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Everything in this game looks great... and destructible | Playtest Impressions - THE FINALS
1K View2023-06-17
THE FINALS is a tournament-based game with elimination in an arena setting and looks as if Battlefield, with its amazing graphics, lighting, sound design, and destructible environments, had a baby with Overwatch's teammate-based combat and flashy abilities. This isn't a surprise, as the developer, Embark Studios, was founded by former DICE developers, the creators of the Battlefield games. A closed beta has gone live now on Steam, and players can try and request access.
8-minutes gameplay footage above courtesy of IGN
🟩Pros
+Best-in-class destructible environments that affect the gameplay
+High-quality graphics
+Great sound design with the weapons
🟥Cons
-Players looking for an ultra-fast paced experience may not like the more grounded nature of this game
📝Notable points:
That these pros and cons are based on the closed beta builds and are subject to change as the game develops and new updates are released.
The premise of this game is set on a VR televised game show akin to The Hunger Games or the game Apex Legends. The objective of the matches is to provide spectacle and entertainment, and that feeling extends to the players as participants, offering a flashy, high-octane experience for everyone.
Image Courtesy of BloodThirstyLord from Youtube
Players in THE FINALS can choose one of three classes: Light, Medium, and Heavy builds. Each build has different abilities, weapons, and gadgets. I'm not sure if the names of the classes will be changed to more flavorful names at release, but for now, they're pretty straightforward. The light build can dash, cloak, and use a grappling hook; the medium build can deploy a dome shield and activate see-through walls recon vision, while the heavy build has a charge attack and ground slam attack.
Regarding the abilities, the flashy visuals are not over-the-top and don't create colorful visual clutter like games such as Overwatch or Valorant. They are mostly grounded and maintain some semblance of realism. Movement feels weighty, and the guns still feel realistic, but there are still ziplines, grappling hooks, fast sprinting, and high-flying elements in the gameplay. All of these results in some kind of a fresh blend of realism and arcade shooting elements. However, It is still a shooter in its core.
So far, two modes have been showcased in the closed beta. There's Quick Cash, a quick 3v3v3 mode for casual players wanting quick action, and Tournament mode, where two simultaneous four teams of three duke it out, and the top four teams will compete for the last two teams standing. These last two teams will fight in the titular THE FINALS.
Previous betas have also featured other modes like Cashout, where four teams consisting of three players face off against each other. The objective is to collect cash boxes from either of the two vaults, deposit them in a cash station, and defend the point until the money has been extracted. The team with the most money at the end wins.
The destruction in the game looks amazing, and it's not just for looks; you can also use it to your advantage. If someone is hiding below, blow up the floor above them. If someone is on the other side of the wall, create an opening by blowing it up. If there's no cover, blow something up and use the rubble as cover.
The destruction is physics-based too, so you don't just blow stuff up by damaging it enough times; you must target critical points if you want to bring down a building quickly and efficiently. So far, weapons, bombs, and abilities can destroy almost everything, which is probably the best destruction I've seen in years, especially after the Battlefield series somewhat downplayed their importance from Bad Company to the more recent games.
THE FINALS is looking mighty good for now, standing out as a shooter in the midst of a highly saturated market. It is currently running a closed beta, and you can request to participate on Steam, but it's only available for PC. As for the release date, all we know is that it's scheduled for 2023 for PC, Xbox, and PlayStation, but there is no exact date yet.
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