What 007 First Light could borrow from the 5 greatest James Bond games

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The greatest James Bond games of all time.

Bond. James Bond. The man who introduces himself 1.5 times is more than just a cinematic icon. Bond is a symbol of class, chaos, charm, and carnage — shaken, not stirred. Not only has the globally-recognized figure through generations evolved on cinema screens, but also on our consoles, adapting to the times and the technological progress that comes with it.

However, it's been nearly a decade and a half since we got a proper Bond game, or even a bad one. The legacy of Bond is too rich to stay dormant, and now, with IO Interactive's 007 First Light on the horizon, the world is finally watching again. The Danish studio could very well achieve what Insomniac did with 2018's Spider-Man — creating a fantastic love letter to the lore of their icon by learning from the mistakes and successes of the others that came before.

An image of James Bond and Agent 47 against a grassy, sunny, background.

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5 GoldenEye 007: Reloaded (2011)

A fantastic reimagining that should get more credit

GoldenEye 007: Reloaded wasn't a remaster or a remake, but rather a full-blown reimagining — one that dared to take the most iconic Bond game of all time and rebuild it for a new generation on newer consoles and, well, a newer Bond. Somehow, it worked. Yes, I know that's an opinion that often gets pitchforked trained at the speaker, but this wasn't some lazy job of picking up Brosnan and putting Craig in his shoes. It wasn't a one-to-one recreation because it never tried to be, which was its biggest strength. A modern shooter through-and-through, GoldenEye 007: Reloaded had tighter controls, lush visuals, and sleek, cinematic presentation.

This was a Bond film with the player in the director's chair, and I still remember those icy blue spotlights in the rain during the opening dam level. What Reloaded could offer 007 First Light isn't a game mechanic — it's a precedent. This was a Bond game that created a whole new canon for a new Bond. It gave Craig his own place in the Bond line. See, Craig had done two Bond movies by then, sure, but this was about creating and owning a place for himself in the 007 timeline. First Light can do the same — build a world around your Bond. Give him his own villains, allies, and tone.

GoldenEye 007: Reloaded

Released November 1, 2011

ESRB T For Teen Due To Blood, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence

Developer(s) Eurocom

Publisher(s) Activision

Engine Source

Multiplayer Local Multiplayer

Franchise James Bond

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4 James Bond 007: Blood Stone

The last good James Bond game we ever played

Before Skyfall blew my mind in 2012, Blood Stone gave the world a fully original Daniel Craig Bond adventure that wasn't shackled to a film. It wasn't revolutionary by any means, but it didn't need to be. Blood Stone was a remarkably solid Bond game, borrowing the best bits and mechanics from other big AAA titles of the time. Regardless, it remained impressive from start to finish — third-person cover shooting, close-quarters takedowns, cinematic set pieces, and insanely unforgettable driving levels that could've been taken straight from the survival mode in Split/Second. It all came together beautifully, thanks to the game's tight, confident design. The Monaco casino infiltration was pure Bond — collecting intel while wearing the heck out of a tux, and, dare I say, Uncharted's fantastic level in the Italian villa off the Amalfi Coast owes more than a little to Blood Stone.

Personally, this was my first Daniel Craig-Bond game, and I just couldn't stop mentally juxtaposing Brosnan in every close-up. Sure, I could've talked about Quantum of Solace, which came first, but Blood Stone is essentially the slicker, more refined, and fully-realized version of that game —the quintessential Craig Bond game with its own narrative. If First Light wants to go bold, it should look here — original story, cinematic flair, cherry-picking the best mechanics of the time, and raw, grounded James Bond energy at its very peak.

James Bond 007: Blood Stone

Released November 2, 2010

ESRB T For Teen due to Alcohol and Tobacco Reference, Blood, Mild Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence

Developer(s) Bizarre Creations

Publisher(s) Activision

Multiplayer Local Multiplayer

Franchise James Bond

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3 GoldenEye 007 (N64)

The one without which the other Bond games won't exist

Ah, yes — the easy answer. It is the Bond game of all time. GoldenEye 007 on the N64 is one of the biggest reasons we have games like Halo, Call of Duty, or even Apex Legends on consoles. It brought FPS games to consoles, and boy did it make it work well. Four-player split-screen multiplayer on a single CRT monitor? Proximity mines, golden guns, and bullets everywhere? This was the peak of living-room warfare. The game had one of the most incredible campaigns of its time, with objectives changing per level depending on the difficulty you selected, huge environments, and while the story was decidedly weak, the game's influence is felt even today.

The best thing about this game was definitely its multiplayer, because you could always go back to it once the credits rolled on the campaign. In fact, it even became a ritual for gamers of that era to go back and find new ways to speedrun it. However, the best way to play the game today is the remastered version on Xbox Series X/S, which is far more accessible and improves the controls of the original N64 title, which are terribly janky by today's metrics. That being said, GoldenEye 007 on the N64 defined a generation, and while it not be the greatest or best Bond game of all time, none of the others that came later could exist without it.

Let First Light embrace the elegance of simplicity — GoldenEye wasn't bloated — it was sharp, focused, and the hours gamers sank into it came from replayability, not bloat. IO Interactive already knows a thing or two about replayability, thanks to their amazing Hitman games, so it shouldn't be an issue at all. Give us Bond gameplay worth mastering.

GoldenEye 007

Systems

Released August 25, 1997

ESRB T for Teen: Animated Blood, Animated Violence

Developer(s) Rare

Publisher(s) Nintendo

Engine EngineX

Multiplayer Local Multiplayer

An era-defining Bond adventure

If you owned a PS2, Xbox, or GameCube in the early 2000s, there's a 99.9% chance that you either played James Bond 007: Nightfire, or knew someone who wouldn't shut up about it. This was the first Bond game that truly felt like a playable 007 movie on a console — it had an original story, rudimentary stealth sequences, a killer score, and that unforgettable underwater driving segment that lives rent-free in the head of every gamer of the era. The game even gave us semi-open-world maps, where we could choose optional side quests rather than holding our hands and leading us through corridors like a theme park ride where we had to shoot anything that moves.

Brosnan lent his face for this one, and even if it was another voice actor doing the talking, you barely noticed because you were too busy having the time of your life. For this game, console players definitely got the better end of the deal — driving segments were completely cut from the PC version, which is what I played years after release. On the consoles, however, Nightfire was bold, beautifully built, and gave you everything you needed to have an unforgettable James Bond experience — freedom, gadgets, and atmosphere.

What Nightfire could teach First Light is structure — not just campaign levels, but the variety in them. We had stealth, sniping, driving, light exploration, all dropping in cinematic presentation and an undeniable spy-thriller coat. Mix that up with a story that isn't weighed down to a movie, and you've got something special. Also, I would kill for an underwater level, please.

007: Nightfire

Released November 18, 2002

ESRB T For Teen Due To Suggestive Themes, Violence

Developer(s) Eurocom, Gearbox Software

Publisher(s) EA

Engine goldsrc, idtech 3

Multiplayer Local Multiplayer

Franchise James Bond

Number of Players 1-4

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1 James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing

James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing is truly the best Bond game of all time. On the PlayStation 2, it showed the world everything a Bond game could be. My god, it showed us just how huge a generational leap we had taken from the PS1 to PS2. The game had Pierce Brosnan's face and voice, Willem Dafoe (or as I knew him, the evil, evil man from Spider-Man) chewing the scenery as a villain, and Heidi Klum thrown in for good measure. From start to finish, Everything or Nothing was dripping in cinematic flair — spectacular driving sequences, sharp combat, and those remote-controller spider-bot sections? Weirdly awesome, and id Software's id Tech Engine 3 was a fantastic choice.

This was my first-ever Bond game, and at ten years old, I didn't even know the man was a cinematic icon. Heck, it was also my first time playing a cover-based shooter such as this one, where pressing up against a wall and blind-firing at enemies felt so real. Racing a superbike on the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway, dodging bullets and cars, all while the setting sun illuminated the world? Truly peak. Sure, my memories of this game may be dipped in a glossy, MI6-issued military-glade pair of nostalgia-tinted sunglasses, but it doesn't take away from the fact that Everything or Nothing remains the greatest Bond game of all time, even today, and has aged insanely well.

It's a shame the game never came to PC — some amazing mods may very well have kept this game going. Where Everything or Nothing truly showed us what a PS2 can do, First Light owes it to the name of Bond to utilize the PS5 to its fullest potential in order to give us the best Bond game of all time. It's got some tough competition, sure, but the game looks poised to do just that.

James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing

Released February 17, 2004

ESRB T For Teen Due To Suggestive Themes, Violence

Publisher(s) EA

Engine id tech 3

Multiplayer Local Multiplayer

Franchise James Bond

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Bond has always evolved with the gaming landscape

If First Light wants to carry the torch, these are the blueprints worth learning from.

There will always be arguments over which Bond game belongs in the top five. That's fairly understandable. These titles are the ones I've actually played and grew up with, revisiting them and engaging with them time and time again.

Whether it was Brosnan on the PS2 or Craig's games on my Radeon HD 5670, these games made an indelible mark on the Bond timeline of interactive media. If First Light wants to carry the torch, these are the blueprints worth learning from.

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