A spotter’s guide to the trophies, props, cameos and franchise deep cuts IO Interactive tucked into every corner of the game.
The James Bond franchise spans 25 films, dozens of novels and more than 70 years of history, so it is no surprise that 007 First Light is stuffed with things to find. IO Interactive packed the game with easter eggs, film references and celebrity cameos, from prop nods hidden in Q Branch to a deadpan appearance by Khaby Lame. This Solo Jugadores guide rounds up the most notable ones spotted so far.
Everything below is safe to read: these are set-dressing discoveries and background gags, not plot beats, so nothing here spoils how the main story ends. Use it as a checklist while you explore, or just to appreciate how deep the studio dug into Bond lore, its own Hitman back catalogue and pop culture at large.
Grab a drink (shaken, not stirred) and start spotting.
Trophy and achievement references
The trophy list alone is a love letter to the series. Many trophies borrow their names straight from classic titles and catchphrases:
- Casino Royale, Skyfall, No Time to Die, The World is Not Enough and You Only Live Twice, all named after their respective films.
- From Malta with Love, a play on From Russia with Love.
- Shaken Not Stirred, the most iconic Bond catchphrase of all.
- You Know My Name, the Casino Royale theme song.
- Positively Shocking, a famous line from Goldfinger.
- For Your Eyes Only (1981) and Nobody Lives for Ever, the 1986 novel.
Bond film references and props
The game recreates and nods to on-screen moments across the whole series:
- A sequence directly recreates the laser table scene from Goldfinger (1964), and the Greenway briefing room hides a gold-painted mannequin honoring the film’s most famous death.
- Rosa Klebb’s dagger shoes from From Russia With Love appear as a Legacy collectible, alongside prosthetic gold fingers referencing Auric Goldfinger.
- Villains keep the tradition alive: Bawma drives a Jaguar Type 00, while Bond takes the wheel of a yellow Aston Martin DBS (a nod to On Her Majesty’s Secret Service) and later the Valhalla pulled straight from No Time to Die.
- The Cruciform Key collectible references GoldenEye (1995), a tarot deck featuring “The Lovers” points to Solitaire from Live and Let Die, and a concert poster with the initials “KM” honors Kara Milovy from The Living Daylights.
- The classic gun-barrel sequence is teased early with only a moving white dot before paying off in full once Bond has fully earned his stripes.
Q Branch easter eggs
Q Branch, reached through a classic British telephone box (itself a GoldenEye nod), is the densest room in the game:
- A jetpack referencing the Bell Rocket Belt from Thunderball, a miniature alligator submarine from Octopussy, and a bagpipe flamethrower from The World Is Not Enough.
- A Sean Connery-style trilby hat (also a wink at Oddjob) and a whiteboard mentioning an “adventurer archaeologist,” aimed squarely at Indiana Jones.
- Real-world history creeps in too: an exploding conch and cigar nod to CIA plots against Fidel Castro, and a poison-tip umbrella referencing the 1978 assassination of Georgi Markov.
Hitman and IO Interactive in-jokes
The studio could not resist referencing its own games. Rubber ducks (including a tuxedo-wearing “secret agent duck”) hide across multiple maps, nodding to the Hitman trilogy. A “Chateau de 47” wine bottle winks at Agent 47, its vintage matching the original game’s release year. “Allan please add details” post-it notes, a running IO joke since Hitman: Blood Money, appear in 009’s stash, while K&L shoe boxes reference Kane & Lynch and an arcade machine runs Freedom Fighters.
Novel deep cuts and cameos
Fleming purists get their due: Bond sports the three-inch cheek scar from the novels (a first for any game or film), Loelia Ponsonby serves as M’s assistant, and Universal Exports returns as an MI6 cover. The line “Shaken, not stirred” is even spoken by Isola instead of Bond.
Then there are the modern faces. Jacksepticeye runs the cloakroom during Chapter 6’s A Night Out, with drum-and-bass duo Chase & Status DJing nearby. Shroud congratulates Bond after the fight pit in The Past Never Dies, and Dimitri Vegas cameos as a DJ complaining about glitchy decks. Best of all, Khaby Lame appears as a tourist near the Tranquility area during Time to Die: ask him for obvious directions and he silently pulls his signature deadpan expression, pointing at the sign right in front of you. And blink and you will miss it, but Jimmy McGill’s beat-up Suzuki Esteem from Better Call Saul is parked in the streets of Aleph.
Hunting these down pairs perfectly with a full sweep of the map. Once you have spotted them, head to our 007 First Light all-collectibles guide, brush up with our beginner tips, and track down the franchise nods themselves in our Legacy Items locations guide.
