• 007 First Light lets players experiment with a wealth of gadgets in combat
• This includes Bond's spy watch, a missile pen, and more
• 'They seamlessly integrate into the fighting style more than you might have seen in the movies,' explained senior combat designer Tom Marcham

My recent hands-on with the upcoming spy thriller 007 First Light was a pleasant surprise, revealing a level of mechanical depth that I don't think has been evident from the marketing trailers so far.

Armed with an assortment of spy gadgets, players have a surprising level of freedom in how they approach combat encounters. "Pretty much all of our gadgets are usable in combat," explained senior combat designer Tom Marcham in a recent interview with TechRadar Gaming.

"We have a smoke bomb that you can use both in stealth and in combat. It's one of my favorite gadgets to use in the middle of gunfights to cut off the line of sight, or maybe use it to go to melee. We have the missile pen, which is one of our most combat-focused gadgets, that you can use to blow up heavily armored enemies," he continued.

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"The laser watch is another one we have, the dart phone that you can use [...] is good for incapacitating some of the harder targets. We've got these shock mine earbuds that you can put on things. There's a whole range; they all work in combat and in stealth. It's an important part of it."

Players can also use the environments to their advantage, smashing enemy head into hard surfaces or kicking them off ledges. I particularly enjoyed pushing foes into electronic devices like laptops, and then zapping them with the watch to trigger a stunning burst of electricity.

"We lifted a few mechanics directly from the movies," Marcham revealed, but the fact that this is a modern-day story helped give the developers some more freedom to experiment with the spy's equipment.

"We use a lot more technology. You've seen the gadgets; they seamlessly integrate into the fighting style more than you might have seen in the movies. You can use gadgets a lot more in combat. He uses them occasionally, in No Time to Die, he uses the watch to blow up someone's eye, but we use them a lot more, a lot more freely."

You'll be able to experiment for yourself when 007 First Light launches on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X and Series S, and PC on May 27, 2026. A Nintendo Switch 2 version of the game will follow later this year.

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Dash is an experienced tech journalist who specializes in video games, electronic entertainment products, and the wider industry that surrounds them. He currently serves as the Gaming Editor at TechRadar, leading our review, preview, feature, and news coverage of the latest and greatest releases.

Before joining the team, he was Contributing Writer at PLAY (formerly Official PlayStation Magazine UK) and has written articles for many of the UK's other biggest gaming magazines including the likes of Edge, PC Gamer, and SFX.

Now, when he's not getting his greasy little mitts on the newest hardware or gaming gadget, he can be found listening to J-pop or feverishly devouring the latest Nintendo Switch otome.