007 First Light – Difficulty Settings, Explained

007 First Light offers three difficulty levels: Novice, Intended, and Purist. We’ve played through each one so you can get a feel for how they change the game and decide which is best for your initial experience.

We’ve also addressed common questions about difficulty settings, including how they affect achievements and challenges. You’ll find the answers further down!

All Difficulty Options in 007 First Light (& What Difficulty You Should Choose)

There are three difficulty options in 007 First Light:

Novice

Novice is essentially easy mode, but that doesn’t mean it’s going to be all easy:

Gadgets can be used more before replenishing.
Your attacks deal more damage, and you can take more damage.
Enemies are weaker and take longer to spot you in stealth.

Intended

This difficulty setting is what we suggest for playing 007 First Light, as it offers the best overall gameplay experience.

Enemies are tuned to give a fair challenge.
You take appropriate damage, and deal appropriate damage.
You’ll have to gather items to regenerate gadgets.

Purist

Okay, so this difficulty level is really tough. Honestly, it’s only for those of us who are seasoned players and seriously love a hardcore challenge. I’m talking, prepare-to-be-tested levels of difficult!

Your health is extremely low.
Your gadgets take far more resources, and said resources are harder to find.
Enemies attack faster and harder to ensure you’re always outmatched in a direct fight.

For your first time playing 007 First Light, I suggest choosing the ‘Intended’ difficulty. It’s the one the game designers balanced for a good initial experience. But don’t worry if you’re struggling – feel free to switch to ‘Novice’ if you need some help with certain parts.

How to Change Difficulty in 007 First Light

You can adjust the game’s difficulty by intentionally losing – specifically, by being defeated in combat. When you die, instead of immediately trying again, you’ll have the option to select an easier difficulty level.

Okay, so if you want to change the difficulty mid-game, you can actually do that! Just head back to the main menu, choose ‘Story’, then ‘Select Chapter’. From there, pick the chapter you’re currently playing and you’ll be able to choose a different difficulty from the available checkpoints. It’s a bit of a workaround, but it works!

Does 007 First Light Have Difficulty Achievements?

Unlike some games, 007 First Light doesn’t have achievements tied to specific difficulty levels. You can choose any of the three difficulties and still earn all the achievements. Completing the game on easy will give you the same rewards as completing it on the hardest setting.

Does 007 First Light’s Difficulty Affect Challenges?

The difficulty setting in 007 First Light doesn’t affect challenges, so you can always complete them on the easiest setting if you want. This can be really useful for tough stealth sections, and there’s no need to feel bad about choosing a difficulty that works for you.

2026-05-27 00:39