007: First Light is "not a role-playing game" because it's James Bond's story, says dev who reveals what to expect from Lenny Kravitz's villain

While everyone has their favorite iteration of James Bond, equally important are the series' villains. There's a murder's row of actors that have portrayed Bond's delicious antagonists – Cristoph Waltz, Mads Mikkelsen, Javier Bardem – and as of 007: First Light, Grammy-winning musician Lenny Kravitz.

The best Bond villains bring a real sense of gravitas to spy stories, and IO Interactive is hoping to do the same thing with 007: First Light. Kravitz plays the Pirate King Bawma, leader of a massive black market network known as Aleph, a conclave Bond will have to contend with as he goes through the growing pains of becoming an agent.

"As we were building the location of Aleph, this dilapidated ship graveyard turned pirate empire, the vibe we were going for was that it should be quite dangerous, but feel adventurous as well," says First Light art director Rasmus Paulsen, "As such, we needed that Pirate King to be larger than life. We approached Lenny about this, and worked together to really refine the look of his whole get up and character, including his history that would be expressed. It was a co-authorship of character design."

Shaken up and stirred

Kravitz, of course, has been known for his distinct style across his career, and that kind of glitzy but decidedly intimidating look ties directly into what IO wants to do with this new universe. Bond has always straddled the line between grounded realism and absurdity, splicing sci-fi elements to classic gritty spy stories – and that dichotomy is equally important to this game.

"We looked at the whole franchise history, from classic movies all the way up to modern games, let's say the space we're in now. It's a marriage of those two, which means we looked at the codec emulsion of old Bond films," Paulsen says. "For instance, how muted blue is, how red pops, things like that. But at the same time, we wanted to ensure that it felt like a modern game and not a retro experiment – not an IP fandom thing, but something that belongs on modern screens. In that sense, bright vibrancy was important to us. So spy legacy on one hand, and vibrant action adventure on the other."

That blend of tones is essential to every element of Bond, and Paulsen describes it as a "delicate balancing act of credibility and down to earthness that makes you believe."

For First Light, IO wants to perfectly balance these elements, weaving the "British paperwork world" with a larger than life adventure. Kravitz and Bawma are a big part of that vision, but interestingly don't seem to be the game's sole villain – which begs the question of who else we could see step into the bad guy role?

"What I'll say right now is that as this young bond ventures into the larger world of espionage, you can imagine meeting a lot of different characters, some that appear nice but aren't, and some that appear dangerous buy maybe you can have them on your side, if you're lucky," Paulsen says. "We're perpetually playing with those expectations. Because what else would the spy aspects be? And the thrill aspects? It's very key that you feel on your toes in terms of trust at all times"

License to thrill

The other side of the coin, however, is the rolodex of iconic Bond characters that so many people are already familiar with, namely the enigmatic leader of MI6 "M," and the brilliant tech wiz "Q." These two have factored into nearly every bond story across the decades. But a drastically different approach to Bond requires a drastically different approach to every element of the world.

"We have this young Bond stepping into the world of spycraft. As such, he's not fully formed and that goes to all aspects of his characters, which means we have an opportunity in this game to play with expectations. And in that sense, you could look at what role M has played in the past, right?" Paulsen says.

"Judi Dench's character, for instance, has this maternal, challenging 'I expected more of you' vibe. For us, M is relatively young in relation to the other depictions, and she has her own ambitions, let's say own drive, and that aligns with Bond in a really interesting way."

Paulsen says that M, and Q as well, will represent what Bond has to grow to become – while also having their own agency. These two characters will have the trademark characteristics that define them, like Q's sartorial wit, but with new edges.

And while IO might be known for the immersive sandbox worlds of Hitman, it sounds like First Light might be diverging from that tradition. Paulsen confirms that this is a narrative driven story first and foremost.

"It's not a role-playing game in the sense that it's hundreds of choices and you can go anywhere and do anything, because it wouldn't result in an experience that has momentum. It's a story-driven action game where you guide Bond through his actions, but also experience his reactions to these actions," Paulsen says.

But at the same time, reactivity is IO's mission statement, and there will be areas where things open up, letting players get creative from a gameplay approach. Some scenarios won't be mandated, letting you pick and choose your entry – do you want to go behind the scene and climb up the back, or have a little chat and charm or cheat some hapless individual into giving you their key. Paulsen describes the game as having "scales of openness," which also ties into an idea that's often popular in stealth games – pacifist runs.

While it doesn't sound like you'll be able to entirely play First Light as a pacifist, there will be elements of that. And the reason behind that choice is because you're playing Bond – who has a distinct approach as a character, someone who "only serves up the amount of violence with which he's met." Certain areas of the game will allow for a completely non-violent approach, and it's actually often in your best interest to go stealth – but the nature of Bond will sometimes require going loud.

It's that blending of tones that's essential to Bond, separating it from a long line of other spy games across the decades. "I think a lot of it's about tempo. A lot of is front foot and keeping the player moving forward, ensuring it never feels too slow and stale. We want it to be surprising," Paulsen says. "And ultimately, when everything is said and done, the charm that Bond has, his wit and how he carries himself – when you perform these actions that would normally be a classic stealth move, there's a little [schmaltz] to it that I don't think you'd get elsewhere."

Here's why 007 First Light is more than just Hitman: James Bond edition