom that adaptation of existing films would not allow. The Hitman DNA is visible throughout but shaped into something that feels distinctly Bond rather than Agent 47 in a tuxedo.

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[Cheugy89]

Edge giving a 10 out of 10 is rare enough to be significant. They are notoriously conservative with that score and it carries weight in a way that IGN 10s no longer quite do

[Craig]

Best spy game ever made is a high bar that includes GoldenEye, the Splinter Cell games, and Deus Ex depending on how broadly you define the genre. Reading the actual review to see what the comparison is doing

[AlexandrZakharyan]

The 1990s setting being praised by every outlet suggests IO made the right creative decision in not adapting an existing film. The freedom to define young Bond rather than reinterpret old Bond was the correct call

[Solid Gary]

Social stealth being the mechanic that distinguishes this from the Hitman games makes sense. Hitman rewards creative killing. Bond rewards creative not-killing where possible

[GoldbergFan86]

The Hitman DNA being visible but not dominant is exactly what the development previews suggested would be the goal. IO understood their audience and the difference between Agent 47 and James Bond

[Danny_21]

Day one purchase confirmed. The Hitman trilogy earned enormous trust and these reviews suggest that trust was justified in how they applied it to Bond