In The Finals, teams of players must compete against each other as they participate in a fictional VR combat game show.
The Finals revolves around players competing in the titular fictional VR combat game show.[6][7] This is reflected in the holographic crowds which are seen during gameplay, as well as the commentary provided by the game in the form of The Finals' two hosts making observations about the status of a given team or the game itself. Developer Embark Studios has stated that the game is partly inspired by The Hunger Games and Gladiator (2000).[8]
Most game modes feature 2, 3, or 4 teams, each competing against each other in a free-for-all competition. The players choose their characters based on a Light, Medium, or Heavy build, with the character model changing to reflect that.[3][6][9] Each build has access to a unique arsenal of specializations, weapons, and gadgets. They also each have a different movement speed and health. Light builds are faster and smaller, but have the lowest health in the game. Medium builds are a traditional soldier class, with median speed, size, and durability. Heavy builds are the largest and most durable class, but have the slowest movement speed.[10]
Each build is privy to different equipment and abilities, balancing the game. The Light build is given abilities related to speed and movement, which are the Cloaking Device, Evasive Dash, or the Grappling Hook. The gadgets unique to the Light build also help them evade and hide, making them a viable option despite their low health. The Medium build features several support items, including the Healing Beam, the Defibrillator (to revive teammates hands-free), and the Guardian Turret. The Heavy build is given powerful destructive tools, such as the Sledgehammer, RPG-7, and C4, as well as protective measures like Barricades, or Mesh and/or Dome shields.
The game mechanics encourage emergent gameplay by the way of the many free variables present.[6] These include the highly player-modifiable terrain (both destruction and limited construction), varied weather conditions and time of day (which change between matches), and team compositions.[3][6][9] The arenas contain many items that can be picked up and thrown by the player, including but not limited to plant pots, chairs, and tables. Different types of "elemental" canisters can also be found both placed around the arena, and suspended in floating boxes. Some of these canisters can explode to damage the environment.[6] Entire buildings are destructible if the correct supports are targeted.[3] The game does allow for limited construction, though this takes the form of temporary structures (such as barriers the player can shelter behind), as well as through the use of the Goo Gun and Goo Grenade, which both create a solid, though destructible barrier, which has the appearance of foam insulation.
Players who are killed are turned into statues that their teammates can carry and interact with to revive them.[3] It takes five seconds to revive a player, however, the Medium build may use a defibrillator on a statue to revive a teammate hands-free, which takes three seconds. If enough time elapses, a player may choose to respawn themselves, though this consumes a so-called "Respawn Token". In quick-play games, players can respawn an unlimited number of times, while in Tournament game modes, players have a limited amount of Respawn Tokens.
Game Modes
Cashout
In Cashout, four teams each with three players against one another complete objectives that consist of opening vaults and transporting them to a "cashout station". After bringing the vault to the station, the team that deposited it instantly earns 30% of its value, then must defend the point until the cashout timer expires to earn the remaining 70%. Other teams can "steal" the cashout in progress if it is left unguarded, claiming ownership of the point and the remaining potential payout. Each vault that appears on the map is more valuable than the last, ranging anywhere from $10,000 to $22,000, enabling teams at the bottom of the scoreboard to overtake first place if they claim enough money at the very end of a round. Multiple vaults can be brought to a single cashout station, combining their payouts under one timer.[6] Additional bonus money can be earned by killing enemy players or by being the first team to reach a new vault. Players have limited respawn credits, and teams lose 10% of their total money if all team members die at the same time.
Aspects of these objectives take inspiration from traditional capture the flag and king of the hill game types, requiring teams to have control of the area to perform the desired action.[3][6][9]
Rounds last 9 minutes, with the ability to add a 1-minute "overtime" if a vault is deposited into an empty cashout station within the last 60 seconds of the round. Players are not able to change their contestant once the round starts, but they can swap items from their reserve loadout after death. Players keep their loadouts when revived by their teammates, so swapping items from reserve may require that players use their respawn tokens unless the entire team is eliminated.
Quick Cash
In this variation of the Cashout game mode,[3] three teams of three compete against one another. The ultimate winner of the round is the first team to complete two cashouts ($20,000).[3] Other metrics based on kills, assists, deaths, and objectives are tracked and shown to the players at the end of the game. The players earn in-game currency, known as VRs, by eliminating players, completing objectives, and other combat maneuvers.[9]
Bank It
A second game mode, Bank It, focuses more on player vs. player combat and individual play. Scattered around the map are various caches filled with coins, which four teams of three compete to collect, 3v3v3v3. The currency is held by players on their person but is dropped upon their death. Additionally, any time a player is eliminated, they drop additional currency, even if they were not holding any otherwise. This currency can be turned in at temporary deposits that appear on the map periodically, forcing teams to occasionally congregate in the same place to "bank" their coins. The first team to bank $40,000 in currency wins.[11]
Solo Bank It
Bank It also had a "solo" mode, where twelve players compete individually in a free-for-all format, rather than in teams. This mode is now available only in private matches.[12]
Power Shift
Added in Season 2, Power Shift is a 5v5 "King of the Hill" mode where teams fight for control of a floating platform that continuously moves throughout the map, with both teams try to push the platform in opposite directions. Unlike most game modes, Power Shift allows players to change not only their equipment but also their contestants throughout the match.[13][14]
Terminal Attack
Terminal Attack was initially a limited-time event game mode, launched on May 2, 2024. This game mode was set to end on May 22, 2024. In Terminal Attack, ten players are divided into two groups of five – Attackers and Defenders. Attackers have limited time to breach insert a Decryption Key into one of two Terminals available in the arena. Meanwhile, Defenders must strategize and coordinate their defense to prevent the Attackers from achieving their objective. The teams switch sides after three rounds in a best-of-7 format. In this game mode, players cannot respawn or heal themselves, and Medium characters are unable to use their Healing Beam or Defibrillator, meaning each contestant has one life only per round, only able to regenerate a small portion of their health while out of combat. Additionally, items such as grenades or traps have limited charges and are only renewed at the start of each round. The damage dealt to the arena is persistent throughout the entire match. Terminal Attack is similar to the default modes in Valorant and Counter-Strike.[15]
On May 22, 2024, Embark announced that Terminal Attack will become a permanent game mode due to greater than expected popularity.[16] On June 7, 2024, it was announced that in Season 3 of The Finals, Terminal Attack would replace Cashout Tournament as the main ranked mode. According to Embark, this was to give the developers time to balance Cashout without affecting the leaderboards. As of September 26, 2024, partially due to heated backlash from the fanbase, Cashout Tournament was reinstated as the main ranked gamemode.
Ranked tournaments
Tournaments feature a modified version of the Cashout game mode, occurring in consecutive rounds with a bracket of 8 teams (24 players).[17] In the first two rounds, four teams compete in each game, with the top two teams advancing. In the final round, the top two teams face off head-to-head in Quick Cash rules to determine a winner. There are a total of three rounds in Ranked Tournaments, and players are only able to swap items from their reserve between rounds.[18] As players participate in tournaments, they increase their ranking through various leagues, ranging from Bronze to Diamond. Players earn or lose any amount of rank points depending on the combined skill of the enemy teams and the expected outcome of the match. Originally, The Finals featured both Ranked and Unranked Tournaments, but the Unranked variation was removed in Season 2.[19] In Season 3, the Cashout ranked tournament was temporarily replaced with World Tour to allow the developers to experiment with balancing changes, before it would be reintroduced alongside a refreshed World Tour in the next season.
World Tour
Debuted on June 13, 2024, with Season 3, World Tour consists of weekly rotating Cashout Tournaments with occasionally changing variations of the standard ranked rules. A Player's overall cash earned in the World Tour gamemode allows them to advance their World Tour badge, as well as placing them on a global leaderboard.[20] Unlike ranked mode, players cannot lose points earned towards their World Tour badge, and are rewarded only by how far they make it in each tournament, not by the skill of their opponents. Rules are slightly more relaxed, and players can swap items from their reserve loadouts in between deaths.
Event game modes
Steal The Spotlight
Steal The Spotlight was a limited-time event game mode, which was a variant of Solo Bank It. This event lasted from January 31 until February 14, 2024. In Steal The Spotlight contestants played as the Heavy with a pre-set loadout consisting of the Lewis Gun and SA1216 as primary weapons, a variety of gadgets, and Charge 'n Slam as their Specialization. There was also a unique set of cosmetics for this game mode which all players had equipped while in the match. By completing certain contracts within Steal The Spotlight, contestants could obtain the cosmetic items worn in the game. During the match, the gameplay was the same as regular Solo Bank It, except that the map was always Las Vegas and there were special turrets and laser sensors near all cashout stations that added a new aspect of stealthiness to the match.
Smoking Guns
Smoking Guns was a limited-time event game mode, which was a variant of Cashout. This event originally lasted from February 29 to March 3, 2024, but was extended to March 14. In Smoking Guns, contestants choose a premade loadout for the three builds in the game that restricts you to Western-style equipment. Each Build was able to use the frag grenades, pyro grenades, and gas grenades. Light was limited to the Grappling Hook as the Specialization, The Sword, SH1900 (Sawed-Off Shotgun), and The SR-84 (Sniper Rifle) for the weapons, and Smoke Grenade and Glitch Grenade for the build-specific gadgets. Medium was restricted to the Healing Beam as the Specialization, R.357 and Model 1887 for the weapons, and the Zipline, Explosive Mines, and Goo Grenades for the build-specific gadgets. Heavy was restricted to Charge 'n Slam for the Specialization, The Lewis Gun and The Sledgehammer for the weapons, and Pyro Mine and Barricades for build-specific gadgets. There was also a specific set of cosmetics for this game mode which all players had equipped during the match. By completing certain contracts within Smoking Guns, contestants could obtain the cosmetic items worn in the game mode. During the match, the gameplay was the same as regular Cashout, except that the map was always Monaco and there were Western-style objects and decorations all around the map.
Bunny Bash
Bunny Bash was a limited-time event game mode, which was a variant of Power Shift. This event lasted from March 27 to April 10, 2024. In Bunny Bash, contestants choose a premade loadout for the three builds in the game. These loadouts promoted the new weapons introduced to the game at the start of Season 2, including the Famas and the KS-23. Similar to the Smoking Guns event, each Build was able to use the frag grenades, pyro grenades, and gas grenades. Light was limited to the Grappling Hook as the Specialization, and The Sword and The SR-84 (Sniper Rifle) for the weapons. Medium was restricted to the Healing Beam as the Specialization and the Famas and Model 1887 for the weapons. Heavy was restricted to Charge 'n Slam for the Specialization, and the KS-23 and The Sledgehammer for the weapons. Similar to Smoking Guns, there was also a specific set of cosmetics for this game mode in the form of Easter-themed bunny suits, which all players had equipped during the match. By completing certain contracts within Bunny Bash, contestants could obtain the cosmetic items worn in the game mode in addition to Easter-themed weapon skins. During the match, the gameplay was the same as regular Power Shift, except that the map was always SYS$HORIZON and there were Easter-style objects and decorations across the map.
Development
The Finals, along with Arc Raiders are the first two titles from Stockholm-based Embark Studios.[21] A producer noted that destructibility changed the way the player approached the game, saying "we're constantly surprised by the new and inventive ways players utilize the freedom the game grants. Why open a door when you can use a rocket launcher to blow a hole in the wall, right?".
The title was announced in August 2022 for PC,[22] with console ports later unveiled for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X and Series S.[23] Closed betas were run in early 2023, with the first closed beta lasting from March 7–21, 2023,[24][25] and the second closed beta occurring between June 14–21.[26] An open beta took place between October 26 until November 5.[27][28]
The Finals was released on PC, Xbox Series X&S, and PlayStation 5 on December 7, 2023, during The Game Awards 2023.[29]The Finals features full support for crossplay, allowing players on different platforms to play together.[30] On release, underperforming servers caused the developers to put a temporary cap on player counts.[31]
According to IGN, poor performance and low frame rates posed an issue during the game's early closed betas.[8]The Finals has also been criticized for the use of the A.I.text-to-speech program created by ElevenLabs[34] to artificially generate the voices of characters, rather than utilizing traditional voice actors.[35][36] Embark Studios responded to the criticism, telling Axios the generated voicework in The Finals is "based on a mix of professional voice actors and temp voices from Embark employees."[37]
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