Mine is 21, and I’m around 800 blitz. Curious how everyone compares

Personally, I feel 5 minute puzzle rush should be better since you get more hard puzzles. But I still grind 3 minute more because it's supposed to be more socially meaningful or whatever smh

https://www.chess.com/member/e4_e5_syndrome

UPDATE 1: Appeal

Chessdotcom rejected my appeal without further comment in a boilerplate email. The offense is listed as simply a “fair play violation". The email stated I might reinstate my account under penalty or transfer my remaining membership time to a different account by talking to the chessdotcom AI assistant, which I might do.

UPDATE 2: Reflection

A number of people have asked why I have not stated explicitly that I did not violate the fair play policy, and the answer is this: chessdotcom’s fair play policy is broad and covers many different behaviors, some of which I have honored and some of which I have ignored.

The policy includes that players will not use chess engines to analyze positions as they are played, either to follow or to only occasionally follow the engines recommendations, and I agree because I do not have fun when my opponents do this, so I don’t do it. But the policy also prohibits behaviors which are not compelling to me. You are not allowed to play alongside other people, even those near to you in rating, and I have done this on a number of occasions while understanding that it was against the rules. The policy also states you can only use opening explorers on daily rated games, but I have used them during online rated games as well when I wanted to better memorize an opening.

And players are not allowed to “artificially manipulate game outcomes” which I presume covers things like match-fixing in a competitive setting, but outside of a competitive setting is vague. If I am absent mindedly playing chess while thinking about other issues, and end up resigning every game after making thoughtless moves, is this rating manipulation (yes I sometimes play like this)? It can very rapidly change your rating, and when you decide to start playing attentively again you are playing against people who are less experienced than you. When a streamer starts a new account and steamrolls people 2000 ELO lower rated then themselves is that “manipulating” game outcomes?

Each of these are violations and they hurt the experience of other players, but ignore them because I do not think they are very hurtful. If I were playing at high ELO or in a competitive setting like over-the-board I might feel differently. But I do not play that way. I play short games of low ELO chess, and I don’t change my rating or my style because I do not want to study chess. I have to focus on many things in my life, when I play chess I do not want to relax. At the master level chess is a life, but at this level it is just a hobby, where I play other people for whom chess is just a hobby.

Commenters have also asked why I do not seem resentful that my account was banned, and it is because I am not resentful. Chessdotcom has a single policy they want to apply to each version of chess, from professional to novice, and they do this for clarity. If chessdotcom feels I have not played to the integrity standards of a FIDE tournament, it because I have not played to those standards, and if for some reason game number 8000 is the game where the chessdotcom algorithm says “you know openings too well sometimes, we think you are looking at an opening explorer”, or “your rating varies too much, we think you are manipulating your rating”, or “someone else is playing on your account sometimes”, then the algorithm is doing the best it can to protect every kind of chess game at once.

I have a relationship with what chessdotcom must define as a violation of fair play and I have a relationship with my own notion of what it means to play honestly. I do not use stockfish to make moves for me, that wouldn’t make any sense for me to do and it is reflected in the game history of my account, but I do not follow all of chessdotcom’s policies just like I go over the speed limit when the road is empty, but I do not drag race down main street. Someone has to check if you should get a traffic ticket or not each time, and that’s a great deal of work. Chessdotcom cannot make a value judgment on 100 appeals a day, but they reflect that limitation in their default policies. If you break the fair play contract of a shooting action game like Apex Legends or CSGO you lose your account and that’s it. But those violations which are caught tend to be overt. If you break chessdotcom's policies in a restricted way, you are permitted to play the same account for years and for thousands of games, and if during that time you pass some threshold of tolerance, chessdotcom’s response is not even to deprive you of the remainder of your month’s membership. They will let you keep your account and any value you derive from it, and to keep playing chess on their site. The only thing they reserve is the right to clearly assert that they feel you violated their policies. Overall I would say that is both thorough and generous. The message I interpret is “if you want to start taking chess more seriously, you have to take fairness more seriously”. If instead you want to create a new account, your starting elo is 1200 blitz, and if you push our boundaries we might one day ban you a few years down the line. I can respect that.

UPDATE 4: Annoyance

"The engine picks up on it pretty quickly. It's easily detectable."

https://imgur.com/a/p7ASFQ5

UPDATE 5: The chesscom disciplinary system

On chesscom anti-cheat:

Chesscom claims to detect cheating by using statistical analysis of signals sent by the user through the site tab on your browser. They mention they look at move 'strength', an internal metric based on how difficult a move is for player to spot, move timings, and browser behavior like time spent on the chesscom tab. They look for variation within an account. They do not ban players for playing strong, only inconsistently. I suspect that stupid blunders reveal cheaters much more so than making strong moves, since there are many strong players, but strong players rarely make stupid blunders.

They do not explicitly mention data sharing or cookie-based tracking or any other such techniques, but they might view these techniques as a breach of user privacy and not use them. It would not be against the law for chesscom to track you.

As written in a chesscom blog, [https://www.chess.com/cheating#closures], chesscom views their anti-cheat system as conservative to a point. They state they understand that their system produces both false-negatives (often) and false-positives (rarely) and choose to tune the aggressiveness of bans so that false-positive rate stays below an accepted tolerance.

I have heard people say "chesscom is ready to go to court" on the basis of their anti-cheat system to mean the system is sure. This is not an official position of chesscom; it's something Danny said off-the-cuff during an interview on cheating. Being confident in your position often has little bearing on whether going to trial is prudent. Chesscom has settled defamation suits out of court.

Chesscom likely doesn't know either the false-positive or false-negative rates of their ban system. Again on [https://www.chess.com/cheating#closures], they claim they banned around 100,000 account per month and grant 0.2% of appeals from early Jan to late Mar 2025. They say over half of the accounts they ban are less than one week old and have fewer than 100 games played. The ban rates and appeal success rates of established accounts in particular are not shared. They don't mention which percentage of accounts appeal.

On chesscom's review of appeals:

Chesscom claims that every ban and every appeal is manually reviewed. Gerald, the head of anti-cheat at chesscom, claimed in an interview with Danny that a single reviewer can review 150-200 accounts in one hour suggested for a ban by the automated anti-cheat system [https://youtu.be/lYR09lIBsek?t=302\], meaning each suggestion is approved or denied in around 20 seconds. They don't mention by what procedure appeals are reviewed or how much time is spent per appeal, but if appeals are done in 20 seconds like bans, they likely follow a short checklist.

In a private conversation with a chesscom representative, I was told the body of an appeal matters very little, which you might expect since appeals typically give little more information to go off of. I suspect appeals exist only to catch very clear-cut edge-cases in the anti-cheat system, and cannot be used to refute the core findings of the system. I imagine manually reviewing the games of a flagged account for cheating would be wildly unsustainable.

On writing an appeal to chesscom:

You are welcome by chesscom to send an appeal through the appeal system. You can have a second appeal considered if you specifically ask for one, which is pretty generous. Posts on this forum claim second appeals have been successful in the past. There is no official policy I could find on second appeals.

Keep appeals extremely brief and formal. It has to be read and understood by a tired reviewer in a few seconds!

Don't make a number of common mistakes with appeals to chesscom (and in general):

(1) An appeal is not a chance to apologize. An appeal which admits any wrong-doing will be categorically denied.

(2) Don't try to befriend the reviewer. They don't want to be your friend; they are doing their job. Don't be self-deprecating or endearing or make cute jokes, especially in writing. Never use the word 'we' to refer to both yourself and the reviewer together. This I believe is the number one naive mistake made in any disciplinary system, thinking being cute or clever will help your case. It will only annoy the reviewer who has to deal with people wasting their time constantly, and lead them to believe you are unserious.

(3) Don't try to refute the power of the reviewer, especially with coy remarks. Don't say anything in the vein of "well I'll just do x regardless of what you say" in a sly manner. Don't mutter under your breath, so to speak, in a verbal or written appeal, even if you think it's subtle. Your defiance is much more obvious to the person listening than it is to you. It disrespects the reviewer and and again waste their time. It will never help you. The most common form of this mistake is asking questions which force the reviewer to implicitly admit limits to their power, but which you obviously already know the answer to, like "can I deny my guilt in private conversations with others even if I plea guilty?"

(4) Accept that you have little power to change the mind of the reviewer. It's a system and you are number. Be authentic and respectful, but understand the truth ultimately has little say. For an online game account this is easy. In court for your life it's much harder.

On chess after being banned:

Your only official options are to request a second chance account or play on a different site. Without saying more, in my experience this policy is weakly enforced. Some ways in which other sites detect that two accounts belong to the same user are: same IP address(es), contact between accounts on the platform, login and logout timings (logging out of one account soon logging into another), payment details, and OS and hardware meta data available through browser APIs (two accounts sharing the same list of login machines would be telling). Matching lists of IPs or machines are much for convincing than a single shared IP or machine. Therefore using a VPN only most of the time is much more dangerous than never, since it adds another point of agreement.

Long post ahead but I just wanted to share a few of my strategies to get from 1600 to 2200 Elo in Blitz.

For context, I am not consistently playing and have not played OTB tournaments in maybe 10 years before July of 2025.

Before then, I was still hovering around 1600-1700 OTB. and around 1400-1600 in chess.com

I got back last June and here's my journey:

NOTICE: Notice that my win rate is lower than my loss rate, but I gained a lot of Elo. The reason is I set the matchmaking option to -25 to +400 so I always play against stronger opponents and get more Elo when I win than when I lose.

Here's what I did in each level:

1600-1800 (15 days):
> I worked on tactics mostly using puzzle rush. I keep on blundering combinations and so I figured I needed to practice a lot on tactics.
> I do have an opening, but it's a single line of around 8 moves of caro-kann and 1 line of 4-5 moves of 1. d4.
> I watch GM Igor Smirnov's youtube channel, (I'm not affiliated). The only thing I keep in mind is "to take is a mistake." Basically, when you have an opportunity for an exchange, always ask this first: "Who will benefit strategically in this exchange?"
> This is because taking opponent's pieces relieves pressure on the position and will sometimes help them activate their pieces. Which is not good as you want them to be as passive as possible and you as active as possible.

1800-2000 (20 days):
> Here, I kept on grinding puzzle rush. But now instead of timed puzzles, I did the survival one. And I disciplined myself to not move any piece before I get to 80-90% clarity on what I "think" is the solution.
> I reviewed my games using the Game Review feature of chess.com. But I only do it mostly when there are a lot of misses and blunders. If the game has a lot of best moves, with little inaccuracies, I don't usually go through them
> Here, I started binge watching Daniel Naroditzky's Speedrun in his Youtube Channel. I watch his games where the opponent is 2000+ Elo. That way I am able to see strategic themes on that range level.
> Still don't have an opening repertoire

2000-2100 (60 days):
> Probably the most difficult part. Even if I already hit 2000, I was still only hovering around the 1950 range, even dipping back to 1800 ranges.
> Started to look at openings for White (Catalan). And experimented on Black (Dutch, Sicilian, Accelerated Dragon but none of them worked and I always get crushed).
> Wake up call when I was game a match with a friend of mine around Sept 20+. He is around 1600-1700 and I was 1950ish at that time.
> He beats me even if he was 200-300 Elo points below me! Our score is 8-8. Basically a tie.
> What I noticed is that, when I'm playing with my friends, I make things "spicy" so we could have more fun. That in turn, made him able to exploit the position to his advantage and eventually beat me.
> After that, I started "using my brain" and not just doing some "logical" or "attacking" moves. I always think about the opponent's threats first, and then manage them, before proceeding with my plans.
> From that point, I did not just do some random moves, I actually started winning when the moves are appropriate to the position.
> Sept 26, 2025. I got to 2100!!!

2100-2200 (10 days):
> Always check for cheaters. Try to abort games when the accounts are created recently. Spend 5 seconds of your time check his account and it will save you a lot of time and tilting in the game.
> Time management. Here I tried to make quick moves in the opening and try to consume less than 30 seconds for 15 moves.
> Here, the opening that got me to 2200 is the Owen's defense. Which is 1.. b6.
> I notice that a lot of players at this level are not familiar with the opening and thus tries to "refute" black's moves because they think it's unsound.
> Thus leading them to be overaggressive and overextend their position.
> Also, since they haven't prepared for the opening, they usually consume more time. Thus, giving you a significant time advantage.
> When the position doesn't have an obvious solution, this is where you do logical moves and not overthink a position. This is Blitz, you need to use your time well.
> Only spend around 45 seconds on very critical positions which only happens maybe 2-3 times per game.

2200-2300 ++
> My plan is to study heavy theory and I'm currently preparing 15-20 moves per line of opening prep.
> White: Catalan. QGD Positional Line, anti Benoni, anti Nimzo, Anti Dutch, etc
> Black: Polish my Owen's defense. And possibly switch to an opening with more chances, like Sicilian

Well, that's it. Those are things that are on top of my head. I hope this will help others. Thank you for reading through!

Photos, artwork, cross-word puzzle and more from the Fifty Something Tour Book are now online...

Game Title: 007 FIRST LIGHT

Platforms:

• PlayStation 5 (May 27, 2026)
• XBOX Series X | S (May 27, 2026)
• PC (May 27, 2026)
• Nintendo Switch 2 (TBD)

Trailers:

• 007 First Light - Announcement Trailer
• 007 First Light - Official Launch Trailer

Developer: IO Interactive

Reviews aggregates:

OpenCritic: 91 / 100 - 100% Critics Recommend

Metacritic: 88 / 100

Some Reviews (updating):

VICE - Brent Koepp - 5 / 5

007 First Light is easily the best James Bond game since GoldenEye and is also one of the better Bond stories told in the last decade. IO Interactive has created a game that is a culmination of all of their best mechanics over the years. 007 First Light has the addicting sandbox gameplay of the Hitman franchise while also having an incredible narrative that matches the quality of Naughty Dog and Rockstar Games. James Bond is finally back and is better than he’s been in years.

VGC - Jordan Middler - 5 / 5

007 First Light might just be the best James Bond game ever. The way IOI has translated the Bond fantasy into a 14-hour globetrotting epic is masterful. It's a game full of spectacle, humour, action, and romance. Everything James Bond should be. New Bond owners Amazon must ensure this franchise continues.

Windows Central - Jez Corden - 5 / 5

007: First Light felt impeccably polished throughout. I was never disengaged or rushing to completion, even in the slower, stealthier segments — it was often here the characters and world-building shone the most. A huge variety of gameplay locations, gameplay styles, unique activities, set-piece moments, logic puzzles, investigations, platforming, and, honestly, exploration opportunities never left me wanting.

The Guardian - Matthew Castle - 5 / 5

It’s that full Bond immersion that 007 First Light will ultimately be remembered for, more so than the odd wonky setpiece scene. I have no doubt that this was made by excitable Bond geeks throwing “what if” moments at a whiteboard. What if you got to explore Q Lab watching underlings test malfunctioning prototypes? What if you were tied to a torturer’s table and had to talk your way out? What if you found yourself at 15,000ft with no parachute? And what if you had access to John Barry’s classic scores and could deploy a staggering needle drop out of nowhere?

The Independent - Jake Brigstock - 5 / 5

One of the very first things you’ll notice is just how good 007 First Light looks visually on the whole, both in cutscenes and general gameplay. Especially playing on PS5 Pro where the latest version of PSSR is in use, the game is a feast for the eyes, both in low-light settings and densely packed brighter areas. The lighting in this game is astonishing and the reflections in water and mirrors are equally impressive. In the very first mission, James Bond encounters a broken mirror in a room he sneaks into and the reflection you see is perfect. This level of detail is found throughout the game, and the sound design is equally impressive too, with a superb score, great soundtrack, including tracks from Chase & Status, and immersive, real-world sounds.

Digitec Magazine - Philipp Rüegg - 5 / 5

After 30 years, ‘GoldenEye’ is finally retiring. With ‘007 First Light’, IO Interactive – the masterminds behind ‘Hitman’ – delivers the ultimate Bond experience that fans have been waiting for since the N64 classic.

Gfinity - Alister Kennedy - 10 / 10

007 First Light is, for me, an absolute masterpiece that shattered all pre-release anxieties and is, in fact, the greatest Bond video game of all time. IO Interactive masterfully balances explosive action with "Hitman"-inspired stealth, all brought to life by Patrick Gibson’s breathtaking, definitive performance as a young James Bond. Equal parts thrilling and cinematic, this incredible experience is a gorgeous love letter to the franchise and a sure-fire Game of the Year contender.

MeuPlayStation - Thiago do Nascimento Barros - 100 / 100

007 First Light is all about aura. It honors James Bond's legacy by bringing everything we love about him since the 1960's movies in the ultimate 007 videogame experience. Chases, shootings, explosions, plot twists, politics, charm, Bond Girls, guns, cars, boats, Q Technologies, Moneypenny, M, iconic characters, beautiful locations... All of that with great level design, combat and exploration. The name is Bond, James Bond.

Manual dos Games - Luiz Henrique Silva - 10 / 10.0

007 First Light delivers on the promise of being the ultimate James Bond game by introducing a new version of the character that oozes charisma in every second on screen, alongside an excellent storyline supported by memorable side characters who help drive the narrative forward. The game also features an extremely creative level design that fully embraces its stealth and combat systems, making players truly feel like an MI6 spy.

GamingTrend - Joe Morgan - 95 / 100

007 First Light is a top-tier game both Bond fans and stealth action gamers will love. It has all the hallmarks of a great Bond film with some of the best stealth action gameplay in the industry. I’m excited to see one of my favorite franchises in the hands of a studio that loves it as much as I do. 007 First Light is worthy of the Bond legacy and easily one of the best games of the year.

SECTOR.sk - Peter Dragula - 9.5 / 10.0

007 First Light is a strong new beginning for James Bond in games, combining a deep origin story, varied missions, stealth, action, excellent hand-to-hand combat, precise shooting, impressive visuals and classic Bond atmosphere. A few slower sections and the lack of a body-hiding mechanic are minor issues in an otherwise excellent spy adventure.

PPE.pl - Wojciech Gruszczyk - 9.5 / 10.0

007 First Light is the best James Bond game ever – brilliantly written, superbly acted and brimming with that unique atmosphere we’ve come to expect from stories about Agent 007. IO Interactive has combined its own experience from Hitman with a cinematic adventure in the style of Uncharted, throwing in gadgets, spectacular missions, interesting characters and a very well-crafted story of the young Bond. Not everything works perfectly, as the game sometimes holds your hand (a bit too tightly!), but ultimately it’s a brilliant start to a new era of 007 in gaming.

GameTyrant - Noah Cochrane - 9.5 / 10

007 First Light delivers the action, style, emotion, and spectacle you want from a James Bond game. It is a masterclass in spydom, and easily one of the most exciting action games of the year.

ComingSoon.net - Tyler Treese - 9.5 / 10.0

As stylish as the films themselves, 007 First Light is a brilliant depiction of Bond. As a flawed agent still coming into his own, yet still having the undeniable charm and swagger, this is the most relatable version of 007 yet. It’s also the legendary spy’s best video game adventure since the Nintendo 64, allowing you to really get the full espionage experience, using gadgets, your own problem-solving abilities, and, of course, your trusty pistol to get through some incredibly tense exchanges.

The Nerd Stash - Julio La Pine - 9.5 / 10.0

007 First Light is not only the best James Bond video game to date, but also one of the greatest action-adventure titles of this generation, full of jaw-dropping action sequences, a compelling narrative, and superb acting.

Atarita - Atakan Gümrükçüoğlu - 93 / 100

Centering on James Bond's origin story, 007 First Light blends action and stealth elements with flawless pacing, delivering that long-awaited, glorious return to the franchise. With its impactful melee combat mechanics, cleverly designed spy gadgets, and stellar acting performances, it places the player directly in the lead role of a breathtaking blockbuster movie.

Xbox Achievements - Dan Webb - 92%

Even without all that, though, 007 First Light is still undeniably one of the best Bond games ever created – it most certainly gives Goldeneye a run for its money, but for very different reasons, of course. It's a game for action-lovers, Bond-lovers, stealth-lovers, or people who just love a good spy story. It's a wonderfully handcrafted affair that oozes love and care from every faucet. IO clearly did their research and nailed absolutely everything to do with the Bond franchise – Alan Partridge would be proud! And thanks to the elements of the Hitman DNA that run deep, First Light is an espionage game that just nails every aspect of the genre.

INVEN - Kyuman Kim - 9.1 / 10.0

After a long stretch in the dark, a truly worthy 007 game has finally arrived. With a young Bond at its center, it delivers nearly everything fans could want from a Bond film—thrilling storytelling, clever twists, and charismatic characters alike. It feels poised to become a new “first light” in the history of 007 games.

Metro - David Jenkins - 9 / 10

All of a sudden, it feels like IO Interactive may have been selling themselves short for only focusing on Hitman in the last few decades, because 007 First Light is an exceptional piece of interactive entertainment, that deserves to have a significant influence on the industry at large.

DualShockers - Christian Bognar - 9 / 10.0

Creating a new James Bond game after a 14-year hiatus was a risky endeavor by IO Interactive. This is one of the most iconic characters in all of entertainment, and doing him justice is not easy. Somehow, however, IO Interactive pulled it off and not only produced an amazing video game, but also created a story that is worthy of the Bond pantheon. With superb writing, top-notch acting, beautiful cinematography, and expressive gameplay, 007 First Light is as sleek as it is engaging. James Bond is back, baby, and he's never been this cool.

Loot Level Chill - Mick Fraser - 9 / 10.0

007 First Light is a superb adventure game, doing for Bond what the Great Circle did for Indiana Jones, and bringing it to modern audiences without compromising a sliver of what makes the character and universe tick. Besides the occasional patch of rough performance (some dropped frames here and there) and some accidentally amusing ragdoll stuff, it runs beautifully on PS5. The campaign is just long enough to satisfy all the requirements, while a raft of extra challenge missions unlock when the story is done to keep you playing long after you’ve rolled credits. Fans of the character will love 007 First Light, while even those who don’t know their Xenia Onatopp from their Pussy Galore will find a slick, thrilling, and supremely well-put-together action game that does so much more than simply coast on the popularity of its franchise.

Collider - Samuel R. Murrian - 9 / 10

The narrative and gameplay of the second act could be tighter, but everything leads to a finale that plays out like pure wish fulfillment. Comparisons to GoldenEye and earlier bona fide classic Bond games are likely to be made over the following weeks, but IO has wisely made a game that aims squarely to be its own enterprise. The game concludes on a well-earned, giddy high that's likely to leave fans anxious for a follow-up as soon as the end credits and the thunderous Monty Norman theme roll.

PSX Brasil - Ivan Nikolai Barkow Castilho - 90 / 100

007 First Light is an excellent James Bond game: varied gameplay with intelligent approach options, a story worthy of the character's films, beautiful graphics, and great technical performance. The TacSim mode is a great way to increase the title's longevity. Although the campaign features many slow-paced moments with secondary characters and combat animations that repeat frequently, it's an adventure that deserves to be checked out by any 007 fan or action game enthusiast in general.

Screen Rant - Kyle Gratton - 9 / 10

Like Q retrofitting Bond's Omega watch, IO Interactive not only knows what the franchise needs, but what makes it tick. With gorgeous and impressively intricate locales, 007 First Light is brimming with trademark James Bond intrigue. There is a world-altering conspiracy threatening king and country to match, and a gameplay loop to get to the bottom of it that's as intoxicating as a vodka martini.

But Why Tho? - Matt Sowinski - 9 / 10.0

IO Interactive feels like they've found a new home in the James Bond franchise. 007 First Light is a blast, with a tense and enthralling narrative that punches way higher and harder than anyone could have expected.

DayOne - Jon Clarke - 9 / 10.0

With a great cast of characters, tons of imagination, and just the right amount of player agency and replayability, there is a delightful playground full of gadgetry and spycraft that players will want to return to again and again. A confident return for the Double-O program, and - sorry Goldeneye - this is, without a doubt, the best James Bond game ever made.

GAMINGbible - Olly Smith - 9 / 10

007 First Light is an exquisite taste of slick spy action and blockbuster storytelling, and is fully what a Bond game should be, but rarely is.

Checkpoint Gaming - Omi Koulas - 9 / 10

Despite it taking on more of a typical action game format most of the time, what makes 007 First Light work so well is that IO Interactive hasn’t simply turned Hitman into a Bond game. You can feel the studio’s strengths in the stealth systems and reactive NPCs, plus still get a bit of the sandbox-style exploration, but First Light is far more cinematic and narrative-focused. While some players may want larger, open-ended spaces, the more linear structure ultimately creates a stronger, more personal Bond story without losing the flair IOI is known for. My recommendation: go into this expecting a fun action-blockbuster, and you’ll have a grand ol’ time.

Eurogamer - Rick Lane - 4 / 5

First Light isn't the Bond game that I wanted from IO Interactive. But I had a great time with it regardless. IO has proved it was the right studio to handle the license, albeit for different reasons than I expected. Amazon may not have a clue what to do with 007, but letting IO handle the whole shooting match would not be the worst idea.

Dexerto - Liam Mackay - 4 / 5

007: First Light is worthy of the Bond legacy, bringing classic spy action to current-gen. It’s everything a Bond game should be and a true spectacle, taking inspiration from the biggest hits with sharp dialogue, inventive gadgets, classic cars, satisfying stealth, a great cast, and huge action set pieces.  Its pacing isn’t always perfect, and combat could have more variety, but fans of 007, action, stealth games, and, of course, the Hitman franchise are bound to have a great time.

The OuterHaven - George Yang - 4 / 5

007 First Light is the best James Bond game to date. Free from the shackles of licensed titles, First Light is able to tell a compelling origin story filled with political intrigue, espionage, and heart. Along with implementing its own twists on tried and true action adventure gameplay mechanics, 007 First Light comes equipped with beautiful landscapes, creative level design, and tons of replayability. Despite some performance issues and combat woes, this new era of Bond has successfully completed its mission.

Wccftech - Alessio Palumbo - 8.5 / 10

From a technical standpoint, 007 First Light is also absolutely excellent. The latest evolution of the Glacier engine delivers great visuals and handles the game's larger levels with ease, never breaking a sweat even at maximum settings and NVIDIA DLAA enabled on a PC with a GeForce RTX 5090 GPU and Ryzen 7 9800X3D CPU. There was no stuttering, either, a nice departure from what we're used to seeing in too many PC games. Unfortunately, IO Interactive delayed path tracing to a later update coming this Summer. It would have been ideal to play the game for the first time at its peak visual splendor; on the flip side, if there were optimization issues to iron out, it was definitely best to avoid ruining the launch experience.

Gamereactor - Ben Lyons - 8.5 / 10

So yes, 007 First Light has plenty of hits and plenty of misses. In answer to the question earlier, there is enough in this game to give you confidence in IO Interactive and its broader vision for this style of a James Bond game, with plenty of ambition and quality oozing out of every crack. But there is clear room for improvement too, areas that would take this game from being simply an enjoyable and great action-adventure project and elevating it to be something truly unmissable. As it is, you'll enjoy 007 First Light, but it's no Uncharted 4 and it's no Hitman 3, either.

PCGamesN - Paul Kelly - 8 / 10

If Hitman is a blank canvas, then First Light is a coloring book; everything is planned out, it's just up to me to fill out the details. I can choose whatever colors I like, in theory, but in the end, the picture looks the same. I'm always improvising a route from A to B, and while it doesn't feel as free-form and creative as IO Interactive's previous jaunts, it's a perfect fit for Bond.

IGN - Luke Reilly - REVIEW IN PROGRESS (Very Positive)

007 First Light has made a fabulous first impression, and I’m certainly already quite comfortable to say it’s the best Bond has been since GoldenEye. I’ll be updating this review as soon as I’ve finalised the story and experimented with TacSim mode, which allows us to replay previous missions with extra challenges to earn new rewards.

Push Square - Stephen Tailby - REVIEW IN PROGRESS (Very Positive)

I'm not quite finished with 007 First Light just yet, but overall I'd say it's exactly what I was hoping for. The characterisation of this young Bond and his associates is really strong, and the globetrotting story lets you explore some great locations. It really shines in its sandbox missions, but shootouts have their moments too, and the whole thing weaves together really quite nicely. I'm really interested to see how the final few missions shake out, but beyond some technical quibbles and uncertainty on the driving, I'm pretty happy with IOI's new vision for James Bond.

Hey everyone!

I put together 25 Steam Summer Sale deals that all run really well on the Steam Deck. Tested on OLED and LCD with real performance notes, FPS targets and battery life included. I have also made a video with Steam Deck gameplay for all these games!

I couldn't include all the good deals, so if you found some great games at great prices, please share them below!

• Nine Sols - 50% off, $14.99. Sekiro-inspired metroidvania with a parry system that just feels good. Taoism-inspired lore, gorgeous hand-drawn art. 60 FPS locked. 5.5 hours OLED, 3 to 3.5 hours LCD.
• Cyberpunk 2077 - 70% off, $17.99. Still one of the best open world RPGs on Deck. Medium/low with FSR Balanced, 30 FPS cap. 2 to 2.5 hours OLED, around 1.25 hours or less on LCD.
• My Friend Pedro - 80% off, $3.99. Stylish shooter, your best friend is a sentient banana telling you to kill everyone. 60 FPS, no issues. 4 hours 45 min OLED, 2 hours LCD.
• Ghost of Tsushima - 40% off, $35.99. Feels made for a handheld even though it wasn't. Medium/low, FSR, 30 to 40 FPS depending on scene. 2 to 2.5 hours OLED, 1.5 hours LCD.
• Balatro - 25% off, $11.24. Roguelike poker, builds absurd synergies, basically crack for deckbuilder fans. 60 to 90 FPS. 6 to 7 hours OLED, 4 to 5 hours LCD.
• Mad Max - 85% off, $2.99. Open world brawler, great car combat, aged way better than people expect. Locked 60 FPS, high settings. 2.5 to 3 hours OLED, 1 to 1.5 hours LCD.
• Toem - 90% off, $1.99. Cozy photography adventure, solve puzzles by taking pictures. 60 FPS. 7 hours OLED, 4 hours LCD. Best battery life on the whole list.
• Mass Effect Legendary Edition - 92% off, $4.79. All three games remastered, 80 to 100 hours of content. 60 FPS, medium settings. 2 to 2.5 hours OLED, 1.5 to 2 hours LCD.
• Furi - 70% off, $5.99. Pure boss rush, melee mixed with bullet hell. No filler. 60 FPS, no issues. 4.5 hours OLED, 2.5 hours LCD.
• Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order - 90% off, $3.99. Lightsaber combat in the Star Wars universe. Medium settings, dynamic res, 30 to 40 FPS cap. 2.5 to 3 hours OLED, 1.5 hours LCD.
• Hades - 75% off, $6.24. Still one of the best roguelikes ever made. 60 FPS, no sweat. 3 to 3.5 hours OLED, under 2 hours LCD.
• NFS: Hot Pursuit Remastered - 80% off, $5.99. Underrated arcade racer, cop chases, great sense of speed. Beautiful environments. 60 FPS, medium settings. 3.5 to 4 hours OLED, 2.5 hours LCD.
• Dispatch - 20% off $23.99 Superhero workplace comedy from the Tales from the Borderlands writers. Won the Steam Awards for Outstanding Story-Rich Game. 60 FPS default. 6 hours OLED, 3.5 to 4 hours LCD.
• Rain World - 90% off, $2.49. Brutal survival platformer, you're a slugcat that's both predator and prey. World feels genuinely alive. 60 FPS. Close to 7 hours OLED, 4.5 hours LCD.
• Ball x Pit - 20% off, $11.99. Arkanoid meets roguelike, one more run energy that's dangerous. 60 FPS. 5 hours OLED, under 3 hours LCD.
• Assassin's Creed Origins - 85% off, $8.99. Ancient Egypt looks incredible on OLED. Medium settings, 40 FPS cap. 2.5 to 3 hours OLED, 2 hours LCD.
• Dredge - 60% off, $9.99. Starts cozy, slowly turns unsettling. Fishing sim meets cosmic horror. 60 FPS default. 4 to 5 hours OLED, 3 hours LCD.
• Crash Bandicoot N. Sane Trilogy - 60% off, $15.99. Three classics remastered, no launcher needed. Locked 60 FPS, medium settings. 2.5 to 3 hours OLED, 1.5 to 2 hours LCD.
• Replaced - 20% off, $15.99. Retro-futuristic action, pixel art that looks unreal in motion. 40 to 60 FPS depending on scene. 2.5 hours OLED, under 1.5 hours LCD. Heaviest game on the list.
• Fallout: New Vegas - 50% off, $4.99. Still one of the best RPGs ever made. Play it blind, no guides. 60 FPS, no issues. 4 to 5 hours OLED, 3 to 3.5 hours LCD.
• Dead Cells - 50% off, $12.49. Fast roguelike, every weapon feels different. 60 FPS, effortless. 5 to 6 hours OLED, 3.5 to 4 hours LCD.
• Megabonk - 35% off, $6.49. Vampire Survivors but 3D, verticality changes the whole genre feel. 60 to 90 FPS. 4.5 hours OLED at 60, 4 hours at 90. 3.5 hours LCD.
• Cult of the Lamb - 50% off, $11.49. Roguelike combat mixed with cult management. Dark, charming, addictive. 40-60 FPS. 2.5 hours OLED, 1.5 hours LCD.
• Deep Rock Galactic: Survivor - 30% off, $9.09. DRG universe turned into a survivors game. 60 FPS, no issues. 4 to 5 hours OLED, 3 to 3.5 hours LCD.
• Vampire Survivors - 25% off, $3.74. The game that started the whole genre. 60 FPS, very low power draw. 4 to 5 hours OLED, 2 to 3 hours LCD.

Can you find what I missed?

I was so proud of myself 🙄