'Bond often starts without a gun in the movies, and he can solve that creatively' — 007 First Light combat designer on the method behind its bombastic brawls | Tech Radar

Overview

News, deals, reviews, guides and more on the newest computing gadgets

Start exploring exclusive deals, expert advice and more

Details

Unlock and manage exclusive Techradar member rewards.

Unlock instant access to exclusive member features.

Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards.

'Bond often starts without a gun in the movies, and he can solve that creatively' — 007 First Light combat designer on the method behind its bombastic brawls

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Bond will face some new and mysterious enemies in 007 First Light (Image credit: IO Interactive)

Upcoming James Bond game 007 First Light is shaping up to be the ultimate spy fantasy, offering not only satisfying stealth but also bombastic action and combat that combines third-person cover shooting and intense melee brawls.

The fights are frantic and improvisational, qualities that senior combat designer (and self-professed 'director of violence') Tom Marcham argues are deeply rooted in the Bond franchise.

"We didn't want the game to just be guns. We needed close combat, and it needed to be an important part of the game," he said in a recent interview with Tech Radar Gaming.

I haven’t played a Bond game since Goldeneye on the N64 — but 007 First Light could finally change that

007 First Light gameplay director says players will 'see the Arkham games' in the combat, as well as Uncharted in its destructive environments

007 First Light gets new story trailer ahead of its May launch, showcasing a charming James Bond in his early years as a young recruit, new characters, and even more explosions

"Bond often starts without a gun in the movies, and he can solve that creatively. He often runs out of ammo. He is often in really bad circumstances where anyone else would die, and he can turn it around with wits and creativity."

Encounters are shaped by intelligent enemy AI, with guards reacting realistically to your actions in a predictable manner that can be exploited by savvy players. "We make sure our enemies don't want to kill their friends," Marcham revealed.

"If you're in a messy fist fight with someone, they're not going just come in and shoot the other guard, right? But you can use that to your advantage, and just because they don't want to doesn't mean they won't. You can use that to your advantage as well."

According to Marcham, the goal is to create a "crazy loop" of "James Bond-style fight sequences" that escalate realistically. The combat system is designed to be a little tricky at first, with the player's mastery of it reflecting the young Bond's own growth as a spy.

"My hope is that at the start of the game, when you run out of ammo, you'll feel a little scared," he said. "By the end of game, when you run out of ammo and you see the heavily armored guy with a shotgun coming towards you, you'll think that he should be scared, because you're James Bond"

Marcham also detailed some of the research that went into crafting the game's combat behind the scenes. He said the team "spent a long time looking" at what makes the perfect Bond fight across both the movies and the original Ian Fleming books.

"We looked at the James Bond fights from the Daniel Craig era, which obviously has the most developed and choreographed fight scenes, all the way back," he began.

007 First Light has its own Bond theme by award-winning singer Lana Del Rey

Lenny Kravitz feeds his foes to alligators in latest 007 First Light trailer showcasing the villain's first dramatic encounter with Bond

The Nintendo Switch 2 version of 007 First Light has been delayed until 'later this summer'

"Our throw mechanic is a reference to Thunderball," he added — referring to the player's ability to somewhat hilariously stagger enemies by pelting everything from nearby keyboard to coffee cups and even empty weapons at them with the tap of a button (you can check out the closing fight scene between Bond and Emilio Largo and his henchmen above).

"We went right the way back, and we even looked at the books a lot for this kind of stuff. Though the close combat in the books is a little less defined, because you can't see it so clearly."

He described distilling everything down to a "kind of jumble" of ideas with "some common patterns" like "creativity" and Bond's propensity for "the smart and inventive" in fights.

"He was always grabbing something and throwing something, or doing something with the environment, and it wasn't always clear at the beginning that was there was an opportunity for it. He would walk into a space and it wouldn't seem like there's any opportunity in there, then in the middle of the fight, something sharp turns up, and he grabs it."

Overall, Marcham is "incredibly proud" of the mechanics his team has created. "We're really excited to give it to players," he added.

007 First Light is set to launch for Play Station 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC on May 27, 2026. A Nintendo Switch 2 version of the game will follow later this year.

Follow Tech Radar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds.

Dash is an experienced tech journalist who specializes in video games, electronic entertainment products, and the wider industry that surrounds them. He currently serves as the Gaming Editor at Tech Radar, leading our review, preview, feature, and news coverage of the latest and greatest releases.

Before joining the team, he was Contributing Writer at PLAY (formerly Official Play Station Magazine UK) and has written articles for many of the UK's other biggest gaming magazines including the likes of Edge, PC Gamer, and SFX.

Now, when he's not getting his greasy little mitts on the newest hardware or gaming gadget, he can be found listening to J-pop or feverishly devouring the latest Nintendo Switch otome.

You must confirm your public display name before commenting

1007 First Light's combat designer tells us what makes a classic Bond brawl

2'Now this is podracing!' — Star Wars: Galactic Racer will officially launch in October as developer shares preorder details

3 The 3 OLED TVs I recommend for World Cup viewing, based on my testing

4I haven’t played a Bond game since Goldeneye on the N64 — but 007 First Light could finally change that

5 Torrenters, good news — Every Nord VPN Mac server is now optimized for P2P connections

Tech Radar is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Key Takeaways

• News, deals, reviews, guides and more on the newest computing gadgets
• Start exploring exclusive deals, expert advice and more
• Unlock and manage exclusive Techradar member rewards
• Unlock instant access to exclusive member features
• Get full access to premium articles, exclusive features and a growing list of member rewards