While we’ve seen some pretty horrendous FPS flops in the last couple of years, there are some truly brilliant newcomers that deserve your attention. I know it can be hard to pull yourself away from the familiarity of longer-running live service shooters like Call of Duty, Fortnite, or Counter-Strike 2 – believe me, I suffer from this too – but if there’s one you should definitely try (or return to, if you gave it a shot before) it’s The Finals. Embark’s debut game is one of the most slick and grin-inducing FPS games around, and this month is a big one for it – not only does The Finals Season 5 arrive, but it will celebrate its first birthday.
Given a surprise release during last year’s Game Awards, The Finals enjoyed some huge popularity for its first couple of months. These days, it is supported by a decently-sized and dedicated player base (one that I’m sure many other new live service titles would be envious of) but it’s nowhere near the heights of some of the biggest free PC games. And to be honest, that’s a bit of a travesty.
While not perfect by any means, The Finals is a truly brilliant arena shooter with an aesthetic and energy that’s unlike anything else in the space. The destructible environments, slick movement mechanics, and class variety also make it feel very fresh compared to its genre rivals. It is consistently pumping out new seasonal content, adding to its arsenal of weapons and gadgets, and creating some of the best character skins around. It’s definitely underappreciated, but maybe its upcoming Season 5 will be able to lure you in.
The headline feature of The Finals Season 5 is Bernal, its new map set in Mexico. “Traverse the narrow, cobblestone streets of its colorful colonial plaza which serves as the map’s heart, leap from rooftop to rooftop, or carve your own path right through the walls,” Embark says in a new announcement post. It also teases that there are some “secrets” to uncover in between gunning down opponents with some new weaponry.
Two “game-changing” weapons arrive in Season 5, with the Heavy class getting the ShAK-50 rifle and the Medium class getting the Cerberus 12GA shotgun. The ShAK-50 looks to be one of the most powerful guns in the game, as it fires two bullets per shot to deliver “immense stopping power.” The Cerberus, meanwhile, is packed with incendiary ammo that can set fire to enemies and the environment.
There’s more good news for Heavy players, as you’re also getting a new gadget: the Lockbolt Launcher. This essentially shoots traps that can ensnare an entire enemy squad and massively slow their movement. Light players will also be able to use the new Gravity Vortex gadget, which is a remotely-triggered deployable that pulls in objects, players, and even objectives into one central point.
The Finals is also adding a festive game mode called Snowball Blitz in Season 5, its new Clubs social feature that lets you form clans with your friends, and the Jukebox, which lets you play all of the game’s superb, synthy music from launch up until present day.
The Finals Season 5 will kick off on Thursday, December 12.
This comes just a few days after its first birthday on December 7. Embark should certainly be proud of what it’s achieved so far, and it’s good to hear that there’s plenty more to come as we enter year two. “As we look to the future, the next year will be packed with fresh surprises, innovative features, and brand-new destinations,” the developer says in today’s post, which you can read in full here.
While you should absolutely go and give The Finals a spin, here are some other excellent FPS games and multiplayer games that we wholeheartedly recommend.
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