Against the Odds

Against the Odds is the prologue chapter of 007 First Light. It is set in Iceland and casts Bond as a Royal Navy aircrewman attempting a helicopter rescue that collapses into an extended survival improvisation. The chapter functions as both a narrative inciting incident and a gameplay tutorial. It is the only chapter playable from the unpatched physical PlayStation 5 disc.

Quick Facts

Story Beats

Bond's Royal Navy helicopter dispatches on a rescue mission over Iceland's coast. The crew encounters hostile interference; the helicopter crashes. Bond survives the crash and proceeds on foot through the Iceland environment, demonstrating improvisation, combat instinct, and survival under pressure. The mission ends with MI6 scouts marking Bond as a 00 Programme candidate.

Gameplay Introduces

• Basic movement and cover-based positioning

• Stealth fundamentals

• Cover-shooter introduction

• Environmental hazard navigation

• Improvised melee

Trophies

The prologue holds 4 collectibles (1 Card, 1 Memento, 1 Postcard, and 1 Legacy Item). The full per-type lists are in the Collectibles articles.

Related Articles

• Chapters

• Missions

• Iceland

• James Bond

Walkthrough

Against the Odds is divided into six broad sections: infiltrating the island on foot, scaling the cliffs to reach the militia camp, entering the camp under a disguise, finding an antidote to a nerve agent, rescuing two groups of hostages, and escaping as the facility is destroyed. The early sections are linear and tutorial-paced; the hostage-rescue section opens up and allows multiple approaches.

Infiltrating the Island

Bond surfaces as the sole survivor of the crashed helicopter. Push toward the sound of gunshots to the north to find a comrade's body; examining it causes three armed soldiers to converge. Use the cover-dash (C on keyboard, RB on Xbox, R1 on PlayStation) to move behind the nearby rock and wait for the guards to pass. Continue up the path past a burning wreck and between two large rocks.

Crouch (CTRL, Right Trigger) when the next group of soldiers comes into view and move into cover along the rocks to the left. Follow the rocks to a patch of tall grass and enter it to hide. Bond's radio activates and must be silenced quickly by pressing the button prompt that appears. Once it is off, move to the far side of the tall grass patch, wait for the guards to look away, then cross to a second grass patch on the opposite side of the path. Follow it up to the ridge and climb until a cutscene triggers, introducing the MI6 contact.

Reaching Base Camp

After the call, head up the cliff path toward the light visible beyond the cliffs. At the sheer drop, look right to find a climbable cliff face. Shimmy left along the ridge to a break, hop across it, and when Bond dislodges a large chunk of the wall, quickly continue shimmying left to the end of the ridge before dropping to the path below.

Sprint (SHIFT, RB, R1) along the path to a low crawl space in the rocks and crouch through it. On the far side, sidle across the ridge to the right and follow the route through rocky caverns and clifftop paths until a crevice leads to a vantage point overlooking the camp.

Infiltrating Base Camp

From the vantage point, turn right and climb the ridge on the cliff face. Bond loses his grip and falls into the water below. Once back on your feet, move to the tall grass on the left and navigate toward the camp. When Bond darts to a rock with two guards nearby, wait for them to move away, then continue forward.

Climb through the lit open window ahead to trigger a cutscene in which Bond finds a jacket that serves as a disguise. Explore the two nearby rooms for optional context, then exit through the main door. Bond puts on a balaclava and enters the camp freely; guards will not suspect him during this section.

Enter the building on the left side of the camp for additional information, then return to the main path. An AI-driven truck reverses into a box and blocks the route. Guards ask Bond to move it. Access the nearby computer terminal to back the truck up, then continue past it to the large tent. Inside, follow the path to the central chamber where the crashed object is located. Interact with the computer on the object, then search the nearby boxes as instructed.

Finding the Antidote

Bond spots two scientists in full hazmat suits, revealing that the area is contaminated with an airborne nerve agent. When the scientists leave, follow them through the door into the medbay. Ignore the first room and proceed to the back room, where a green box with a bright orange stripe sits on a shelf. Open it to find two syringes; Bond uses both and loses consciousness briefly. He wakes cured of the nerve agent.

Saving the Hostages

Bond refuses evacuation once he learns hostages are held in containers G9 and B4. Climb the cliffs to the left to reach a vantage point over the outpost, then drop down. The two groups can be rescued in either order; the recommended sequence is G9 first.

Container G9

1. Head left toward container G6. On top of boxes just left of the G6 doorway, find signal flares. Ignite them to draw the guards away, then enter the tall grass opposite and wait.

2. After the guards disperse, circle the perimeter along the cliff wall, bypassing them. Note the trench in the ground along this route for later.

3. Climb up to container G9. The front door is locked; skirt around to the back door where two guards are talking.

4. Move to the boxes on the left, take cover, and activate the SAS radio on top of the boxes. Perform a cover takedown on the guard who comes to investigate.

5. Enter through the back door of G9. Take down the guard inside who is examining wall panels, then pick up the Storage Room Key he drops.

6. Use the key on the Storage Room door directly behind where the guard was standing. Proceed inside to free the first group of hostages.

Container B4

1. Return to the trench noted earlier and follow it to the end. Slip through the rocks to emerge directly below container B4.

2. Find the path running underneath the B4 building and follow it to the other side.

3. Look up to spot a window into B4. Scale the rocks to reach the window and vault inside.

4. Take down the guard watching the hostages, then free them.

5. The freed hostages drop a ladder to the roof. Climb up, reach the support cable for the central pylon, and interact with it to bring the pylon down, creating an escape path.

Escaping the Camp

Follow the camera-indicated path after the pylon falls: drop from the rooftop and sprint across the cliffs to container C2. Hop through a window and out the opposite window, triggering a cutscene fight with a soldier. Complete the quick-time events to finish the fight, then run after the scientists fleeing the pursuing truck and quad bikes.

A soldier on a quad bike attacks along a side path. Complete the QTE to disarm him, then interact with the quad bike to destroy it. Follow the scientists up the rocks to the final cutscene, then press the button prompt to detonate the facility and conclude the chapter.

Collectibles in This Chapter

Challenges

There are 9 challenges in Against the Odds. All of them occur in the Central Camp section and can be replayed from Checkpoint 6. Completing all 8 non-Completionist challenges unlocks the Iceland Outfit for use in Tactical Simulation Mode. Because several challenges are mutually exclusive (Pacifist and Assault cannot be completed in the same run), at least two runs of the Central Camp checkpoint are required.