It has been actual years since IO Interactive first unveiled the fact they're working on a 007 game built off all their learnings with Hitman- and often times that can be cause to worry. We're no longer used to extended reveal, development, expanses outside of Rockstar- thus whenever a title starts to leave our mind it gradually loses it's possibility of ever reaching the finishing line. With all the backroom reporting I don't think anyone is buying it when whoever is currently holding the 'KOTOR Remake' potato promises the thing is still chugging around somewhere- despite how much of a slamdunk victory such a game would undoubtedly be with even the minimal amount of effort put in to bringing it up to snuff. But with recent titters from the IO camp that they are still very much on the grind- my passions are reignited for what feels like the perfect Bond game on the way.
Now first off, I love IO Interactive. Their handling of the Hitman franchise has been straight revolutionary to a brand that felt destined to fall off as we slid into the modern age. It's not that I don't like Hitman, it just seemed like the exact kind of formula game that would be homogenised into being 'just like everything else', in some desperate bid to become some other studio's answer to Uncharted or something, if it hadn't been picked up by IO. Heck, we already saw that attempted with Hitman Absolution, which was not bad by any stretch of the imagination- I actually really like that game- but it doesn't play into the strengths of the brand too well. IO's recent stint on the Hitman trilogy, however? Sublime.
The pursuit of ultimate replayability across their levels challenges a level design mastery I genuinely think few other studios could legitimately match- but the eye that IO interactive's staff has for the manipulation of geometry, contextual interactivity, NPC AI route coding- everything a fantastic stealth games needs- birthed the ideal Hitman experience. Those levels are near endlessly repayable, and even knowing them all as too-heart as I personally do; some remix of the traditional can still trip me up when I least suspect it. I adore the Hitman games and I just know there's a vertical for a fantastically stylish Spy thriller wrapped up in there. Heck, they literally laid out such a framework across their work on Hitman- just give them a half decent budget and let that team cook!
That being said, I will say there's not exactly a recipe for what would make a great James Bond game out there. I mean sure, you would throw up your hand and announce that literally one of the most influential games of all time was a Bond game in GoldenEye, were this a test environment- but I'll push back on that a little. Whilst undoubtedly revolutionary to the shooting genre- is the spirit of James Bond really conveyed in a full blown shooter? The intelligence of spy work, the occasional subtlety offset by bombastic explosiveness? I've said it before and I'll maintain it- the single best video game on the market right now that perfectly captures all a Bond story can be doesn't even have the brand stamped to it's cover. It's 'Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater'.
Bringing us to the beginning of James Bond's legacy is something that hasn't really been attempted since the days of Young Bond- the novel series by Charlie Higson; (Which I love, by the way.) IO really are stepping into grounds all of their own, presenting a gameplay loop of honing one's spy skills until they become that iconic superspy everyone knows. I can just picture how neatly that concept marries their 'repeat into mastery' loop of design. Revisiting the same missions, becoming more insightful, gaining new equipment, learning the extent of your ability to manipulate the world to your own ends- all whilst your own Bond builds their legacy and talents. I assume this is IO's next multiyear franchise and if they perform it right I am absolutely hear for it. Especially if they go in with some of the cooler aspects of Hitman that they started experimenting with after the series was done.
Who remembers the whole Hitman 'Freelancer' mode? A very clever rogue-like spin on the formula that gave you challenges, random targets and a death consequence built into gear acquisition - this mode deftly reworked the base Hitman game with an entirely new progression system built around the same basic loop. Getting to slowly fill of Agent 47's house with increasingly grand accoutrement's feels like entirely inconsequential fluff but it provides a fun little glimpse into the home life of a character we've grown so very close to- and getting to unwind between extremely stressful missions wherein a single mistake can scupper giant chains of planning and set-up missions is a welcome addition to the formula. I hope that can rub off on this Bond game somewhat.
Now we already know that the plan is to shoot for a trilogy with these games, similar to how Hitman was a trilogy. This actually marks itself as something of an uncommon approach to typically serialised Bond stories, and I wonder how an ongoing metanarrative will end up effecting the quality of the Bond fantasy. Sure, Craig's tint was proposed to present us with an ongoing narrative but that shaped up to little more than stapled on narratives atop each last movie creating a disjointed feeling story where at the end of the day the majority of the progress felt like it was being made in his love life... despite Bond's love life constantly being reset to zero every movie too. It was a bit of a mess, to be honest- and how funny would it be if the video game ended up nailing the narrative better than the actual movie did. Oh I would giggle!
As it stands IO interactive are some of the best high quality niche developers on the market and as long as they stand as beautifully pro-consumer as they are I don't think anyone is going to begrudge their continued dominance of the puzzle-stealth-sandbox market: whatever you call a sub-genre like that. I shudder in excitement to see what they'll do next, how they'll expand and evolve into bringing their action gameplay up to snuff, or moving towards other forms of engagement all together! Bond is big into his cars, right? Can we except maybe a little bit of car combat? Set pieces? Role Playing? The possibilities, like their future, is bright and endless
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