Criminally underrated and only been improving with time. Calls back to a time when FPS games actually felt unique, without being saddled with nostalgia. The Finals isn't pretending to be anything but itself.

A siri-esque text to speech voice is used for the announcers, which will rub some people the wrong way. AI voices are used for contestants, which is harder to excuse, and they sound low-quality and inconsistent as a result. If that's a reason to not play this game, it's a valid one. Please, embark! New contestant voices! You can afford it!

Embark decided to start using AI-generated artwork for their new purchasable content. Very disappointing given the amount of work that has been put into Arc Raiders where they started replacing AI-generated voice lines with real ones. This is a huge step backwards.

The new update killed it all. Whether AI or actual people are behind these decisions, I don’t know. The game DID NOT NEED changes to its gameplay, classes, or balance. It needed good matchmaking.

You CAN’T make the game fun when you’re constantly playing against sweats. Losing every game should mean something, right? Maybe that I, as a player, can’t compete at that level?

The game feels really bad now. It’s not even comfortable to play. The new UI makes navigating the lobby a pain, while the new lighting makes matches harder to follow. The glowing in-game UI, which CAN’T be turned off, is distracting and makes it difficult to tell how much health my teammates and I have left. The new, underdeveloped destruction system doesn’t work properly either. The FPS drops when things break are ridiculous(RTX 5070 Ti).

The game needed more balanced matches, which I understand were difficult to provide with a small player base. But RIGHT NOW, with a new update and the game peaking at 30k concurrent players, I’m still getting put into lobbies where I CAN’T do anything.

WHY do I need all these new features and tactical possibilities if the other team always knows where I am, obliterates me with their aim, and moves like they’re in The Matrix?

Playing melee could be fun, BUT apparently I have to put serious thought into reaching someone, only to find that their gun is just as effective at close range as my melee weapon. All that effort to close the distance is NOT REWARDING. I feel FORCED TO AVOID MELEE. It can work on defence, but attacking feels impossible, and players don’t fall for the baits either.

Overall, the old issues are still there. Nothing feels resolved. Map design has improved, although it still needs some work. UI/UX? Awful. Ranked? Awful. Casual? Awful. The new lighting? Awful. Even the sound has gotten worse.

Don’t get me wrong: the game was good despite its issues, and I liked it. But it doesn’t work for me anymore, new update just killed it. Whether I want to play ranked or just have a chill evening after work. Now it isn’t even pleasant to play.

I’ve spent 500 hours on this game and bought cool skins that I barely get to use because I have to stick to meta weapons just to be somewhat competitive. I was hoping for something big, but this feels like a straight downgrade.

I’m stepping away for a while. The game is in such a rough state that fixing it feels like it’s going to take forever. If you disagree, I honestly have to ask: are we playing the same game?