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Embark Studios recently held an open beta for its new competitive multiplayer first-person-shooter, The Finals, and I spent about six hours playing matches in it thus far. The Finals is an arena shooter, like classic Call of Duty, mixed with elements from extraction shooters and the destruction of modern Battlefield titles, the latter of which some Embark Studios members worked on. The result is a fresh take on the genre, with new game modes and objectives combined with excellent feeling shooting mechanics.
A New Phenomenon in Sports
The framework for The Finals is a massive sporting spectacle. That means each team is randomly given a team name, and during the match, there are announcers commentating on the match. While the announcers fit the game well, the use of A.I. voices is noticeable, as the cadence of the announcers is odd, and sentences end abruptly. This framework also allows for some more lenience for some of the sillier aspects, like the large virtual coins dropping when people are eliminated. These coins are just for aesthetics either, as they are a major part of the main game modes.
The two game modes revolve around the same thing, which is collecting money and banking it. The money can be acquired by finding drops, activating their spawn, and then carrying that money to a vault to deposit. The objective markers indicate when an enemy is interacting with them, so your team has the opportunity to swoop in for the steal, using elements of extraction shooters. Another element that provides tactical opportunities is the impressive destruction.
The destruction in The Finals is incredible. Pretty much any building can be destroyed, which allows you to attack opponents from almost a multitude of angles. Objectives are typically placed inside buildings, making it so there are always multiple ways to attack. The objectives themselves are considered objects in the world, too, so you can blow the floor out from underneath a vault and drop it several floors down. While the destruction provides plenty of mayhem, the real highlights are the shooting and movement.
Top Tier Gunplay
The shooter genre is crowded in 2023, and there are two important aspects that can either make or break a game. The first is the shooting, which feels great in The Finals. The aiming and recoil feel smooth and reliable, with the time-to-kill set much higher than other arena shooters. It works well here, though, because it rewards players who can land consistent shots as opposed to just getting a few lucky hits.
The second aspect is the movement, which feels fluid. There is a slide and environmental items like zip-lines and jump pads makes it so you are always moving fast. Being able to move quickly also puts an even bigger emphasis on the time-to-kill. Since you need to land more shots to take someone down, being able to move erratically can keep you alive. Both the gunplay and movement are complimented by the gadgets and guns you can choose for your load out, but there is one glaring flaw.
One of the more lacking aspects of The Finals is the customization options. There are plenty of cosmetics, no need to worry about that. However, when it comes to your gear, there is a lot to be desired. You can pick between the three classes, small, medium, and large, which all have different equipment, weapons, and health.
The disappoint comes from the weapons, which you can’t add attachments to. I really liked using the default AK-47 for the medium class, but it doesn’t have a scope on it. Some weapons do have scopes, but not being able to customize is a bit frustrating. It’s a small problem and doesn’t diminish the overall promise of The Finals.
The Finals Seems Promising
Overall, The Finals seems promising as a new contender in the FPS space. It has a strong emphasis on team work by designing objectives that are much easier to complete as a team. It also has a more laidback feeling as compared to something like Rainbow Six Siege, while still offering a large variety of tactical options thanks to the variety of gadgets. The lack of weapon customization is disappointing, but perhaps I won’t feel that way when all of the weapon options are available in the full release. It’s almost impossible to tell if a live-service game will last more than a few months after launch, but The Finals has a lot going for it.
The Finals doesn’t have a release date yet, but will be available on Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and PC.
