One of the biggest video game letdowns of recent times was, personally but I believe also for many other players, the release of Battlefield 2042 on 19 November 2021. What was supposed to be the Battlefield of a new generation, capable of reaching new heights of fun and epicness, turned out to be a near-trap. And many, rightly, went in search of the causes.
Was replacing the class system with the more "marketable" Specialists a mistake? Certainly, and indeed the team is now reversing course. The maps are huge and empty, and destruction is minimal because the game was conceived as a Battle Royale? Plausible. But what we truly feel was missing in 2042 were the men who made Battlefield the brand everyone has played and loved over the past decade.
And where have the senior developers from DICE gone who made Battlefield great? They’ve teamed up with other industry veterans to form a new studio, Embark Studios, and it happens that precisely they’re working on THE FINALS,, a revolutionary and incredibly fun shooter that we were lucky enough to try during its Closed Beta thanks to three codes kindly provided by the publisher.
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"Hello mum, I'm on television!"
The universe of THE FINALS is set in a not-too-distant future where reality shows like Gran Gran Fratello have been replaced by more worthy television spectacles in which players, armed with virtual reality headsets, compete to bring home as much money as possible. Four teams, each consisting of three players, will be "released" at various spawn points on the two maps available in the beta (the sunlit alleys of Monaco and the peaks of the skyscrapers of Seoul) to quickly head toward one of the two Vaults available, i.e., the safehouses containing the money. Both maps feature a day-night cycle and variable environmental weather, which, combined with environmental destruction, makes each match different from the previous one.
Once the Vault is activated (an event that will be notified to other players), you must defend it until it is unlocked and you can transport its contents to another structure to cash in the money inside. Here too, obviously, the process is not instantaneous but takes considerable time — time you must wisely spend arranging your defences, in the very likely event that one of the other teams comes to visit you in an attempt to forcibly extract the money from you.
A mode that seems like a mix between flag capture and defend the position that may disorient, at least initially, but which becomes an extremely fun and well-executed loop once the basics are understood. What makes it even more hilarious are the voices of the commentators (after all, we’re still participating in a televised show), who will comment—sometimes in overly sarcastic tones—on our feats or, more often, our failures.
Adrenaline and cold blood
One thing that has always distinguished Battlefield from other FPS games is the fact that, often, during gameplay sessions, you ended up experiencing what are known as "battlefield moments", situations that could very well be used in an official game trailer. It is well known that trailers are often deliberately crafted to highlight a game’s gameplay features, characteristics that are rarely seen in practice.
In THE FINALS we had the same feeling: the extreme destructibility of the environments, the frenzied gunfights, the frantic escapes to save the Vault — we experienced most of the situations shown in the trailer above firsthand, and despite the Apple Watch repeatedly alerting me to abnormally high heart rate, I can say I had fun, as I hadn’t done since long ago with an FPS. Because at the end, THE FINALS doesn’t invent anything, but manages to combine elements already present in other titles to give the impression of playing something never seen before.
Don’t make the mistake of thinking it’s all explosions and gunfire: to win, teamwork is essential, even fundamental. The gameplay experience changes radically if you’re playing alongside two “random” players or two trusted friends with whom you can communicate. Having a strategy, an attack and defense plan, and being ready to adapt if things go wrong are fundamental requirements to get the most out of the fun — and, why not, the victories. On this point, playing solo exposes you to the plague of “quitters”, i.e., players who abandon the match when things go south. At the moment, these players receive no penalty, and we believe the team should act swiftly to address these individuals, since in a 3-player team game, the absence of a member has a massive impact on the team’s chances.
The solo wolf game doesn’t pay off: first because the TTK (time-to-kill) is extremely (perhaps a little too) high, enemies are true projectile sponges; secondly because the class system, despite still being somewhat uncertain, is structured in a way that completely favours team play.
I’m not fat, I just have big bones
Speaking specifically about the class system, the game currently features three classes, primarily distinguished by the "body-type": the light participant is equipped with greater mobility and the ability to become temporarily invisible, albeit at the cost of a lower health pool; the medium body-type is the classic versatile class, with average stats and focused on support, thanks to its ability to heal allies and revive them with a defibrillator; finally, we have what would be the THE HEAVY of TF2, a kind of tank with a large HP pool and greater "bulkiness" in movement. This, however, is compensated quite comfortably thanks to his demolition hammer and his ability to simply create holes in walls with a shoulder charge: "If you can't scale it, just pass through."
All "contestants" are extremely customizable, and Embark Studios has already thought of an in-game shop and a Battle Pass that will allow the team to monetize, since the game will be free-to-play, and players to express their personal style and that of their alter-ego to the fullest. The models are very well done, and, despite the first-person perspective, having a "stylish" fighter always feels good.
As we mentioned earlier, however, the class system has raised some doubts: first, the differences between the three are not for us sufficiently significant, to the extent that it’s possible to tackle a match and win it even with three members of the same class; second, we’ve wondered how, in the future, the team plans to introduce new classes, given that there aren’t many other body types.
Arms in budget
A large portion of the budget must have been spent on the maps, extremely well crafted and featuring a divine level design (though perhaps a bit too large and分散ing), because regarding the weapons department, we were somewhat disappointed. Aside from jokes, the firearms available in this closed beta are only a handful: the classic assault rifle, a pump-action shotgun, a machine gun, the classic M60, and a revolver. Of course, the game compensates with gadgets and explosives, which ensure maximum damage output and destruction, but we fear that this, combined with high TTK, may cause weapons to be pushed to the backseat relative to the rest of the arsenal.
As already mentioned, the maps are extremely large, and although the game is quite fast-paced, a good sniper rifle wouldn't have been a bad idea, perhaps to provide support from a distance as our two companions advance between the rooftops of Seoul. The weapon customisation options for accessories are completely absent, while skins are inevitably present, though admittedly well realised.
At the end of this article, we also want to talk about match endings: when only a few minutes remain until the game’s conclusion, special events will intervene to shake up the course of the match. Embark Studios has not set limits: gravity alterations, doubled weapon damage, even meteorite showers, capable of leveling entire buildings in seconds. Truly a brilliant idea that further amplifies the adrenaline of the final moments of the match. Here’s, in our view, perhaps matches still last too short, or perhaps we ourselves want to keep playing forever... we still need to find out.
In conclusion
When developers have talent, it’s obvious — and at Embark Studios, there’s a whole wagonload of talent and experience. THE FINALS is a project with strong potential, even looking ahead for an e-Sports division. A title overall well-optimised for Closed Beta and still receiving substantial, rapid patches from day one, a sign that the developers want to make their testing experience as smooth as possible — almost as smooth as the game’s own gameplay, thanks to the server-side management of player positions and environmental destructibility.
There are still some doubts regarding balance and potential future additions, in terms of weaponry, classes, and, why not, gameplay modes (after all, we’re still talking about a television show). All the ingredients for a fun and explosive game are present, and now, after having tasted THE FINALS, we can’t do anything but wait for this opportunity to also be available for Arc Riders, the other title (this time cooperative) under development at Embark Studios.
