The newest game in town, the Finals has popped up on every gamer’s feed. However, what is different in The Finals from other titles?
The Finals is a new fast-paced Arena Shooter from Embark Studios. Released on December 7, 2023, the game has garnered a decent following due to the divergence from current industry-leading shooters. While games like VALORANT and Counter-Strike 2 are high-stakes tactical shooters and Call of Duty dominates the casual base, The Finals is a nice mix of both.
However, it’s never that easy. Many titles in the past burnt bright but faded quickly. Is this a similar case or will it be a decent game to come back to from time to time? More importantly, is this game worth trying out? Let’s talk about The Finals!
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What is The Finals All about?
The game itself is a first-person shooter. You and your squad of 3 will go up against 2 or 3 other squads at the same time. However, unlike a battle royale, the maps are relatively small and the game modes are designed to bring the players close to the objectives, making it a chaotic battleground with endless explosions, revives, and maneuvers.
Lore
The Finals is set as a gameshow where contestants fight for glory in a virtual battlefield. Canonically, the contestants battle it out through virtual reality technology. This allows for realistic combat and destructive situations without exposing anyone to any sort of real danger. The arenas are also based on real locations and are surrounded by a huge number of spectators enjoying the show.
Gameplay
You get to pick one of the three available classes to match your approach to the game. Each of these classes has its signature strong points and weaknesses. This level of simplistic class division adds replayability and also the option to expand further if needed.
- Light: Quick and fast, used to execute flanks and stealing objectives. However, they are low in health and easy to take down.
- Medium: A support character that specializes in healing. Apt for medium-range engagements and decent survivability.
- Heavy: Built to take the most damage. This class is made for setting up fortifications and even using demolitions to tear the battlefield wide open.
Environment
There are a lot of verticalities, alleys, indoor locations, and destructibility in the map design. This forces players to always be on the move or risk being caught in a bad position. This constant movement around the objective will cause engagements when you least expect it. There is little downtime between each fight, and with three different teams fighting in the same location, you are bound to be caught between a rock and a hard place.
What’s New in The Finals?
The Finals is a bit more fleshed out with some objectives and class choices that will influence how your team performs in a particular match. With teams playing in a mixture of capture the flag and point defense, there is a visible layer of tactical depth to the game. However, you aren’t forced into a simple attack/defense gameplay loop since each of the classes caters to different play styles. The available game modes are very fun and actively put the players into each other’s paths.
Inspiration from Other Titles
As mentioned before, one of the new things about the game is its usage of the arena shooter concept and the addition of multiple teams to the stage. Arena shooters typically refer to old-school games like Quake or Tribes, with players dueling in an open arena with a plethora of weapons and gadgets. The Finals takes the concept and adds a touch of teamplay and tactics. You will enjoy playing the game taking wild duels and swinging around the map, but your team will suffer if you don’t play to the objective which ties you down to a location for a certain time.
While the game can seem like a battle royale with class abilities, multiple teams, and gadgets like Warzone (think DMZ), it is far from it. You readily spawn with your set gear but outside the class changes, the gameplay is extremely chaotic at times. The objectives are first concentrated, and then they slowly spread out over the map. It is hard to find any location without constantly getting harassed or flanked by a different team.
The game doesn’t only borrow aspects from old arena shooters. The class-based abilities are a nice throwback to both Team Fortress 2 and Apex Legends. The Healing beam for the Medium class acts just like a Medigun from TF2 and a gadget to revive that will remind you of Battlefield. The grapple is reminiscent of Pathfinder, although these aren’t de facto the IP of the aforementioned games. These weapons and concepts aren’t new at all.
Is The Finals Worth Your Time?
These days, libraries are full of games that people never have the time or the inspiration to turn on and play. You wouldn’t be the only one to turn on the same game for the 10th time this week. Nobody likes spending their limited free hours learning a new game while some players will undoubtedly grind it out.
Nonetheless, The Finals is in a good place right now for precisely this reason. The game isn’t something drastically different from the current games on the market. Sure, it is not the most sophisticated game around, but that’s the point. The skill floor is quite high, and the ceiling doesn’t seem to be that far up either. It’s in a sweet spot for casual enjoyers as well as competitive grinders.
Final Thoughts
Embark Studios has released the game in what feels like a good time window. A game with a low entry barrier and a fun gameplay loop, as well as considerable room to expand, will be on the minds of gamers all around. It’s also a nice breakaway from the ultra-competitive and skill-based games that are currently popular.
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