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The first and only THE FINALS review you'll ever need...

Did you like reading the only The Finals review you'll ever need?

  • Yes, your review was relevant to my interests.

    Votes: 4 19.0%
  • No, you wasted your time OP.

    Votes: 17 81.0%

  • Total voters
    21

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.

capsule_616x353.jpg


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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TxKnight7

Member
I Like the game so much but it needs more content!
imagine 20vs20 death-match with all the destructions
 
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poppabk

Cheeks Spread for Digital Only Future
"The game does a fantastic job at rewarding teams who strategize between matches and tacticize during matches."

This is my problem with all these 4 player team games, whether it be PVP or PvE. It basically renders them useless as a single player who doesn't want to mic up and talk to a bunch of randoms.
I loved Battlefield Bad Company 2 because it allowed you to be a team player and 'communicate' without ever having to say a word. And the team sizes were sufficient to prevent one player dragging you down while the squads allowed you to have that tight knit group if you wanted.
Basically I miss BC2 and wish this game was an evolution of that, because they have the gunplay, the destruction, the fun and all the rest in here.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
"The game does a fantastic job at rewarding teams who strategize between matches and tacticize during matches."

This is my problem with all these 4 player team games, whether it be PVP or PvE. It basically renders them useless as a single player who doesn't want to mic up and talk to a bunch of randoms.
I loved Battlefield Bad Company 2 because it allowed you to be a team player and 'communicate' without ever having to say a word. And the team sizes were sufficient to prevent one player dragging you down while the squads allowed you to have that tight knit group if you wanted.
Basically I miss BC2 and wish this game was an evolution of that, because they have the gunplay, the destruction, the fun and all the rest in here.

Yeah, I've played a lot of this game as a solo player, and I've had fun doing it, but the more you play the more you see things that make you go "Why is my teammate doing that? He's f***ing us over!" That kind of kills long term enjoyment for a solo queue player IMO.
 

Ribi

Member
ToTK back in beta was a lot, then they added healing at that point i was a little skeptical about the direction they were going.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
ToTK back in beta was a lot, then they added healing at that point i was a little skeptical about the direction they were going.

I love the high TTK. I think it makes fighting as a team so much more enjoyable and rewarding. You almost feel like you're in a boxing match that can go on 60+ seconds if both teams are playing smart/safe. The dog fights are "chefs kiss". This is obviously not great for solo players who want to feel impactful.
 

[Sigma]

Member
My go to multiplayer shooter probably for years to come alongside Helldivers 2 likely(if it last they long lol). It's good to finally have a multiplayer shooter that I love again. Didn't think that would come from a free to play game of all things.
 
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Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
It feels like at least 75% of every time someone is on mic it's a dude fucking singing a shit song, a child, or the most toxic mf you can find. As a dedicated solo queuer mic'ing up and talking to a pile of randos sounds like a fresh version of hell.

Nah, if you actually did real data collection on this topic, it wouldn't be close to 75%. Closers to 1 - 3%. The player base seems to be on the older side.
 

RoadHazard

Gold Member
I played a few matches with two friends, it was fun even though we sucked. I will never, ever play this game solo again (I did just one match to try it out).
 
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Calverz

Member
Hmmm maybe I should check this out but quite often il just log on solo and play cod so would be at a big disadvantage in this game it would seem.
 

Spyxos

Member
I did play some matches Solo. And win few of them. But after that, every team i had, everyone was running in different direction. And i don't use mic with randoms. So we lost all of them. Maybe I should try talking with randoms. But somehow it's just too much of an effort... And many of the earlier attempts were rather negative.
 
Game is crap. 3 player teams suck ass as a solo player and it's bursting at the seams with GenZ design sensibilities I want to rip my eyes out looking at it.


Only good things I'll say is that I like how it doesn't have weapon customization and how it has a very simple and quick progression system. Beyond that it's awful.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
I did play some matches Solo. And win few of them. But after that, every team i had, everyone was running in different direction. And i don't use mic with randoms. So we lost all of them. Maybe I should try talking with randoms. But somehow it's just too much of an effort... And many of the earlier attempts were rather negative.

I had a guy calling me the N word on mic yesterday. I half won him over by the end of the match. That's almost a game in and of itself.
 

Spyxos

Member
I had a guy calling me the N word on mic yesterday. I half won him over by the end of the match. That's almost a game in and of itself.
Ha yes the typical experience with a random. I have to look, I think I disabled mikros at system level. Because I can't remember the last time I heard my teammates.
 

Mossybrew

Member
This is my problem with all these 4 player team games, whether it be PVP or PvE. It basically renders them useless as a single player who doesn't want to mic up and talk to a bunch of randoms.
Yeah I played a few rounds, of course with mics off since I don't want to talk to randos, and the game does seem to require a decent amount of teamwork which is a mark against it when there are plenty of shooters with simple enough goals that "unspoken teamwork" works. Other than that, I was just not impressed enough to try to wrangle my actual friends into playing. Progression seems painfully slow. TTK is just, too long and doesn't feel satisfying IMO. Just didn't click with me.
 

R6Rider

Gold Member
Been playing it off and on alongside BF2042.

Overall it's enjoyable, but really needs more maps, more weapons, and more modes. A capture the flag and/or capture and hold type objective would work great. Gun Master could work well too.
  • Some weapons are hilariously unviable compared to others.
  • Mines should not active like instant explosions, when C4 and Breach Charges behave so differently.
  • Frame drops are still frequent when huge sections of buildings are collapsing.
  • There needs to be badges/ribbons to work towards similar to how Battlefield titles have or Sniper Elite.
  • The Battle Pass is really bad due to how many emote and sounds are given as rewards. Things NOBODY used as there's essentially no time to use them. Granted I haven't bought it, but something I noticed.
  • There are two many team colors that look similar. Just needs to be four distinct colors or at least let us customize the colors.
  • Needs variety for free and starting gear. At least let people adjust the colors so not everyone is wearing a black and yellow outfit.
 

ByWatterson

Member
"The game does a fantastic job at rewarding teams who strategize between matches and tacticize during matches."

This is my problem with all these 4 player team games, whether it be PVP or PvE. It basically renders them useless as a single player who doesn't want to mic up and talk to a bunch of randoms.
I loved Battlefield Bad Company 2 because it allowed you to be a team player and 'communicate' without ever having to say a word. And the team sizes were sufficient to prevent one player dragging you down while the squads allowed you to have that tight knit group if you wanted.
Basically I miss BC2 and wish this game was an evolution of that, because they have the gunplay, the destruction, the fun and all the rest in here.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Titus Burgess GIF by NETFLIX


I increasingly hew to single player games because of the time and social demands of multiplayer. I generally just want to pick up and play for a little to wind down, but playing multiplayer games (with no meaningful story) with the same dedication and focus of single-player story titles just doesn't work for me at my age and life situation, which is everything you think an average 39-year-old has.

Except Age of Empires. Strap in, mic up, yisss.

But everything else, I can't be bothered.
 

R6Rider

Gold Member
Did they fix the aiming,strafing/turn speed and TTK?
Waiting on this to return cause the game does have some 🍖
Do you mean the high/long TTK? Then no. I have no issues with aiming, strafing, or turn speed.

For the gameplay mixed with destruction and environmental hazards, I think it fits well.
 
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Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
So what's the logic of individually ranking 4 categories with an average of 7.25 but then giving the game an overall 8?

The categories are weighted differently in my algorithm and there are more (less important) factors outside of those 4 categories. I just punch in the numbers and the machine spits out a score.
 

Chronos24

Member
I for one am having a lot of fun with this game. It's like Rainbow Six but with run and gun and not slow paced. Definitely needs tweaking in multiple areas but overall it's definitely a pick up and play for a bit then go on to something else.
 

MirageMew2

Member
Oh a Finals thread, sweet.

Definitely play The Finals. It really is a technically astounding arena shooter. MW3 was free this weekend I played a bit of that and nope’d back to The Finals.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
I think they need to add a duos game mode.

I will follow the sh#% out of one of my teammates all game and watch my other teammate run off an die alone way too often.
 
People need to learn that it’s a big deal if you die. And reviving should almost always be top priority.
Especially in Tournament mode where you only have 2 free respawns.

It’s incredibly tactical and chaotic at the same time. Feels fresh.
 
I'm a solo player so absolutely no point in me playing this one. It was the same with the beta and it got boring very quickly.
I'm a solo player and I'm having an absolute blast. Needs more maps for sure but I'm far from getting bored. I just love the intensity of it, and when you manage to pull of a steal in the dying seconds to win the match it's awesome.
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
People need to learn that it’s a big deal if you die. And reviving should almost always be top priority.
Especially in Tournament mode where you only have 2 free respawns.

It’s incredibly tactical and chaotic at the same time. Feels fresh.

Yup. And you really need to stick together. It rarely pays to go off on your own and flank early in a fight.
 
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