The Finals Season 8 preview

It’s wild to me that The Finals is this far into its seasonal updates. In December, Embark Studios’ debut shooter turns two, and we’ll pass The Finals Season 8 by then. The game’s eighth major update is a curious one – and it may not be the patch you’re expecting. The same goes for my own anticipation, as I’m still waving off some initial pangs of disappointment.

Let’s get the big one out of the way. Despite hype within The Finals Discord server and playful comments from the studio, this isn’t a full-on medieval-themed update. I’m sorry to say it, but there aren’t any castles to storm or suits of armor to wear. It isn’t completely off the table, and you’ll be glad to hear some of that theme is present in Season 8. This season, The Finals invites different regions of the in-game world to compete ahead of The Finals Grand Major.

Embark Studios’ first official eSports tournament first came to light in Season 6, and everything since then is in anticipation of it. But this FPS game‘s lore isn’t like any other shooters out there. Even Fortnite’s sprawling crossovers and twisty story beats don’t compare to it. Competitors from Brazil, Britain, Egypt, Italy, Sweden, and the US are all headed to the virtual arena, and their actions are seeping into the real world. Our favorite in-game commentators, June and Scotty, acknowledge the Major directly.

It isn’t just an event to watch in-person or on Twitch at home; in the world of The Finals, it’s like seeing Oasis’ reunion tour. This is the biggest moment of the year, and Embark is doing a great job of realizing the momentum. It reflects itself in the battle pass, as each page has segments to represent each of those aforementioned regions. The Sweden section is where those medieval mythology vibes come alive, with cosmetics dedicated to dressing you as Odin, the Allfather in Norse mythology.

His page boasts weapon skins that revel in worn-in stone textures, engraved with beautiful tapestries of Norse culture. It might seem outlandish, but The Finals’ VR gameshow premise is the ultimate creative license to experiment. It’s one of the game’s greatest strengths, and I’m glad to see Season 8’s battle pass continue evolving on it. However, I’m still not sure about the shift to multiple-pass formats.

If you didn’t know, Season 7 introduced the Ultimate Tier, an additional bundle that includes at least 11 extra cosmetics. These are the type of cosmetics that Embark works extra hard on and requires more resources to make a reality. So your options are buying the normal battle pass, the Premium version, and the Ultimate Tier upgrade. In Season 8, Embark tells us that it plans to increase its value by giving players an increased MultiBucks amount of 2,575 for making the upgrade.

You receive this currency back if you’ve already purchased the Premium pass, essentially rewarding you with more Multibucks in exchange for your supplementary purchase. I know that sounds like a lot, and it’s just as brain-racking to explain to you. Other shooters like Apex Legends are already supporting this trend, for better or worse. I understand why Embark is doing it, and if there’s any FPS right now that has fairly priced cosmetics, it’s The Finals.

The level of customization for outfit creation here is unparalleled, and I can’t deny that. It feels a little icky after the first six seasons included Ultimate-style cosmetics at no additional cost in the battle pass, if you’re not counting weekly in-store bundles. Beyond outfits and looking the part in battle, Season 8 follows Embark’s current update structure. Season 6 gave us quality-of-life changes and new weapons, and Season 7 gave us a new map and gadgets to master.

Season 8 follows in the steps of Season 6, focusing on improving the game’s performance and core experiences.  A major highlight in this update is Instant Replay, letting players rewatch key moments from their opponent’s perspective to better understand eliminations and sharpen skills. While still in testing, it’s already useful if you need to pinpoint where and how your elimination unfolded. It isn’t something I’ve struggled with, as The Finals is usually quite good at indicating how your demise happened.

However, in tandem with the overhauled on-screen notification for grenades, it’ll help newcomers avoid danger. The new Play Styles feature also gives fresh players a chance to learn The Finals’ mechanics and understand how each gadget, specialization, and weapon can be used to unlock the game’s potential.

Console players also gain mouse and keyboard support if you prefer to play that way. I love the redesigned Match Recap, which now delivers clear post-game stats, performance ratings, and even a new player title to reward your progress. I’m a nerd for stats in-game, and if I can see exactly why I’m getting stomped on, or why my friend is useless at playing as a Light, this is the way to do it.

Alongside this, Embark has rolled out an upgraded anti-cheat system with added detection tools and external partner support to keep matches fair. The studio’s plans for anti-cheat are the focal point of Season 7. Fears that The Finals’ Steam Deck support could end ignited a fire in the community, but it didn’t take long for Embark to put it out.

Recent hotfixes continue to bridge the gap between Valve’s console and other handheld PCs, ensuring that anyone can be part of the gun. Season 8 extends that further, firstly by deploying some much-needed changes for booting the game. Typically, The Finals compiles shaders before you even reach the menu screen. Even on my ROG Ally Z1e’s beefier specs, it can still take a few minutes to do. Now, this process is improved, as it is simplified and less load-heavy with background pre-compiling.

The Finals already features AMD FSR 3 Frame Generation and AMD FSR 3.1.4, but I found it to be a little hairy in practice through Season 7. Throughout my preview, there’s a noticeable improvement in general performance. Even with the debris and remnants of Bernal around me, the chaos unfolds promisingly. The Finals already runs well on handheld PCs, but this update is a big step forward for keeping those frames steady.

Aside from performance changes, quality-of-life additions, and an eSports-centric theme, Season 8 also brings two new weapons to your arsenal. The P90 gives the Medium class a long-overdue SMG to wield, and this thing can spit bullets out rapidly. It feels like a laser to wield, but I’m curious to see how it stacks up against the M11 across the Season 8 meta. For the Heavy class, the BFR Revolver is a comically long handgun ripped straight out of the pages of Batman comics.

All I can picture is The Joker using it, so I fear my brain might be a little cooked. Like the R.357, this bigger Revolver iteration requires great accuracy because of its extremely high-risk play style. Damage isn’t in succession, as you get each shot by pulling back the gun’s hammer. Sadly, there’s no Red Dead Redemption-style hammer fan action, though. I don’t know if the Heavy needed another handgun to pack a whallop, but I doubted the Mini-Gun too, which Embark justified in my chat with the studio.

All of the game’s weapons are still transitioning to an improved system overall, too, but creative director Gustav Tilleby tells us this is a long-term plan. What is bugging me, though, is that we haven’t had any new specializations since Season 3’s Winch Claw. Balancing a game as sporadic as The Finals can’t be easy.

I get that Embark can’t just add loads of fresh weapons and abilities in every update. On the other side of the coin, the game needs new blood on the specializations front to keep up with the game’s growing ambitions. Freedom of play and unpredictability are front and center in any battle, and we’re due fresh ways to express that.

I’m hoping vehicles, a feature briefly shown in an early build of the game, make a debut one day. Before my preview ends, there’s still one element left unanswered, even in the presentation Embark delivers before heading into the fight: what is happening with the Riot Shield? Some of you love it, many of us hate it. Well, Embark doesn’t address it at all, and it looks like a nerf could be a long way off, if at all. It isn’t just about countering it, but it’s more so that the Riot Shield is just broken to fight against. But that’s a whole other story.

While I’m disappointed that the seasonal theme isn’t quite as exciting as Season 7 – and lacking that medieval juice – The Finals Season 8 is another solid move forward. Handheld PC performance is the best it’s ever been, and it continues to be my go-to shooter on any platform I can get it on. Yet, the potential of The Finals is boundless, and with the Major drawing closer, I’m ready for it to enter a brand-new phase of evolution.

Will you be checking it out? Let us know over in the Pocket Tactics Discord server.