As a linear, scripted action game, the replayability of James Bond game 007: First Light has been called into question. It’s something Rick brought up in Eurogamer’s 007: First Light review, mostly because it jars with the sandbox approach IO Interactive used for Hitman, which is replayable by design.
The games are deliberately different in approach but even so, IO Interactive doesn’t intend for 007: First Light to be a ‘one and done’ experience. There are actually significant post-release plans that aren’t dissimilar to the sort of support Hitman has received, IO has told me, and that it hopes will keep you playing long after the credits roll.
The post-release plans revolve around the Tactical Simulations area of the game – TacSim for short – which is an area you can access within MI6 headquarters that lets you take on bespoke challenges which essentially remix existing areas of the game, with different rules and conditions. A character called Selena Tan controls it and she’ll offer a list of TacSim challenges to choose from.
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So it’s a bit like a challenge mode? “Yeah but maybe a bit more than that as well,” senior combat designer Tom Marcham told me in an interview recently. “There might be encounters where there was no combat encounter there before at all, and now we’ve actually reused the space in a clever way. TacSim is basically a space in which we can remix our levels.”
It’s through TacSim challenges that IO hopes to give 007: First Light longevity. “It’s something we’ve done very successfully with Hitman,” IO chief development officer Véronique Lallier told me. “We have TacSim content that will be made available after launch, and there will be a roadmap of content.
“There is definitely a desire for us to continue to make things evolve”-Véronique Lallier
“Because for us, the way we see things is: launching the game is just the beginning, and it’s important for us to learn and listen to the feedback of the players and everybody and see, okay, how can we do it better? What should we do more? What should we do less? And that’s something we’ve been doing with Hitman over a decade with a World of Assassination, and we’re going to definitely try to bring more content [here].
“It’s completely different from Hitman and that’s something very important to say,” Lallier added. “Hitman is sandbox and by nature feels more open to repetition. This one is more narrative driven, so once you’ve done the story, what else can you do? And that’s what we’re trying to do with TacSim. There is definitely a desire for us to continue to make things evolve.”
There’s also, Tom Marcham said, a hope that speedrunning communities will latch onto the TacSim leaderboards and compete in challenges there. “We’re excited to see it,” he said.
007: First Light releases today on PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S/X, and the critical reception to the game so far has been glittering. “IO delivers the sharpest, most entertaining script in the triple-A space since Eidos’ Guardians of the Galaxy game,” Rick wrote in our 007: First Light review, “one where almost every line lands with wit, soul, or both.
“First Light is not IO Interactive’s best game. But it is by far the studio’s best-written game, and like the superspy himself, it keeps you on side even in its weakest moments by sheer dint of its personality.”
