[Published: June 10, 2026 | Last updated: June 10, 2026] | 14 min read
TL;DR
- 007 First Light contains 17 total story entries: 9 main missions and 8 narrative interludes that bridge the larger operations
- The campaign runs approximately 20 hours for a standard playthrough; completionists targeting all challenges and collectibles should budget 30-40 hours (GamingProMax, 2026)
- Missions span global locations including Iceland, Malta, London, Vietnam, and Antarctica – each with distinct stealth and action mechanics
- The game holds 92 total collectibles: 36 Cards, 23 Intel items, 14 Mementos, 10 Postcards, and 9 Legacy Items (GamingProMax, 2026)
- TacSim, the game’s replayable challenge layer, unlocks from early in the campaign and pushes total content well past the story runtime
007 First Light Missions List: How Many Are There and How They’re Structured
007 First Light missions are split into two types: 9 core gameplay operations where the stealth, combat, and puzzle mechanics live, and 8 narrative interludes that carry the story between those larger operations. Together they make 17 numbered entries in the in-game chapter select menu (007-first-light.com, 2026).
The count confuses some players early on. Guides throw around “17 missions,” “18 chapters,” and “9 missions” – all partially accurate depending on what you’re counting. The reliable answer: 9 missions carry the bulk of gameplay and challenges. The other 8 are shorter story segments, most without challenge lists or collectible counts, designed to develop Bond’s relationships and MI6 training arc.
Worth knowing before you start: every mission is replayable through Chapter Select from the main menu. Nothing is permanently missable. That’s a deliberate design choice by IO Interactive that makes challenge and collectible hunting far less stressful than most action-adventure games of this scale.
All 17 007 First Light Missions in Order
Here is the complete mission list in campaign sequence, confirming which chapters are main gameplay missions and which are interludes, along with confirmed locations and challenge counts where available (Games.gg, 2026 | Bo3.gg, 2026).
| # | Mission Name | Type | Location | Challenges |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Against the Odds | Main Mission | Iceland | 9 |
| 2 | In His Majesty’s Secret Service | Interlude | London | – |
| 3 | The Needle’s Eye | Interlude | Malta | – |
| 4 | The Heart of the Matter | Interlude | Malta | – |
| 5 | A New Home | Main Mission | Malta / London | Lower count |
| 6 | A Night Out | Interlude | London | – |
| 7 | A Matter of Considerable Delicacy | Interlude | London | – |
| 8 | All the Time in the World | Main Mission | Various | 27 |
| 9 | Out of the Ashes | Interlude | Various | – |
| 10 | The Past Never Dies | Main Mission | Mauritania | High |
| 11 | Uninvited | Main Mission | London | 30 |
| 12 | Knightfall | Main Mission | London | 24 |
| 13 | Going Old School | Interlude | Various | – |
| 14 | Time to Die | Main Mission | Vietnam | 24 |
| 15 | Man of the Hour | Interlude | Vietnam / Q-Lab | – |
| 16 | Wave of the Future | Main Mission | Antarctica | 25 |
| 17 | For England | Main Mission (Finale) | London / MI6 HQ | 16 |
Uninvited is the challenge leader at 30, followed by All the Time in the World at 27 and Wave of the Future at 25 (GamerBlurb, 2026). Those three are where completionists should expect the most replay time.
Each Mission Explained: Story, Location, and What to Expect
Mission 1: Against the Odds – Iceland
Against the Odds is where James Bond’s story begins. Set in Iceland, what starts as a routine Royal Navy reconnaissance assignment spirals into a national security crisis. Bond, still a 26-year-old air crewman with no MI6 connection, has to survive using instincts alone (Beebom, 2026).
This is the game’s tutorial. Not a hand-holding one – it teaches stealth movement, the gadget system, and environmental traversal through real pressure rather than a practice range. Finishing all 9 challenges here unlocks the Iceland Outfit, one of the game’s 39 unlockable Bond suits (007-first-light.com, 2026).
One memento is hidden here: a Satellite Part. Easy to miss on a first run. Use Chapter Select to grab it later if you don’t spot it.
Mission 2: In His Majesty’s Secret Service – London (Interlude)
After Iceland, Bond is called to MI6 headquarters in London. He doesn’t know whether what he did will earn a commendation or a disciplinary hearing. This chapter is short and entirely narrative – no challenges, no combat. But it sets up Bond’s relationship with M and the tone of the 00 Programme that structures the rest of the game.
Mission 3: The Needle’s Eye – Malta (Interlude)
Bond arrives in Malta to begin M’s training programme for 00 candidates. The Malta setting recurs across several early chapters. One collectible is confirmed here. No challenge count.
Mission 4: The Heart of the Matter – Malta (Interlude)
Still in Malta, this chapter deepens Bond’s training and introduces John Greenway, his mentor played by Lennie James. Greenway’s presence across the early missions is what distinguishes First Light‘s structure from a typical action game – the mentor relationship gives the training missions actual emotional stakes.
Mission 5: A New Home – Malta and London
A New Home spans both Malta and London – the only chapter confirmed to bridge two distinct locations. Challenge count is on the lower end compared to later missions, which fits its position as an early operation before the campaign’s pacing accelerates.
The story shifts toward urgency here: MI6’s investigation surrounding 009 begins to gather momentum, and Bond and Greenway start developing independent concerns about what’s really happening.
Mission 6: A Night Out – London (Interlude)
A Night Out is the nightclub interlude – more social than combative, exploring Bond’s charm and his ability to read a room before the next major operation. One collectible is here: a Cocktail Napkin memento, found during the chapter and easy to miss if you’re not actively looking for it.
TacSim note: the first TacSim Escalation, Advanced Tactical Training, becomes available after Bond returns from this mission. If you want to start building TacSim clearance early, don’t wait until the end of the campaign.
Mission 7: A Matter of Considerable Delicacy – London (Interlude)
An interlude chapter where MI6 closes its investigation into 009 despite Bond and Greenway’s doubts. Bond is confined to his Bayswater flat. The 00 Programme’s status hangs uncertain. It’s a slower chapter, more spy novel than action movie – which is fine, because the contrast makes the operational missions hit harder.
Mission 8: All the Time in the World – Multi-Location Main Mission
All the Time in the World is one of the campaign’s centrepiece missions. With 27 challenges, it’s the second most demanding chapter for completionists. Two mementos are here – a Pillow Mint and a Championship Badge – and three safe and server codes are embedded in the environment (007-first-light.com, 2026).
The story pushes Bond and Greenway into direct action after MI6 pulls the 009 investigation. No spoilers on how it ends, but this is the chapter where the game’s central conflict comes into full focus.
Mission 9: Out of the Ashes (Interlude)
A transitional chapter following the events of All the Time in the World. Bond processes what he’s learned. Short and story-focused.
Mission 10: The Past Never Dies – Mauritania
Bond travels to Mauritania for the first time. The chapter is substantial in challenge count and introduces the kind of environmental variation – open outdoor spaces, different lighting conditions, and new enemy types – that distinguishes the mid-game from Iceland’s tutorial structure.
Two mementos appear here: Pirate Grillz and a Crocodile Tooth. Both require active searching off the main path.
Mission 11: Uninvited – London
Uninvited is the hardest mission for challenge completion in the game. Thirty challenges make it the campaign’s densest chapter, and 12 collectibles are spread across the Webb Industries gala that forms the mission’s centrepiece (007-first-light.com, 2026).
Bond and Greenway infiltrate the Webb gala to expose Sir Nicholas Webb’s connections to the main threat. The mission design here is closest to IO’s Hitman DNA – a large social space, multiple approaches, and the same tools delivering completely different outcomes depending on how you play. This is the mission most Hitman fans will point to as the game’s highlight.
Two mementos are hidden in Uninvited: an Anniversary Pin and a Tero Murto Locket.
Mission 12: Knightfall – London (Webb Industries)
Knightfall follows directly from Uninvited and pushes deeper into Webb Industries HQ. Twenty-four challenges and 9 collectibles, plus three safe and server codes that require environmental investigation to find (007-first-light.com, 2026).
One puzzle in this chapter trips up a lot of players. Bond needs an Executive Keycard to access a secured door, but the game gives minimal hints about where it is. It’s in one of the management offices on the upper executive level – Bond has to work through the service corridors to reach it (Bo3.gg, 2026).
One memento here: an Office Toy.
Mission 13: Going Old School (Interlude)
A chapter where the investigation reveals that THEIA’s failures were deliberately hidden, and 009 may have been falsely accused from the beginning. Bond learns the enemy he’s been chasing is not who he thought. No challenges, no collectibles – just the story shifting its ground underneath you.
Mission 14: Time to Die – Vietnam
Bond arrives at a luxury island resort in Vietnam. Sun, beaches, and immediate danger. Twenty-four challenges, 11 collectibles. The contrast between the setting and what happens in it is one of the game’s better tonal choices.
Memento: a Diving Watch on the nightstand by Bond’s bed after the bowtie sequence. Collectible card: 9 of Roses in the yoga storage room at Tranquility Cave (007firstlight.cfd walkthrough, 2026). Both require mild detours from the critical path.
Mission 15: Man of the Hour – Vietnam / Q-Lab (Interlude)
A return to Q-Lab between Vietnam and the endgame. Two codes are needed here: Q-Lab Q-08 Armory code is 1324 (found from the shooting range top score), and Q-Lab Q-03 Pressure Test code is 4397 (from the car license plate number). The Niko Murto Locket memento appears in the opening cutscene, on a desk to the left.
Mission 16: Wave of the Future – Antarctica
Wave of the Future is the longest mission in the game. An average playthrough of this single chapter runs approximately one hour and forty-five minutes (Blast.tv, 2026). Twenty-five challenges and a full environmental shift – Antarctica replaces the warmth of Vietnam with industrial cold and a final confrontation with the mission’s core antagonist.
Two mementos here: a Snow Globe and a Robot Keychain.
Mission 17: For England – MI6 HQ, London
The finale. Set at MI6 headquarters in London with the city under attack. Sixteen challenges and 6 collectibles. The final memento, a Dashboard Toy, sits in this chapter (Games.gg memento guide, 2026).
For England brings every story thread together. Reviews consistently cite the finale as one of the game’s strongest structural decisions – it doesn’t try to introduce new gameplay mechanics, just deliver on everything the previous 16 chapters built.
Short Case Study: The Uninvited Mission as a Design Benchmark
A Dhaka-based student from our last cohort asked whether a Bond game could replicate the replayability of Hitman without just being a Hitman reskin. Uninvited is the clearest answer.
The mission takes place at a corporate gala. Bond’s goal is intelligence gathering and exposure. But the how is entirely open. Stealth through the kitchen staff entrance. Bluff through the front door with a forged invitation. Find Webb’s private elevator, hack a security panel, take out the guard on the executive floor. Players attempting the mission’s 30 challenges will necessarily complete it multiple times – and each run uses different gadgets, different routes, and different timing.
That structural design is borrowed directly from Hitman’s Elusive Target philosophy: the level is the toy box, and the challenge list is just the reason to keep playing with it. The student’s conclusion after finishing Uninvited three times: the Hitman DNA is there, but the Bond skin genuinely changes the power fantasy. Hacking a phone during a handshake feels different from poisoning a champagne flute. It’s the same sandbox logic in a different character frame.
007 First Light TacSim Mode: What It Is and How It Connects to Missions
TacSim, short for Tactical Simulator, is 007 First Light’s replayable challenge layer. It sits inside a Q-Lab simulation hub and lets players return to campaign locations with different objectives, modifiers, and leaderboards (Power Up Gaming, 2026).
The mode contains two mission types. Escalations increase difficulty across tiers – more enemies, stricter conditions, tougher modifier combinations. Operations are focused creative challenges, often requiring specific gadget use or non-combat solutions.
The first Escalation, Advanced Tactical Training, unlocks after Bond returns from the A Night Out chapter – which is Mission 6. That’s early. Players who want to build TacSim Clearance Level before finishing the campaign should start Escalations then rather than waiting until the credits roll.
The remaining TacSim missions only unlock after the full campaign is complete. So there’s no point rushing through the story to unlock everything; the game paces TacSim access as a post-campaign reward system (GamingProMax TacSim guide, 2026).
Completing all 39 Bond outfits requires finishing every in-campaign challenge for each chapter. TacSim is where you wear and show off those outfits. The progression loop connects the two modes deliberately.
How Long to Beat 007 First Light: Playtime by Mode
| Playstyle | Estimated Time |
|---|---|
| Main story only | ~15-20 hours |
| Story + challenges | ~20-25 hours |
| Full completionist (all collectibles, TacSim) | 30-40 hours |
The 20-hour estimate comes from IO Interactive’s Gameplay Director Andreas Krogh, confirmed ahead of launch (GamingProMax, 2026). It makes 007 First Light the longest James Bond video game ever made – and the only one with a dedicated replayable mode that extends the runtime meaningfully beyond the story.
Collectibles Guide: What You’re Looking For Across All Missions
007 First Light contains 92 collectibles spread across the campaign (GamingProMax, 2026):
36 Playing Cards, 23 Intel documents, 14 Mementos, 10 Postcards, and 9 Legacy Items. Collecting all of them unlocks the “A Collector’s Habit” trophy and achievement.
A few rules that save hours of frustration. First: track by type, not by chapter. The in-game tracker (accessed via Touchpad on PS5 or View on Xbox) shows totals by collectible category, not by mission. Use this to see exactly how many of each type remain rather than trying to reconstruct which chapters you’ve cleared. Second: get the Laser Strap gadget in Chapter 9. Some collectibles are blocked behind laser-cuttable locks and ceiling vents that you cannot reach without it. Don’t waste time hunting certain spots early. Third: nothing is permanently missable. Chapter Select lets you return to any point in any mission. One targeted replay is almost always faster than a full second playthrough.
Common Mistakes Players Make With 007 First Light Missions
The challenge list for each chapter appears before you start it. Read it first. Some challenges are mutually exclusive in a single run – a full stealth challenge and a “take out all enemies” challenge can’t both be done in one pass through the same area. Knowing this before you start tells you which approach to take first and which to save for a replay.
Not using Chapter Select is the other one. A lot of players finish the campaign and then try to replay from the beginning to clean up collectibles. That’s 20 hours when targeted Chapter Select replays would take 3.
The Knightfall keycard search is worth a specific mention. The Executive Keycard is in a management office on the upper level of Webb Industries. Multiple players have spent 30+ minutes circling the wrong floor. Go up first.
Frequently Asked Questions About 007 First Light Missions
How many missions are in 007 First Light?
007 First Light has 17 total story entries, made up of 9 main gameplay missions and 8 shorter narrative interludes. The 9 main missions contain all the challenge lists, most of the collectibles, and the bulk of stealth and combat gameplay.
What is the longest mission in 007 First Light?
Wave of the Future, set in Antarctica, is the longest single mission in the game. An average playthrough of that chapter alone takes roughly one hour and forty-five minutes, according to community completion data (Blast.tv, 2026).
Which mission has the most challenges in 007 First Light?
Uninvited, set at the Webb Industries gala in London, has the highest challenge count at 30. All the Time in the World is second with 27, and Wave of the Future follows with 25 (GamerBlurb, 2026).
Can you replay missions in 007 First Light?
Yes. Chapter Select unlocks from the main menu after completing each chapter and lets players return to any specific checkpoint within any mission. Nothing is permanently missable – every collectible and challenge can be targeted through replays.
What is TacSim in 007 First Light?
TacSim (Tactical Simulator) is a replayable challenge mode set inside a Q-Lab simulation hub. It lets players return to campaign locations with different objectives and modifiers. Escalations and Operations are the two mission types. The first Escalation unlocks after Mission 6, and remaining TacSim missions unlock after the main campaign ends (Power Up Gaming, 2026).
Where is the Executive Keycard in Knightfall?
The Executive Keycard is in a management office on the upper executive level of Webb Industries. Bond must work through the service corridors to reach it. Most players who get stuck are searching the wrong floor.
How many collectibles are in 007 First Light?
There are 92 total collectibles: 36 Cards, 23 Intel items, 14 Mementos, 10 Postcards, and 9 Legacy Items. Collecting everything unlocks the “A Collector’s Habit” trophy/achievement (GamingProMax, 2026).
Key Takeaways
- 007 First Light missions total 17 chapters: 9 main missions with challenge lists and 8 narrative interludes without
- The campaign order runs: Iceland, London, Malta, multi-location, Mauritania, London (x2), Vietnam, Antarctica, and back to London for the finale
- Uninvited has the most challenges (30) and is the mission most worth replaying for challenge hunters and Hitman-style sandbox fans
- Wave of the Future in Antarctica is the single longest chapter at roughly 1 hour and 45 minutes
- Chapter Select makes nothing permanently missable – use it aggressively instead of starting full second playthroughs
- TacSim adds a genuine post-campaign content layer, but the first Escalation unlocks as early as after Mission 6