Article:
Review 007 First Light Is A Technical Standout on PS5 and PS5 Pro
James Bond's latest outing in 007 First Light is by far the most technically accomplished release in the franchise's turbulent history, much closer to the triumphs of Goldeneye than the uninspiring 007 Legends. Running on IO Interactive's Glacier Engine, the game also showcases a welcome advancement over the base-level tech that defined Hitman 3 in 2021. The presentation does vary significantly depending on whether you're playing on base PS5 or PS5 Pro, but it's clear that the time spent over the past five years have been well invested.
The most striking feature is in the game's diffuse indirect lighting, with a new software ray-traced global illumination (RTGI) solution that marries screen-space tracing with a probe-based fallback using SDFs. This results in a pleasing presentation with attractive bounce lighting and considerable depth. However, the reliance on screen-space information for higher-frequency lighting can cause lighting information to drop out, producing distracting visual artefacts at times.
Specular lighting relies heavily on screen-space reflections (SSR), which isn't unexpected but also produces similar artefacts upon closer inspection. Like Hitman, First Light also employs planar reflections for select flat surfaces, such as mirrors and some glass, to reflect a lower-fidelity version of the world. This technique offers a cool visual flourish that is less common in modern games, so it's nice to see it here.
There are plenty more cool tech advancements here too - revised volumetric effects, shadowing, order-independent transparencies, motion-matched animation, new GPU particles, and improved character rendering, with even path tracing planned for the PC version in the coming months. Alex's recent First Light dev team interview is well worth a watch (or read!) if you're interested in more of the nitty gritty details of how these were achieved, and what goals drove IO's technical development, and we'll have more to share in John's upcoming tech review too.
As this is IO's first title shipping exclusively on current-gen consoles and PC, the rendering technology required a substantial overhaul, and the upgrades are as hard-hitting as you'd expect. The game's scope is also much broader than Hitman, balancing more familiar stealth events (like crowd work and impersonation) with explosive action scenes and chase sequences that represent something new for the studio's engine.
On the base PS5, 007 First Light offers both a quality mode targeting 30fps and a performance mode targeting 60fps, a common approach this generation. Interestingly, the core rendering technology seems to have been architected with 60fps in mind, as the visual differences between the two modes are scant - and the game's somewhat conservative but attractive RTGI survives perfectly in the higher frame-rate setting.
The primary visual cut in the performance mode is the shadow resolution, where shadowmaps become softer, rougher and more substantially aliased. This is not a critical flaw, as filtering can sometimes make the lower-resolution shadowmaps appear more realistically softened. Beyond this, minor GI tweaks are also evident in side-by-side comparisons, particularly in exterior and some interior scenes.
However, image quality stands as the game's largest weakness on the base PS5. The game relies on FSR 3.1.5, which produces familiar image characteristics, including noticeable flickering in static shots and chunky, digital reconstruction artifacts when in motion. This is especially evident with foliage, which can look rough during camera pans. The performance mode is the worst affected, with internal resolutions typically sitting around 720p (performance) and 1152p (quality).
The PS5 Pro offers a much cleaner and sharper experience thanks to the use of Sony's PSSR, which is a significant improvement over the base machine's FSR 3. The Professional also appears to be using the newer, enhanced PSSR iteration. Frame-rates are excellent, with a locked 60fps achieved in stress tests, barring some dropped frames during cutscene camera cuts. The Pro uses visual settings similar to the base PS5 quality mode, notably sporting sharper shadow outlines.
Regarding gameplay, 007 First Light is a more deliberate and Hitman-inflected experience than initial suggestions of an Uncharted-style action adventure. Typical sequences involve scanning environments, trailing characters, and using deceit, making it a slow game that may not satisfy the desire for a Naughty Dog-style title - but probably hews closer to what Hitman fans are looking for. Still, early reviews are universally positive, and it's great to find that the technical underpinnings are solid too - especially for those lucky enough to be playing on PS5 Pro.
Despite some image quality concerns on base PS5.
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Base ps5 aged like milk.
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