The Finals

About The Finals

The Finals is a free-to-play first-person shooter developed by start Studios that dropped on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on December 7, 2023. Set roughly in the year 2100, the game frames its chaotic battles as a televised reality show where teams compete for fame and virtual currency. You enter hyper-realistic arenas that serve as the stage for this global spectacle. The core concept involves destroying everything around you while completing objectives to win rounds. A rogue hacker group called CNS previously intervened to add new content, forcing the game's sentient AI to reboot into a 1500s era before returning to the modern tournament format with Ranked Cashout.

Gameplay

Sessions focus on fast-paced team fights where destructible environments define every encounter. You control a character class with specific gadgets and weapons while navigating maps that react violently to gunfire and explosives. A typical match involves moving through sectors, securing zones, or extracting cash before the timer runs out. The game features both competitive multiplayer modes for ranked play and co-op options against AI bots. Controls feel snappy, emphasizing movement speed and verticality as you climb walls or drop through floors created by explosions. You can switch classes on the fly to adapt your loadout mid-match. Each round resets with new conditions, keeping the flow frantic and requiring constant communication with your squad to survive the collapsing structures and enemy fire.

What Players Think

The PlayPile community has given The Finals a solid rating of 77.2 out of 100 based on 264 user scores on IGDB. Players report an average playtime hovering around 45 minutes per session, with many logging hundreds of hours into ranked matches. Community moods lean heavily toward excitement and frustration, as the physics engine occasionally causes unexpected chaos that leads to either hilarious victories or annoying deaths. Review snippets frequently mention the thrill of blowing up a building while holding a cash bag. The consensus suggests fans enjoy the high-octane action but criticize occasional server instability during peak hours. Achievement completion rates show that roughly 60 percent of players unlock the basic class titles, yet only about 25 percent manage to reach the highest competitive tiers in Ranked Cashout.

PlayPile's Take

This title works best for players who want a shooter with constant movement and environmental destruction rather than static cover. The free-to-play model removes barriers, though you might face microtransactions for cosmetics if you choose to spend money. At its lowest point of $30.99 on third-party sites like Green Man Gaming, the full version offers more content than the base game. You will find hundreds of achievements to chase if you stick with it. The game demands good aim and teamwork since solo players often get overwhelmed by coordinated squads. Skip this if you prefer slow, tactical shooters. Grab a controller or keyboard and jump into the chaos for a few hours.

Storyline

The Finals takes place about 75 years in the future, roughly around the year 2100. It is the greatest virtual game show on the planet, with a large, global fan base, and is considered a window to a bigger world outside of the real one - known as the Meatspace. Virtual reality is where most people spend their time, and THE FINALS allows them to join as contestants to play in hyper-realistic arenas and fight for fame, money, and the favor of generous seasonal sponsors, who want exposure to the show's massive audience for their brand and products. The game show has been a target of rogue hacker collective CNS, who have staged multiple takeovers urging viewers to "seek the truth beyond the walls." Their conflict with MultiCo's enlisted cyber security firm, VAIIYA, has drawn more attention to the game show than ever before. Unbeknownst to most however, a new 'Third Force' has been listening, and is finally making their presence known.