The Finals has been an incredibly entertaining experience so far. First, my friend got really impatient when I was loading up the game, and cancelled the tutorial. The next thing I knew, I was in the middle of a match with no clue about how to use my brand-new character. Of course… we lost. And then we lost again.
I only figured out the game mode by the 3rd match, which was the first time we somehow won. This was also when I knew I was going to write this article trying to convince everyone to give this game a try.
The Finals Stands Out In A Crowd
There are so many competitive online shooters out there. For every 1 that is successful, there are probably 9 that fall by the wayside. It takes that special something for these games to stick and become more than just a passing fad. And while I am no expert, I truly believe that The Finals has what it takes to become a constant within our game rotation.
Some of it stems from how approachable this game is. For instance, the game rewards the time you put into playing it. It lets you use earnable in-game currency and XP to level up your character rather than putting needed elements behind a paywall. It’s something I appreciate in the capitalist world.
The Finals is also incredibly friendly to a newer player as there are just three character classes to choose from and simple loadouts that seem to be fairly easy to master.
The reason I love this game is because it is the perfect definition of ‘Strategic Chaos’. It is the simplest term I could come up with to describe the amazing design behind The Finals.
Beautiful And Completely Destructible Arenas
The game currently has four completely different Arenas. Every one of them is brightly colored and a wonder to explore. This coloring also makes it easy to navigate and learn your way around.
But the best part of it is that they all require different strategies depending on the character you are playing. It provides the team with opportunities to change up who leads and who takes on support roles as they navigate the level. That is because everything in The Final is destructible, which completely changes the way any player can approach the game.
It is so amazing to have the ability to use the structures in the arena as a tool to help you win the game and to mess with the other team. I have had players simply blow up the floor out from under me to keep me from meeting the level objectives. I have also used those same walls to sneak around teams to get the upper hand.
As you run through the level with the team, you can use your goo grenades to completely manipulate and shape the level around you to gain an advantage. When you combine this with the verticality of the arena, this becomes chaos in the best way possible. Even if you learn the map, there is no way it will remain the same once a good team bursts their way through.
It’s a simple enough design decision that completely changes your relationship with the game and with your teammates. If you are running through the tops of skyscrapers in Seoul, the lighter and faster characters can lead, racing through the sky bridges to find the vaults and cash-out stations while the Heavy character supports them. But in a flatter arena like Monaco and Las Vegas, the Heavy can just bust through walls since they don’t have to worry about falling, and craft new paths for the team.
Game Modes That Allow For Strong Collaboration Even Without Communication
Considering that there is so much that can change based on the character and the arena, you then have to wonder how the team at Embark considered communication. Sure, there is voice chat that you can enable. But Embark has also crafted simpler methods of communicating within this game.
For instance, the currently available game modes have simple objectives that allow you to play and collaborate, even if you aren’t actually talking to each other. But for those other specific moments, they have a simple system of communication where you can ping and emote to your teammates.
Another key element that allows for quick and easy gameplay is that there are only 3 different character types. Each team has a Light, a Medium, and a Heavy. As you would expect from the names, they have differences in speed, available equipment based on their speed, and their health. Every team has one of each character and the game itself has a 3v3v3 setup.
The limited dynamic of the 3 different character types allows you to understand how you can fit into and contribute to a team quickly. It allows you to seamlessly play a game with a stranger from across the world even if you are not talking to them. In fact, the only time I was in a winning round (so far) was with a solo player who matched with two of us. They were amazing support because we were all able to seamlessly fall into our roles.
The Nostalgic Feel Of The Game Theme
The cherry on top of this cake of amazingness is the ‘story’ theme of this game. All of the players are finalists in a game show. This comes with live, over-the-top narration from a pair of hosts, who narrate the match.
That’s such a cool little trick!
Not only is it fun to have the game praise my team for our successes, but it is also little clues on how the ‘enemy’ teams are doing. This detail might seem small, but it makes the game feel alive in an unprecedented way. On a personal level, it’s a boost of motivation to keep pushing through the game because it feels like there are true stakes in this.
The designers have also added other fun details to add to the feeling of this world. One fun detail that is purely cosmetic is how enemy teams burst into a shower of coins when you get a successful kill. When you get killed, your avatar converts into a small action figure which your team can pick up and move around. It allows the team to control the game space and take the teammate to a safe space to revive them. This little detail, by the way, is a completely new discovery and it is blowing my mind.
Like, how cool is that?
Getting To The Finals
For the first time in forever, I am looking forward to the events and updates for an online game. To see how Embark is going to expand The Finals.
Honestly, I still don’t know how to play this game properly. My team has lost way more than it won, and I can barely remember to switch to the other tools in my arsenal. It should be embarrassing and yet it is one of the most fun gameplay experiences I have ever had. And as a born-again pleb in the FPS world, that is saying something.
With each match, I learn something new about this game that just puts a smile on my face. If that isn’t a win for this game, I don’t know what is. I can’t wait to see what else there is to discover, and I especially can’t wait to get decent enough at this game so that my friends and I can even enter a tournament and actually reach The Finals.
