Men_in_Boxes
Snake Oil Salesman
The premise of this thread is simple. Game critics rarely get multiplayer right. They always focus on the wrong stuff in the review and are perplexed when a player base leaves said game after a few months.
What is The Finals? It's a team focused 3v3v3v3 arena shooter where players are tasked with taking vaults to payout boxes and protecting those payout boxes until their timer is up.
This review will not talk about performance (it's fine). It will not discuss gunfeel (it's fine, plenty of options in settings). It will not go over the art (again, fine). The audio and the AI announcers are perfectly acceptable. That's all meaningless junk critics waste their time on. This brief 2 minute review will instead focus on the things that actually matter to multiplayer gamers.
There are 4 key pillars to The Finals, and all multiplayer games in general...
1. The Social Aspect - This is probably The Finals strongest attribute. The game does a fantastic job at rewarding teams who strategize between matches and tacticize during matches. The game constantly gives you 20 - 30 seconds of "down time" to talk about a solution with your teammates. That being said, there is a downside to this. If you're running solo queue, there is a high likelihood that one of your teammates is a house cat. A player that doesn't communicate and goes off to do their own thing. If you have one of these teammates, you're almost forced to follow them around and engage on their preference. Engaging in 2 v 3 fights puts you at serious disadvantage. Score: 8/10
2. Progression - The weakest part of the game. Each character class (Light, Medium, Heavy) has a 12 - 15 weapons + gadgets to unlock. You unlock these items with XP points you earn at the end of every match. I'd estimate it takes 10 - 15 hours to fully kit one of your classes. This feels a little slow to me, but it's also shamefully enjoyable. Once you unlock everything, the games progression leans totally on its Ranked Tournament mode. Here is where 16 teams face off in a playoff bracket. Single matches have 4 teams facing off. Top 2 teams advance. Score: 6/10
3. Playstyle + Skill Level Variance - The game gives players a large number of "low skill gadgets" that, if utilized properly, can win engagements. Turrets, shields, C4, goo guns, mines etc... All enable low skill players to put their mark on teamfights if they have enough time to set up. It's a bit like Rock Paper Scissors in that it really benefits if you understand what tool is required for what job. The high TTK also enables low skill players who stick together to beat high skill players who are out of position. Score 8/10
4. How Rewarding is Winning? - This is definitely a team based arena shooter. It doesn't reinvent the wheel here. The main mode, Ranked Tournament, can keep you playing for a few hours without netting a victory, so that helps give you some sense of reward when you finally do. Score: 7/10
Who is this game for? This is for people who love team sports, and have friends who also love team sports.
Who is this game not for? Anyone who doesn't like team sports. Solo queuers who don't plan on using a mic long term.
Outlook: This game will definitely find an audience for the next few years. It'll be interesting to see how it performs compared to current day Overwatch, which is probably it's closest competitor in terms of design.
Final Verdict: 8/10 - GotY 2023. A breath of fresh air in what was otherwise a down year for multiplayer.
Quirky notes: There is a little jankiness to the movement system due to all the destruction in the levels. You can get stuck on parts of the map you think you should be good on. Nothing too bad though. The Light class currently seems a little underpowered. This feels like a difficult fix because playing against high skill light players (they're fast) is annoying as hell, so how much can they get buffed? The MTX are very "modern fashion" oriented. It almost feels like they hired someone from a Mens magazine to design their stuff.
What is The Finals? It's a team focused 3v3v3v3 arena shooter where players are tasked with taking vaults to payout boxes and protecting those payout boxes until their timer is up.
This review will not talk about performance (it's fine). It will not discuss gunfeel (it's fine, plenty of options in settings). It will not go over the art (again, fine). The audio and the AI announcers are perfectly acceptable. That's all meaningless junk critics waste their time on. This brief 2 minute review will instead focus on the things that actually matter to multiplayer gamers.
There are 4 key pillars to The Finals, and all multiplayer games in general...
1. The Social Aspect - This is probably The Finals strongest attribute. The game does a fantastic job at rewarding teams who strategize between matches and tacticize during matches. The game constantly gives you 20 - 30 seconds of "down time" to talk about a solution with your teammates. That being said, there is a downside to this. If you're running solo queue, there is a high likelihood that one of your teammates is a house cat. A player that doesn't communicate and goes off to do their own thing. If you have one of these teammates, you're almost forced to follow them around and engage on their preference. Engaging in 2 v 3 fights puts you at serious disadvantage. Score: 8/10
2. Progression - The weakest part of the game. Each character class (Light, Medium, Heavy) has a 12 - 15 weapons + gadgets to unlock. You unlock these items with XP points you earn at the end of every match. I'd estimate it takes 10 - 15 hours to fully kit one of your classes. This feels a little slow to me, but it's also shamefully enjoyable. Once you unlock everything, the games progression leans totally on its Ranked Tournament mode. Here is where 16 teams face off in a playoff bracket. Single matches have 4 teams facing off. Top 2 teams advance. Score: 6/10
3. Playstyle + Skill Level Variance - The game gives players a large number of "low skill gadgets" that, if utilized properly, can win engagements. Turrets, shields, C4, goo guns, mines etc... All enable low skill players to put their mark on teamfights if they have enough time to set up. It's a bit like Rock Paper Scissors in that it really benefits if you understand what tool is required for what job. The high TTK also enables low skill players who stick together to beat high skill players who are out of position. Score 8/10
4. How Rewarding is Winning? - This is definitely a team based arena shooter. It doesn't reinvent the wheel here. The main mode, Ranked Tournament, can keep you playing for a few hours without netting a victory, so that helps give you some sense of reward when you finally do. Score: 7/10
Who is this game for? This is for people who love team sports, and have friends who also love team sports.
Who is this game not for? Anyone who doesn't like team sports. Solo queuers who don't plan on using a mic long term.
Outlook: This game will definitely find an audience for the next few years. It'll be interesting to see how it performs compared to current day Overwatch, which is probably it's closest competitor in terms of design.
Final Verdict: 8/10 - GotY 2023. A breath of fresh air in what was otherwise a down year for multiplayer.
Quirky notes: There is a little jankiness to the movement system due to all the destruction in the levels. You can get stuck on parts of the map you think you should be good on. Nothing too bad though. The Light class currently seems a little underpowered. This feels like a difficult fix because playing against high skill light players (they're fast) is annoying as hell, so how much can they get buffed? The MTX are very "modern fashion" oriented. It almost feels like they hired someone from a Mens magazine to design their stuff.
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