Gaming Week 22: 007 First Light Lands — And It's the Real Deal

🕵️ The Week 007 Came Back — On Top of an Already Stacked Pile

📰 This deep-dive is part of Dadnology Week 22/2026 – the whole week’s tech, gaming and movie news for dads in one read.

Here is the genuine problem with gaming right now: there are too many good games, and not enough dad. Week 22 of 2026 dropped 007 First Light — IO Interactive’s young-Bond origin story, the best James Bond game since GoldenEye dropped on the N64 in 1997 and the first in decades to make the licence feel essential rather than borrowed. But it did not land in a vacuum. It landed on top of last week’s stacked slate — Forza Horizon 6, Yoshi and the Mysterious Book, and LEGO Batman — that most of us are still working through.

So the real question this week is not “what is good.” It is “what gets my limited time.” And the honest answer splits cleanly by the moment you are in: Forza for the in-between minutes, Yoshi and LEGO Batman with the kids, and 007 for the dad after dark.

So this week’s roundup goes deep on the headline launch — is 007 actually good, where should you play it, how do you get the most out of it — and then steps back to the bigger picture: how to budget your gaming time across a slate this stacked.

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🎮 007 First Light — The Bond Game We Stopped Expecting

For twenty years, James Bond games have been licence-shaped holes — competent shooters with a 007 skin stretched over them. 007 First Light is the first in a generation that understands the assignment. This is a young Bond, freshly minted as a Double-O, and the game leans into that: he is reckless, unpolished, and occasionally in over his head, which makes the stealth tense in a way a flawless super-spy never could.

The core loop is the star. Most missions are a puzzle box with several valid solutions — go loud and you will probably regret it, but the game never punishes improvisation. The gadget system, in particular, is the smartest 007 has ever felt: the signature watch, a hacking phone, sticky cameras for tagging patrols. It is the rare licensed game that would still be excellent without the famous name attached. For a dad with a ninety-minute window after bedtime, the mission structure is ideal — self-contained, save-anywhere, no grind.

Our verdict: 9/10. The best Bond game since GoldenEye. Read the full 007 First Light review →

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007 First Light (PlayStation 5) (opens in a new tab)

The game of the week — a 9/10 young-Bond origin story and the best 007 game since GoldenEye.

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🎯 Which Platform Should You Play It On?

The good news: there is no bad version of 007 First Light. The better news: the differences are real enough to matter if you have a choice. On PS5 Pro and Xbox Series X, the showcase mode runs 4K with ray-traced reflections at a stable 60fps — and a rain-soaked Bond game leans hard on those reflections. PC scales the highest if your rig has the headroom, and is the only place to push past 60fps. The Series S holds a locked 1440p/60, dropping the ray tracing but keeping the feel intact.

If you already own one console, the answer is simple: play it there. If you are genuinely choosing, we walk through frame rates, load times, controller features, and the DualSense haptics (which the game uses beautifully) in the full comparison.

Our take: PS5 Pro or Series X for the showcase, PC for the ceiling, Series S if that is what is under the telly. Read the full platform comparison →

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007 First Light (Xbox Series X|S) (opens in a new tab)

Same brilliant Bond on Xbox — the Series X version targets 4K/60, the Series S a locked 1440p/60.

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🛠️ Q-Branch — Getting the Most Out of the Gadgets

The gadget system is where First Light separates itself from every Bond game that came before, and it rewards knowing what to unlock first. Lean too hard into combat upgrades and you will miss the tools that make the stealth sing; over-invest in the watch and you will be short when a level demands the hacking phone. There is a genuine build order here, and getting it right turns the back half of the campaign from hard into elegant.

Our gadget guide breaks down the early unlocks that pay off fastest, the ones that are safe to skip, and the two combinations that trivialise the trickiest infiltration missions.

Our take: unlock the hacking phone early, save the lethal upgrades for last. Read the full Q-Branch gadget guide →

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🤹 The Bigger Picture — Too Many Games, Not Enough Dad

Step back from 007 for a second, because it is not the only thing demanding your evenings. Last week’s slate is still hot, and between it and the new launch, the back of the shelf looks faintly ridiculous. The good news: these games do not compete for the same slot — they each own a different moment of a dad’s week.

Forza Horizon 6 (10/10) is the in-between game. It is on Game Pass, it loads fast, and a single race fits a coffee break or the ten minutes before dinner — the ideal “I have a sliver of time” blast. Yoshi and the Mysterious Book (10/10) is the one for the younger kids: gentle two-player co-op from age 4 and the best argument going for owning a Switch 2. LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight (8/10) is Friday-night family co-op for slightly older kids — chaotic, funny, and forgiving. And 007 First Light is the dad’s game: the one you save for after bedtime, in the dark, with headphones.

That is the whole trick to a week this stacked — not picking a winner, but matching the game to the moment.

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🎯 Who Should Play What

The slate is deep, so the practical question is which game fits which moment:

Your moment is…	Your game is…
A spare ten minutes between things	Forza Horizon 6 — one race, on Game Pass, done
Co-op with younger kids (age 4+)	Yoshi and the Mysterious Book — gentle, brilliant
Friday-night family co-op (age 7+)	LEGO Batman: Legacy — chaotic and forgiving
After bedtime, headphones on	007 First Light — the dad’s game of the week

The honest bottom line: the one new launch to prioritise is 007 First Light — a 9/10 Bond game does not come around often. But you do not have to choose between it and the rest. Forza fills the gaps, the kids’ games own the weekend afternoons, and 007 takes the night shift.

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❓ FAQ

Is 007 First Light a good game?

Yes — we scored it 9/10. It is the best James Bond game since GoldenEye on the N64, blending tense stealth, a genuinely smart gadget system, and a young-Bond origin story that earns its place. It is the standout release of week 22, 2026.

Which platform should I play 007 First Light on?

If you have a PS5 Pro or Series X, that is the showcase: 4K with ray-traced reflections at a stable 60fps. PC scales highest if your rig is strong. The Series S holds a locked 1440p/60. There is no bad version — pick the console you already own.

Is 007 First Light suitable for kids?

It is rated for teens and up — there is gunplay and spy violence, but it leans on stealth and gadgets over gore. For most families it is an older-teen-and-dad game, not a young-kids title. Play it after the little ones are in bed.

Does 007 First Light have the classic Bond gadgets?

Yes, and the gadget system is one of its best ideas. Q-Branch tools — the signature watch, a hacking phone, sticky cameras — turn most levels into a puzzle box with several valid solutions. Our gadget guide breaks down what to unlock first.

Which game should I play first in week 22, 2026?

It depends on your moment. Forza Horizon 6 (10/10) is the in-between blast on Game Pass; Yoshi and the Mysterious Book (10/10) is the co-op pick with younger kids; LEGO Batman: Legacy (8/10) is Friday-night family co-op; and 007 First Light (9/10) is the after-bedtime dad’s game. The one new launch to prioritise is 007.