As a gamer with a physical disability, finishing 007 First Light was a joyous achievement for me. Stealth and action games normally spell trouble for me, but in the case of this game, completing it without many issues was a pleasure and a welcome surprise.
My Gadget Setup (From MI6)
I play with a set of custom buttons, two arcade sticks, and two switches set to latch, which are typically the two triggers on an Xbox controller. It allows me to use every button that is available on a traditional controller, enabling me to physically press a large surface area. This controller lets me play games despite having significant hand impairment.
For this game, my control layout worked perfectly.
However, there were some notable issues that arose during my playthrough, particularly surrounding the need for aim targeting. A strong, ideally magnetic aim assist mechanism is essential for playing shooting games, because I find it hard to move both sticks at the same time, and since this game includes a notable number of instances where the player can shoot, this omission is disappointing, despite there being some slight assist when the crosshair was near the opponent. I remember distinctly in the art gallery heist section (soon before Bond escapes in the bin lorry), I had to hold off enemies using only melee combat, and I was lucky that I was able to complete the section by beating the level the way it wasn’t intended to be played, which is a cornerstone of accessible gaming, and a testament to the freedom and creativity offered in 007 First Light.
The Slovakia mission was my first test of how stealth would work with my adaptive controller, which I normally find tricky because it requires quick reactions, especially when responding to NPC behaviour. In the Slovakia chapter, getting the laundry room key was the most challenging objective for me; I honestly thought I wouldn't be able to complete the level. The part that was the most challenging for me was that the NPC who had the key was in a large room surrounded by other NPCs, and I did not have many places to hide. I beat this section of the game, but the speed at which the NPC’s reacted to me was so rapid that I encountered a lot of trouble reacting quickly enough to then take cover and not be spotted.
Stealth games are built around recognising NPC behaviour, but while I could do that and knew what to do, the physical accuracy required to react to it was another question altogether. Often, I found that there was not enough time to react to the NPC noticing that you were there, so I was backed into a corner, and I was forced to use melee combat in order to kill the NPC and eliminate the need for stealth altogether. This led to several sections of the game that I completed using melee combat as an alternative to the gun, which felt too inaccessible.
Living as a Secret Agent
The game was perfect for immersing me in a world that lived and breathed Bond, especially because the experience was so uninterrupted. The flowing and claustrophobic nature of the narrative was perfect for player engagement, by not even allowing players the chance to get distracted. I personally did not think much of this design choice, as I felt that it had little to no impact on my enjoyment of the game; however, for a player with a limited attention span who requires more stimulation, this could be an issue. There is a lack of a skill tree or upgrade system for the player to use to improve character performance. While I understand this decision, for physically impaired players, improving attributes is a great way to indirectly improve accessibility - by increasing the HP bar, for example. For physically impaired players, a skill tree is such a great way to make the game as accommodating as possible, even when in-game options are limited.
I want to talk about the lack of a HUD in this game, especially as I have seen it more over the last few years. It is a trend in modern-day games to skip a HUD to increase player immersion and engagement, ultimately making the world as encompassing and detailed as possible. I found that I got lost a number of times when trying to reach a destination, and the in-game pointers weren't pronounced enough for me to reach it. For visually impaired players, this could be an issue as there was no option to highlight crucial in-game information, such as signs and vital collectables. It should be an option to break immersion in favour of practicality and accessibility.
A narrative experience, fully catered to the player.
IO Interactive did not skimp on the accessibility features of this game, despite the gripes that I had. Toggle options have quickly become a norm in modern-day games by taking the physical pressure off the player and allowing them to just press a single button, eliminating the need to hold it down. There were toggle options for the sprint button, aiming down the sights, and the Q-Watch; these were all vital for my completion of the game and made a substantial amount of difference to my experience.
Toggle features are a great accessibility addition to games in general, and this game is no exception. The ability to toggle Sprint was a great addition. However, because of the automatic vault feature, I found that the character kept jumping up objects that I did not want it to, and there was no indication of whether or not the toggle was on or off. That lack of indication made me wary, and sometimes I engaged in combat when I wasn't supposed to.
The forgiveness for failure was surprisingly high in notable ways. The standout example of this was in the chapter: ‘The Past Never Dies’ where Bond was defending Greenway and the game presented the player with a shootout from behind a car. The player had to shoot all of the enemies from behind the car, which was a challenge for me thanks to the low level of aim assist in the game. After dying a couple of times, I found that the section of the mission only had to last a certain amount of time, before the next cutscene would begin - but I did not know this. Panic started to set in, as I did not feel that I was able to complete the section of this mission. Thankfully, I was able survive just long enough to get to the cutscene, and I was able to complete the section - but this highlights a significant communication issue in the game, if I had known that killing all of the enemies was not necessary, I would have been able to take the same approach to the mission as I did for the rest of the game.
Shaken and stirred.
007 First Light is a welcome step in the right direction for accessibility in stealth games, with forward-thinking and good intentions at the core, despite issues that are inherently baked into the game’s genre. It is an intricately designed game, smartly laid out, with a narrative that fits perfectly within the franchise. It is a piece of work with a tremendous amount of thought, and it leaves the player with a sense of respect for how well it aligns with the Bond franchise.
The motor accessibility in this game was pleasing to see, and there were adaptations made to accommodate a wide range of abilities. It is a skill to strike a balance between accessibility and difficulty, you don’t want to make the game more accessible but in turn make it too easy, which can feel like undermining the player’s abilities, but 007 First Light gets the balance pretty spot on. The gun combat is something that needs to be addressed, especially as the game is receiving continued updates, and there is a strong post-launch update plan for IO Interactive. All in all, 007 First Light is a game that is well catered for accessibility, and it is a compliment to the Bond franchise, with a compelling narrative, with well thought out and well executed gameplay.