You can now play the opening of 007 First Light for nothing. IO Interactive has released a free Starter Pack that covers the game's first mission, and the only catch is that PS5 owners have to wait a few days. We couldn't check IO Interactive's own announcement directly, so the details are credited to the pages reporting them.
Pure Xbox reports it's available to claim now on Xbox. On PC, Steam's store page already lists a "007 First Light Free Starter Pack" download, labelled as a demo. Push Square says it reaches the PS Store on November 10, for all PS5 owners.
How to grab it
On Xbox, Pure Xbox says to search for "007 First Light" and download the "Free Starter Pack" edition. On Steam, the game's store page lists the free download.
What you actually get
The pack is the campaign's opening mission, which is set on the stormy shores of Iceland, according to Pure Xbox. It has Bond, still long before his licence to kill, looking into a compromised MI6 drop and tracking down a missing science team.
One small wrinkle: the two outlets don't agree on the name. Push Square calls the level Against the Odds, and Pure Xbox calls it Against All Odds. Either way, it's the prologue.
Here's the useful bit. Push Square says that if you like it and buy the full game, your progress carries over, so you won't have to replay the mission. That's stated for the PS5 version. Neither Steam's page nor Pure Xbox spells it out for the other platforms, so check before you assume.
If you're on PS Plus Premium, there's a second way in. Push Square reports 007 First Light has just joined the service, where you can play it for an hour.
The discounts running alongside it
The full game is on sale while the free mission lands. The prices differ by store, so don't assume the first one you see is the best:
- PS Store: Push Square says the Deluxe Edition is 50% off at £34.99 / $39.99 until November 21, as part of the Black Friday sale.
- Xbox Store: Pure Xbox reports the game at its lowest price yet, £35.99 / $41.99.
- Steam: The store page shows a week-long deal of 40% off the Deluxe Edition, with the offer ending on November 9.
Steam's deal is the one with the shortest fuse. If the free mission is going to be your decider on PC, you've got a few days to play it before that price goes.
Is it worth the download?
The game has plenty of goodwill behind it. It came out on May 26, and Steam shows 90% of 19,731 English user reviews as positive, with an 84 on Metacritic. Pure Xbox says it holds an 88 on Metacritic on Xbox. Push Square's review called it a strong, confident origin adventure, and said it really shines in its sandbox missions.
Jax's take: Starter Pack is a fancy name for a demo, and honestly, good. More big games should let you try before you pay. Grab it, play the mission, then check which store's discount suits you before you hit buy. Just remember PS5 players are waiting until November 10.
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