Shacknews Best FPS Game of 2024 - The Finals

The FPS genre is such a beloved staple in many gamer’s lives. We might venture away from them to explore other types of games, but sooner or later we get caught up in one that fundamentally alters our brain chemistry and tickles that deep desire to click pixels with abnormal accuracy. The Finals has managed to do that for us here at Shacknews thanks to its snappy gunplay, eye-wateringly speedy movement, and chaotic destructible environments.

The Finals surprised launched after the Shacknews Awards 2023 nominations were closed, and since then, it has garnered a cult following. The premise of the game is that the player controls a contestant within a virtual reality game show where teams compete to “cashout” the most cash. To do this, teams of three must collect a cashbox, deliver it to a cashout point, and hold the point until the money is banked. Earn the most in a match and you walk away with the win.

But the real meat and potatoes come from the shooting and movement systems that are set within a Mirror’s Edge aesthetics. It should come as no surprise then, that Embark Studios, the company behind The Finals, is comprised of industry veterans from DICE.

Part of what makes The Finals such a brilliant first-person shooter is, of course, the shooting. Each weapon feels snappy and satisfying to use against opponents, and most importantly, plays within its specified use cases. The weapons have recoil patterns as opposed to randomized bullet spread, which means a skilled hand can learn the movement and adjust accordingly. While there will always be a meta, the weapons manage to stay somewhat within the boundaries of their ideal usage.

These weapons, and the myriad gadgets, are split between three different classes, with each boasting their own strengths and weaknesses. As such, team composition plays an important role in securing victory. While the Medium might be the only one that can heal others, it’s worth having a Light for the quick in-and-out kills, or a Heavy for its ability to easily destroy the environment.

The destructible environment is by far one of the most important aspects of The Finals. A cashout point might be in the attic of a three-story building, and in any other game the two access points would be your only option in. Not in The Finals. Blast through walls, obliterate roofs, or even level enter buildings in order to get to where you need to go

While some games will leave it at shooting and environments, The Finals takes it a step further with its movement. It has the speed of a game like Titanfall 2 coursing through its veins. Pre-placed jump pads can launch players dozens of feet, which can then be strung into player-placed jump pads to fly further – and should you land on an angled roof, a sprint-slide will keep the momentum going. Couple this with ziplines and mantling, and you’ve got a level of movement tech that keeps the pace quick and helps avoid the dreaded slow-down of running across a map to reach an objective.

Layer on top of all of this the fact that The Finals is free-to-play, with battle passes which offer enough currency to purchase the next one, constant balance patches and new content, and talented industry veterans supporting it and you’ve got a recipe for a good time. The Finals has managed to win the love of shooter fans, which makes it the clear winner for the Shacknews Best FPS Game of 2024 award.

Be sure to read over the rest of the Shacknews Awards in our Year of the Games: 2024 feature.

Sam Chandler

Head of Guides

Hailing from the land down under, Sam Chandler brings a bit of the southern hemisphere flair to his work. After bouncing round a few universities, securing a bachelor degree, and entering the video game industry, he's found his new family here at Shacknews as Head of Guides. There's nothing he loves more than crafting a guide that will help someone. If you need help with a guide, or notice something not quite right, you can message him on X: @SamuelChandler