The Finals Season 8 overhauls its best-in-class destruction, and it's working

It's time to come back to The Finals, and players are beginning to answer the call. The free-to-play shooter has held onto a consistent player base over the past year and a half, though it's never reclaimed its launch-week highs. Now, however, it seems that opinion is beginning to turn more in its favor, as the weight of multiple updates begins to show. The Finals Season 8 builds on that by breaking things down; the new patch makes changes to its iconic environmental destruction, a feature that impacts every match in a way even Battlefield 6 can't, and it's resulted in the most popular day one since Season 2.

With several notable ex-Battlefield devs part of the founding team at Embark Studios, it isn't too surprising that The Finals feels like a splinter project from the DICE series. While BF6 leans more into grand scale, The Finals is all about small teams and high mobility, taking cues from the likes of Titanfall 2 and placing huge emphasis on massive environmental destruction. The result is one of the most dynamic multiplayer games I've played in years, but one that I gradually fell away from due to a relatively light map and mode lineup. If you did the same, Season 8 is the best argument yet to return.

Embark calls its new-look feature 'Smooth Destruction.' At its heart is an increased focus on cascading damage and chain reactions. When one building starts to collapse, for example, it might cause a suspended crane to crash into a neighboring location, resulting in further damage and environmental reshaping. "This is something we have wanted and planned for since day one," Embark writes, "so seeing it live in the game is humbling and exciting all at the same time."

Alongside this, the studio has continued to upgrade the specific demolition possibilities on individual maps. In Kyoto, for example, "buildings now collapse into connected chunks of debris that are easier to climb and traverse," and "collapses happen closer to where structures are weakened, so it's easier to anticipate what's going to fall." There are also some more jump pads to help you navigate the layout, and additional basement walls will increase the tactical options when you head underground.

There's much more in the new update, too. Other maps have been touched up, with particular attention given to the suspended structures found in Monaco. Two more weapons have been introduced: the BFR Titan manual-action revolver is perfect for those with ultimate faith in their aiming skill, while the P90 submachine gun will be a welcome friend to those who prefer to spray and pray. There's also now a grenade indicator that should make it easier to tell when an explosive has landed in your proximity.

A new 'instant replay' feature is now out in a beta form, allowing you to see exactly what your opponent did to get the edge on you when you die. Embark says the tool initially seemed like "an impossible task" to create with the high level of environmental destruction, but adds, "at Embark we take a challenge seriously." There's also a fresh match summary screen for World Tour, Ranked, and Quick Cash modes that shows a timeline of important events and player contributions.

Combine all that with previous seasons, and the improvements are starting to pile up. Steam reviews for The Finals now sit at a 'very positive' 80% recommendation ratio, I've had several friends recently tell me that they've started playing again, and it's even been earning attention among big-name content creators. YouTuber Charlie 'Moistcr1tikal' White has made multiple videos in the past month about his newfound love for it, with one titled "This is the best FPS right now but everyone is sleeping on it" reaching almost two million views.

The free Steam game's player count, meanwhile, has climbed up to a high of 32,867 players. It's not a huge leap over recent seasons, but it's a notable nudge, one that takes The Finals to the highest active user base it's had since the start of Season 2. Community lead Oscar Lundberg shares the stats on social media, writing, "From the bottom of my heart, and on behalf of everyone here on the team - thank you, community!"

The Finals Season 8 is live now, and you can play for free on Steam. Check the full patch notes courtesy of Embark Studios.

Tempted to see what all the fuss is about? We've got the latest The Finals system requirements, and updated our guide to the best The Finals settings so that you can get things running as smoothly as possible.

Has the new season won you over, or are you a long-time die hard? Let us know your thoughts in the PCGamesN community Discord server, where you can chat about everything going on in the PC gaming space.