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I’ve beenvery upfront about my love for the game.
It reinvigorated my passion for the competitive first-person genre.
Catch this!
When it came out, a 3v3v3 competitive game was an absurd thought to me.
I was so wrong.
It turns out thatThe Finalsmade a splash on the scene.
Catch this!
Riding mostly word-of-mouth hype, it reached an all-time concurrent player count of roughly 250,000.
That’s higher thanRainbow Six Siegehas ever seen on Steam.
This interview has been edited for grammar and clarity.
CNS is here, most likely for good, as Scotty isn’t too hotty.
What is The Finals Season 2?
Season 2 for The Finals is an ode to retro gaming.
I’ll cover more on that later.
A sign of the times ahead.
According toEmbark Studios, the map is a realization of CNS gaining access to assets and source files.
They’ve called it SYS$HORIZON.
Partially loaded and out-of-place, SYS$HORIZON is a sight to behold, especially at night.
The color palette of this Arena is tasty.
My favorite addition to Season 2 comes from the latest game mode, Power Shift.
In it, players battle over a platform that follows a glowing, guided trail.
The trail this platform follows doesn’t miss as it bulldozes through buildings and players alike.
I don’t even like melee and I’m still going to use this.
Tilleby started off by explaining that this wasn’t a new concept to them.
It’s been hinted at in our trailers and other things.
Going back and digging into this, we can see that it had been alluded to.
Every area has it’s own uniquely laid out aesthetic.
Dating back to June 2023, I found it again in aClosed Beta trailer.
Holy Finals, Batman, they’ve been teasing this thing like crazy.
It’s unbelievable how involved this whole thing has been.
Even the outdoors is a sight that most players will awe at while under fire.
Even having recently changed spots on launch maps to denote a “hack” was occurring.
I spent two hours digging into this narrative.
It reciprocates throughout the whole experience, that is, The Finals.
From the nuanced narrative they’ve composed to the intuitive level design players will encounter come launch day.
They don’t skip a beat to ensure every aspect of the game is handled carefully.
“The level itself, that exists at the moment when the world spawns in.
Rooftops dominate the landscape of the Arena.
It’s at that moment, that is when map the map is created.
And the aesthetics of CNS.
They are rooted in 80s and 90s nostalgia and the gaming culture.
Boom goes the dynamite!
The advent of modern gaming culture and arcade games.
The whole 8-bit scene as well, which you could hear in the music.
From the NES, the N64.
Rewards are on the SYS$HORIZON.
It’s a love letter to that, the whole era.”
It’s a love letter to that, the whole era.
He’s right, too.
Beam me up, Scotty.
8-bit swords, analog televisions, and dial-up modem sounds hit differently than the sounds of symbols of today.
As though Tron went to heaven, there’s a vibrant glow no matter where you peek.
The seamless coordination of digitized memories mixed with modern architecture isn’t just another map.
It’s easier to miss than you think.
This isn’t a rehashed collection of assets the team already had.
It’s remarkable and pleasing to look at.
Tilleby added,“The hacked Arena allowed us to be quite creative with the map flow.
Just out of reach.
We introduce voxel bridges that allow you to traverse from one area to another.
The theme, in general, allowed us to be pretty creative with this one.
This map is something we haven’t seen before.
I’m super excited about this new map.”
This map is something we haven’t seen before.
I then went on to praise the map layout.
As Stigsson mentioned, they were inventive with the map flow.
This feeling repeated itself no matter what route I took on SYS$HORIZON.
It always felt familiar, like a distant memory.
Where do people usually get lost?
Where do people normally get stuck?
Where do people normally look?
How would they traverse this area?
Notably, Power Shift feels like something derived from Overwatch.
Not that it’s a clone, because it’s not, it’s something distinct.
If not only for the fact that, in Overwatch, the payload doesn’t slam through buildings.
The principle is straightforward: take the platform, protect the platform, and win.
Players were picked off left and right if they attempted to approach the platform impatiently.
Using your whole team of five will be critical to the success or failure you see in Power Shift.
Bigger teams were another one.
The devastation left behind in the wake of the platform is just plain gamer-cool.
Sometimes, in gaming, something is fun because it’s fun; this is one of those times.
While simultaneously acknowledging the ground you’ve won and fought for.
I commented on this and received some praise for making that point.
Tilleby added,“We also added the functionality to swap your class.
you’re free to go from Light to Medium to Heavy.
It’s completely open in that sense.
you’re free to adjust more freely to your team.
I think you had an interesting point before.
You might want to change your strategy depending on where the platform is.
Then, when you land it, you may want to hunker down and defend it.
So there are a lot of dynamics there that you don’t see in the other game modes.”
A unique contract interface has been added for daily and weekly completionists.
A fresh League Progression system is also in place to reward competitive play better.
Players can reach these milestones by completing tasks separate from the ranked rewards players earn by being ridiculously good.
There are plenty of things for both groups of players and everyone in between to work for.
No matter where you land on the scale, everyone can access this season’s new weapons and equipment.
The developers all have their personal favorites already picked.
I’m using it to peek through different areas and also help my teammates.
I wrap up the hole, then steal it myself.
It makes it harder for the enemies to get me."
The new Light portal is a personal choice of mine.
He vaulted through, where the enemies followed into a trap of open gunfire on the other end.
The weapons themselves also feel very skill-oriented.
Two of them are burst weapons, the R93 and FAMAS.
I loved my time with both, but the FAMAS quickly became my new go-to out in the Arena.
A burst weapon with the range of a semi-auto felt incredible in my hands but also rightfully balanced.
This is a precision weapon at heart.
Don’t let the term “shotgun” fool you into complacency.
Hit every shot, and you’ll be handsomely rewarded.
I made the observation that skillfulness was required for these latest weapons.
I asked what the basis for this round of firearms was and Tilleby let me know.
“Our objective was to add some distinct flavor.
That’s a really good observation.
It is definitely more important to line your shots up with a burst weapon.
So they’re still there, but it’s a favorite thing.
Some people will like it; some people won’t.
And that’s totally fine.
So we’ll see [how people respond].”
Get ready for a comeback
I truly enjoyed my time with what Season 2 offers so far.
From the weapons to the gadgets to the new everything there is.
In my opinion, Power Shift will become the most popular game mode.
Many players like traditional two-team gameplay, and I can’t blame them.
It’s that hook that will hopefully get people trying the other modes as well.
If not, Power Shift will remain for players who want to stick to that paradigm.
I can’t wait to get into the content Season 2 has to offer.
I look forward to it tomorrow when it launches on March 14.
I hope to see you all out there with me, digitizing to make Scotty proud.
