*Warning* – This article contains spoilers for 007 First Light, so perhaps come back later if you want to remain spoiler-free.
Embracing the Quiet - 007 First Light
Bond. James Bond. 007. Known for many things. Bombastic action, quirky yet cool gadgets, womanising ways and the quipiest of quips. But in recent times, James has brought more to the party. Thanks to the Martin Campbell/Daniel Craig Casino Royale, Bond became known for more than all of that. They introduced vulnerability and humanity. Bond was no longer the perfect suave spy who was always in control, always ready to take down the bad guy. He was now, in a lot of ways, human. Sure, he could still drive an Aston Martin better than a professional F1 driver and fight like a pro on the MMA circuit, but in between all that, he showed that Bond could be broken, Bond could be hurt, and Bond could be beaten.
That idea, the idea of a human James, a fragile James, an imperfect James, has been taken to the next level in 007 First Light. It shows us the most relatable Bond we have ever encountered, and it does so by embracing the quiet moments.
Video games are often like the older Bond movies. All action from start to finish. There is nothing wrong with that at all, but I think the difference between the good games out there and the great ones is often the moments of quiet, the chance for players to breathe, an ability to live in these characters’ shoes for a few peril-free moments. Moments like Nathan Drake playing video games with Elena, Kratos confronting his past while returning to get the Blades of Chaos or even Gordon Freeman catching the monorail to work. These moments allow players to breathe, to soak into the experience, to feel like they are a part of these characters’ lives. First Light is filled to the brim with such moments, and it makes the game oh so memorable as a result.
The first such moment that sticks in my mind is after James’ first mission ends in the death of a friend and the crippling of another. It was a well-earned story beat; the game had clearly established the relationship between these three people, so the pain James felt at the funeral afterwards came across as real. It was a punch to the gut, but most of all, James’ growth after the event was tangible. It was a heartfelt moment, fairly early in the game, that would set the table for what is undoubtedly an emotional ride.
But it wasn’t only the high-emotion story beats that slowed things down and let players just be James. The game is full of quiet moments, times where just walking around and taking in the atmosphere is all that is required. Shuffling through the crowd at a ball, exploring the black market at a pirate enclave or simply walking through Q-labs, admiring the amazing gadgetry. These calm moments serve two purposes. The first is obvious, it is interactive storytelling, allowing the world to be established, fleshed out and enjoyed. The second is where I think these points in time become critical. 007 First Light is an intense game, of that there is no doubt. From huge action set pieces to large-scale gunfights to highly intense stealth sections, there is a lot here to keep players on edge. As a result, these little slices of quiet let people come down from the heightened state that the gameplay requires; they let people release the tension.
That tension is key. You can only ramp it up so far before it becomes the natural state for the entire game and therefore loses its effectiveness. Think about horror games, for example. Often they are extremely scary to start, yet as the game moves on, those scares are lessened until by the end of the game, there really isn’t anything that can make the player jump. It is the same here; had IOI not included these quiet moments, I feel that the bombast of the high action or tense stealth would have lost its impact by the end of the game. By releasing the valve every so often, IOI were able to control players’ emotions and focus, thereby keeping all their systems engaging and impactful right through to the end of the game.
This all makes First Light a great game, but what makes it a great Bond experience is IOI’s understanding of just who Bond is. There are two scenes that highlight this for me perfectly. The first is a classic Bond trope, the seduction of the beautiful scientist. In this case, Marine Biologist Theresa Lorca enters the scene with style and captivates James in a way that feels perfectly in line with what people expect from 007. The suave quips, the sly smiles and the overly suggestive innuendo are all here and feel like they all could have been taken from one of the best Bond movies. Sure, it could be argued that this sort of thing is not needed in the modern day, but it is part of what is expected from the franchise, and its inclusion really makes this feel like a proper Bond experience.
The second moment, the moment I won’t forget, is perhaps the most emotional I have ever seen from James. Not even the Daniel Craig movies can come close to this. Later in the game, after a particularly intense gunfight, James discovers his mentor has been shot. Throughout the game, John Greenway, ex-00 agent and now trainer in charge of the 00 program, had looked down on James. He didn’t feel like he deserved to be there and disapproved of his reckless methods. But as the story unfolds, it is clear respect is earned, and a relationship built on that respect is formed. So when James, holding John in his arms, agonisingly asks what he should do, how he can help, John simply says, “Sit with me, watch the sunrise.” It is powerful, emotional, and, I am not going to lie, heartbreaking. The pain on James’ face as he realises there is nothing he can do for his mentor is real, and when John passes away next to him, I can’t lie, but a tear was shed.
It is with moments like these that I think IOI has truly recognised the potential for emotional storytelling in video games. Without the 12 or so hours of gameplay, story and interactions that led up to that moment, I don’t think it would have hit as hard. So, by taking the luxury of time, something that movies just don’t have, IOI have created something that I won’t forget anytime soon, a moment that is likely to be remembered alongside things like Mordin Solus’ sacrifice or the discovery of exactly what is happening in the world of Clair Obscur. I have replayed that scene over and over in my mind since finishing the game, and I just know it is now a reference point by which all other emotional story beats will be measured going forward.
I was a little concerned going in that IOI would fumble the ball with Bond. Not in the gameplay, because their work with Hitman is exceptional, but in perhaps the most important area, making a game that feels like you’re in 007’s shoes. Not only have they thoroughly blown my concerns out of the water, but they have also joined Machine Games’ Indiana Jones as the new benchmarks for video games based on movie IP. By embracing the quiet, fleshing out the world and carefully playing with players’ emotions, they have, in my mind, created the best version of Bond we have ever seen, movies included and have set the high water mark for all 007 adventures to follow. As far as achievements go, that is one hell of a thing to do.
