In its announcement on social media, the studio has also confirmed that players who chose to move on from the PS4 version of THE FINALS will find all of their progression and purchases saved to their Embark ID – an account system used by the title to carry over progression between platforms.

The decision was likely made since Embark Studios has gotten a lot busier in recent times thanks to the release of ARC Raiders last month. Due to this, the developer likely has its hands full in supporting the PvPvE extraction shooter while also ensuring continuous development of new content for THE FINALS.

While support for the last-gen version of the shooter might be ending, the studio doesn’t yet have plans to stop working on more content for the game. In an interview from back in April, a spokesperson for the studio noted that development for THE FINALS will likely continue for between 3 to 5 more years.

“I think every year likely comes with its own unique challenges,” said the spokesperson. “The first year had some for sure, transitioning the team from working on a game ‘behind closed doors’ to one where our work is constantly being validated week by week by our greatest critics (and fans) is very different!”

“At the same time, it’s also the most rewarding part of what we do. In the next 3-5 years, I see us still being here, many seasons deep, with more players than ever and a version of THE FINALS that just gets better and better.”

THE FINALS was released on PC, PS4, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S all the way back in December 2023. The free-to-play shooter was a major hit back when it came out, with it getting more than 10 million players in just its first month of release. For more details about THE FINALS, check out our review from back when it first came out.

In the meantime, Embark Studios has also gotten another hit on its hands with ARC Raiders, which managed to sell more than 4 million copies in less than two weeks of its late October release. While the title got a lot more players during its launch period, with the developer celebrating more than 700,000 concurrent players earlier this month, the title has continued to garner quite a bit of interest.

This previous weekend saw ARC Raiders hit a new milestone with the extraction shooter managing to peak at 481,966 concurrent players. This, interestingly enough, was able to beat its closest competitor – Battlefield 6 – which had garnered 299,135 concurrent players across its main modes as well as its free battle royale mode on PC.

For more details about ARC Raiders, which is available on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, check out our review.

Strandberg stated that about as much AI was used in ARC Raiders as there is in the studio’s other shooter, THE FINALS. Rather, the studio’s process for using these tools revolve around recordings of real actors combined with text-to-speech tools. “We use a combination of recordings of real actors and TTS,” he said. “So that’s true for this game as well.”

As for long-term plans, Strandberg noted that the studio does not intend to swap out the real actors in its games with AI tools. He said, “there’s no end goal in replacing any actors.” This is because, according to him, there is “something fantastical that happens when you bring real actors in, and they are contributing to the lore, as well as of this game world.”

When it comes to the text-to-speech tools, Strandberg said that it is part of the studio’s attempts to create larger worlds for its games despite the team itself being relatively small. “We are trying to maximize what we can, being a small team trying to get make rich worlds right, but still staying small… but we don’t use generative AI in other domains across the game,” he said.

ARC Raiders has only recently come out on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, and the launch has seemingly been incredibly successful for Embark Studios. On PC alone, the title managed to hit a concurrent peak of 165,888 players within a matter of hours. This number has since gone even higher, with an all-time peak of the last 24 hours coming in at 264,673 concurrent players. It is worth noting that these figures don’t take either of the console player bases into account.

While Embark Studios will continue to work on ARC Raiders with post-launch updates and other content planned, the developer has also noted that it has other projects in the works. In an interview earlier this week, CEO Patrick Söderlund mentioned that it had two projects in development that hadn’t been revealed yet. While confirming that online gaming is “just ingrained in our DNA,” Söderlund also noted that this doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re online games.

“That doesn’t mean that they’re online necessarily games the same way as THE FINALS or ARC Raiders,” said Söderlund. “One of the concepts we have has a lot more edge to it than THE FINALS or ARC Raiders does. The other one is a little bit more conventional.”

In the long term, Söderlund wants Embark Studios to be known for being a curious studio that also respects the players of its games. He said that the goal was “that we’re seen as a studio that is doing something positive for the industry, where our obvious goal is to try and treat the players that play our game with the deepest respect. To listen to them on a continuous basis, and to try and adapt and improve the games as such.”

When asked whether the other projects that Embark Studios are also online games, Söderlund responded by saying “That I think is just ingrained in our DNA,” referring tot he risks of the competitive online games market. “That doesn’t mean that they’re online necessarily games the same way as THE FINALS or ARC Raiders. One of the concepts we have has a lot more edge to it than THE FINALS or ARC Raiders does. The other one is a little bit more conventional.”

Further in the interview, Söderlund was also asked about the five-year goal for Embark Studios, he spoke about how Embark Studios wants to be seen as a place where curiosity is rewarded, as well as a developer that “has the deepest respects for the players” that play its games.

“I don’t envision Embark to be much bigger than it is today, that’s not a goal for us at all, to be a ginormous studio,” he said. “I hope that people can look at Embark and view it as a studio that stems from curiosity. We talk about being curious all the time. We want to look behind the curtain. ‘If we did this, what would that mean?’ That we’re seen as a studio that is doing something positive for the industry, where our obvious goal is to try and treat the players that play our game with the deepest respect. To listen to them on a continuous basis, and to try and adapt and improve the games as such.”

Earlier this week, Embark Studios had begun celebrating the impending launch of ARC Raiders with a brand new trailer. While it didn’t really showcase much gameplay, the trailer instead focused on showcasing the extraction shooter’s general atmosphere, while also emphasising the gameplay loop where players will often have to start over if they die on an expedition. Along with this, the trailer also unveiled the biggest ARC in the game so far – one even bigger than The Queen which we had last seen during the Server Slam event.

Speaking of the Server Slam, the developer had celebrated the success of the event, which managed to get a peak concurrent player count of 189,668 on Steam alone. As part of its celebration, Embark Studios revealed that 30 million rounds of ARC Raiders had been played during the event, which involved 77 Queens eliminated, and 816,162 rubber ducks having been collected.

For more details about ARC Raiders and its Server Slam, here is everything you need to know. In the meantime, also check out the design director’s thoughts on the future of the extraction shooter.

Söderlund spoke about how Battlefield 6 “looks really good”, and the feeling of seeing it in action being “odd” since he was a part of DICE when the franchise was still quite young. However, he does note that he is happy that the upcoming shooter looks great, joking that he will play it until ARC Raiders is out at the end of the month, after which he will switch to his own studio’s title.

“It is odd,” said Söderlund. “I mean, we built Battlefield! But honestly, when I saw Battlefield 6 and what the team has done with it, I know how much time and energy has gone into it. I think it looks really good, and I’m very happy it does look good. It’s an IP and a game that deserves to be great. I want to play it. And I will play it – until the day we release ARC Raiders. And then I will play ARC Raiders instead.”

As for THE FINALS, Söderlund also spoke about how Embark Studios plans to continue support for the competitive shooter. He noted that, while the player base for the game had dipped a bit around the end of 2024, it eventually started seeing an uplift. To gauge whether or not to continue supporting a game, Söderlund said that the studio follows a 12-month cycle where it observes how well a title might be doing.

“We take a 12-month approach, reviewing on an annual basis,” Söderlund explained. “In December 2024, it’d been out for a year, we sat down and said, ‘We’ll give it one more year and see what happens’. And then, relatively quickly, during the spring, we saw an uplift. So, right now, I don’t see a reason why we shouldn’t continue supporting it for the next five years, to be honest.”

In the same interview, Söderlund had also spoken about the development of ARC Raiders, and how the studio decided to switch from it originally being a PvE-only game to eventually becoming a PvPvE extraction shooter. Söderlund noted that early builds of the game just weren’t turning out to be fun, leading to it getting delayed a few times.

We loved every aspect of what we were trying to design,” said Soderlund. “But we came to the conclusion, after quite a long time: ‘Guys, this game is not fun’.”

Executive producer Aleksandr Grondal, who was eventually brought into the team for the last six months of ARC Raiders’ development to help fix it up, spoke about how “there’s moments of fun, but it doesn’t consistently gel.”

ARC Raiders is coming to PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S on October 30.

In response to a question raised by MP1st about the game’s long-term viability, an Embark spokesperson highlighted both the challenges and rewards of ongoing development.

“I think every year likely comes with its own unique challenges. The first year had some for sure, transitioning the team from working on a game ‘behind closed doors’ to one where our work is constantly being validated week by week by our greatest critics (and fans) is very different!

“At the same time, it’s also the most rewarding part of what we do. In the next 3-5 years, I see us still being here, many seasons deep, with more players than ever and a version of THE FINALS that just gets better and better,” they said.

THE FINALS saw the release of Season 6 in March, “Rising Stars,” which includes the permanent addition of Team Deathmatch to Quickplay, new weapons such as the ARN-220 assault rifle and the M134 Minigun. Power Shift mode also has expanded arenas, and a new Battle Pass focuses inspired by classic sports entertainment.

For more on THE FINALS, you can check out our review of the launch version.

Nobody Wants to Die    

Dystopian crime drama Nobody Wants to Die provokes intriguing questions on immortality’s morality and dangers of transhumanism, but narratively it doesn’t always stick its landing. That said, this glorified walking sim posing as an action-adventure exhibits truly next-gen graphics; a rain soaked, neon daubed, noir version of New York is impressively lit and intricately detailed. Detective James Karra’s time manipulation device, whereby fractured crime scenes can be rewound, is a marvel to look at. Here, a thousand shards reconfigure pleasingly giving visual aplomb to an already photorealistic experience, a saving grace showcasing the power of Unreal Engine 5’s particle tech.

]]> 604975 https://gamingbolt.com/15-unreal-engine-5-games-that-look-ridiculously-good Wed, 06 Nov 2024 17:41:55 +0000 https://gamingbolt.com/?p=602689 A game isn’t guaranteed to be a visual stunner purely because it’s using a particular engine, but a good engine certainly can make it easier for developers to deliver much more technically and visually impressive games than you’d expect in ordinary circumstances. Many, for instance, have already been able to use Unreal Engine 5 and its particular toolset to craft some genuinely gorgeous games- which is exactly what we’re here to discuss. Here are fifteen games built on Unreal Engine 5 that will take your breath away with their visual accomplishments.

TEKKEN 8 

Post-launch missteps notwithstanding, there’s plenty to love about Tekken 8 itself, and its visuals are high on that list. From the intricately crafted character models and the insanely detailed environments that all of the game’s explosive bouts take place in, to, of course, the fights themselves, everything in the game looks incredibly crisp and high-quality, helping elevating the on-screen action to even greater heights.

]]> 602689 https://gamingbolt.com/30-best-first-person-shooters-of-all-time-2024-edition Fri, 06 Sep 2024 17:19:23 +0000 https://gamingbolt.com/?p=596510 The first-person shooter genre is one that’s persisted for decades. It served as the framework for all kinds of experiences – multiplayer, single-player, and everything in between – while delivering unforgettable stories and gorgeous visuals. Among the hundreds of titles released throughout, select choices remain the very best that the genre has to offer. So without further ado, here are our picks for the 30 best first-person shooters of all time, as of 2024.

Duke Nukem 3D

3D Realms’ Duke Nukem 3D hasn’t aged well when examining its more risque elements. At the time, it stood out for imbuing some character into the first-person shooter genre, courtesy of Duke’s one-liners. The environmental interactions and destruction also felt fresh, to say nothing of bizarre weapons like the Shrink Ray for cutting enemies down to size.

SUPERHOT

What should be a gimmicky concept – time only moving when you do – results in an engaging, clever experience in the first-person shooter space. Superhot isn’t just about scoring headshots, throwing weapons, or swinging katanas to take out scores of enemies – it’s the assessment, the moments between each kill, that make it sing.

Valorant

Mix Counter-Strike: GO’s tactical shooting with characters befitting a hero shooter and you get Valorant, in a nutshell. As slow-paced and odd as it may seem, this is also one of the best tactical shooters, if not competitive multiplayer titles, out there. Despite only being out for a little over four years, Valorant offers tense gameplay that’s hard to put down.

Borderlands 3

Ignore the base game’s story, characters and writing for the sake of your sanity, and the gameplay in Borderlands 3 is a significant step up. From the smoother response and feedback and improved mobility to more varied gun types and deeper build crafting, it’s a strong looter shooter, though nowhere near as timeless as its predecessor.

DOOM 1 + DOOM 2

While fairly recent, DOOM 1 + DOOM 2 collects the best of both titles into one excellent package. Boasting all their additional content, Sigil, and a great new campaign by MachineGames, the release is made even better with in-game mod support, a stellar remixed soundtrack and cross-platform multiplayer deathmatch, with 26 new maps to cause chaos on.

Killzone 2

After the infamous E3 2005 incident, Guerrilla Games’ first-person shooter had nowhere to go but up, and subsequently knocked it out of the park. The gorgeous visuals were a factor, of course, but the well-designed missions, gunplay, intelligent AI, and tight level design made for an incredible experience (even if the ending was underwhelming).

Halo 3 ODST

Though not quite the follow-up that fans expected, especially after Halo 3’s thunderous conclusion, ODST was still a worthy side story. It focused on one of the most compelling units, the Helljumpers, as they infiltrated New Mombasa and engaged in urban warfare with the Covenant. Perhaps its biggest contribution is the introduction of Firefight, a Horde-style variant with difficulty modifiers, a shared lives pool, and multiple sets to overcome.

Bulletstorm

People Can Fly and Epic Games had a pretty simple goal with Bulletstorm – gamifying stylish ways to kill the opposition. The story and characters are ultimately secondary; kicking enemies into environmental hazards, sending them sky high for some skeet shooting, and more for extra points is ultimately what sold the experience. Even if it remains underrated (no thanks to its terrible VR port), Bulletstorm is still a hell-raising good time.

S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat

The Zone remains as haunting as ever in GSC Game World’s S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Call of Pripyat, the third title in the series and most compelling yet. Though it has its share of bugs, the sandbox gameplay combined with the atmospheric horror and survival elements make for a harrowing time, whether you’re dealing with Anomalies or the various factions.

Destiny 2

Bungie’s live service shooter has had a long history, one with many ups and downs. Even throughout all of the changes, it remains perhaps the best of its kind. Between excellent campaigns like The Witch Queen and The Final Shape, an unmistakable feel for its weapons, gorgeous art direction, and stellar raids, Destiny 2 is still worth playing.

Unreal Tournament

When Quake 3 Arena was believed to reign supreme, Unreal Tournament appeared out of nowhere and claimed the throne. While the former still held a strong esports presence, the latter was the overall better product, from its map design and visuals to the sheer variety of mode types. Assault alone is an incredible addition to the competitive FPS formula and playing with AI bots actually felt enjoyable, even on the higher difficulties.

Turok: Dinosaur Hunter

Turok may have initially come across as “What if FPS but killing dinosaurs instead of humans?” but surprised many with its exploration and gorgeous visuals on the Nintendo 64. Of course, the combat was no slouch either, as each of the 13 weapons resulted in ample gore. Together, these elements made for an unorthodox but memorable shooter.

Prey (2017)

What could have been with the Prey franchise if Human Head Studios’ sequel wasn’t cancelled? We’ll never know, but in the meantime, Arkane Austin’s 2017 reboot, which embraces a more immersive sim structure and deep space paranoia, is excellent. As Morgan Yu, players must survive in a massive space station overrun with Typhon, but not everything is as it seems. The result is one of the finest first-person titles ever made.

Far Cry 3

Moving away from Far Cry 2’s realistic sandbox, Far Cry 3 went much bigger, returning to the tropical island setting while introducing a compelling new villain. Though the story is far more structured, the open world is rife with quests, enemy camps, wild animals, and much more. To this day, Far Cry 3 remains in a class of its own.

Metro: Last Light

Much as Metro Exodus embraced an open-world-style approach to its large areas, there’s something about Metro: Last Light and its linear narrative. Maybe it’s how well-designed each section felt, whether you were escaping from captivity or slinking through the surface, avoiding contact with its mutants. Perhaps it was the moral dilemmas that Artyom faced. Either way, the series’ brand of survival and fast-paced gunplay is at its peak here.

Star Wars: Battlefront 2 (Classic)

Ignoring the utter cluster that Aspyr’s re-released turned out to be in the online department, the classic Star Wars: Battlefront 2 is still a timeless game. The campaign is enjoyable enough but Galactic Conquest was a game changer of a single-player mode, offering a Risk-like map to fight through and conquer. Multiplayer was still arguably the highlight of it all, especially with 24 maps and modes like Hero Assault.

Medal of Honor (1999)

Developed by Dreamworks Interactive, it was the premiere World War 2 title, immersing players in the conflicts of the time while offering a top-tier presentation. Allied Assault would be more remembered thanks to its recreation of the Battle of Normandy, but Medal of Honor still deserves its flowers.

Left 4 Dead 2

Decried as little more than an expansion pack before launch, Left 4 Dead 2 expanded so much on its predecessor’s already compelling co-op gameplay. New Special Infected, deeper campaigns with more varied objectives, a wider variety of melee weapons and guns, and incredible replay value courtesy of its AI Director were just some of the reasons it stood out. Of course, its modability over the years has also ensured some great laughs.

Resistance 3

As the conclusion to the Resistance trilogy, Insomniac’s Resistance 3 is also its least successful. It’s a shame because, on top of new and old weapons, the atmosphere and dark subject matter added to the stakes, making it feel like humanity’s last desperate attempt to stay alive. While it still needed some polish, the gunplay and overall presentation made for a fitting end to the series.

System Shock (2023)

One of the best first-person titles ever made, System Shock is also far from easy to remake. Nevertheless, Nightdive Studios took a swing, rebuilding the visuals from the ground up while staying true to the far-future cyberpunk aesthetic of the original. Even with the improved UI, overhauled Cyberspace and other changes, it still maintains that sense of dread and terror that defined the original.

GoldenEye 007

Rare was already pretty well-established before GoldenEye 007 and yet, its launch raised the developer’s stock considerably. It isn’t just one of the best video game adaptations of a movie (usually a formula for failure back then), but proof that console shooters could be great. The local multiplayer alone defined many gamers’ lives growing up.

Cyberpunk 2077

After all the updates, revamped perks, and improvements, Cyberpunk 2077 has gone from a good first-person shooter to a great one. It’s backed by actual build variety, whether you’re a manic Mantis Blades user, a Netrunner overloading every single enemy, or skilled in a variety of guns. Of course, everything else that makes the game great, from its side quests to its open-world activities, doesn’t hurt either.

Wolfenstein 3D

While not quite the first-ever FPS made, Wolfenstein 3D is what ultimately led to the genre’s rise. It was frantic and fast-paced, with revolutionary visuals and excellent weapons. Though it offered secrets to discover throughout its ten episodes, the simplicity is ultimately what made it such a universal hit.

Quake 2 Remastered

Crafted with Nightdive’s assistance, the recent enhanced edition of Quake 2 packs all the mission packs, Quake 2 64, and a new episode from MachineGames into one package. Then it adds the id Vault, AI opponents in multiplayer, 4K/120 Hz support, and various quality-of-life features, turning one of id’s best shooters ever into a contemporary must-play.

The FINALS

Embark Studios’ THE FINALS is often forgotten when discussing competitive shooters, especially free-to-play options. Nevertheless, it’s a strong package with some unique modes, dynamic combat thanks to full environmental destruction, and extensive strategy, thanks to the unique gadgets. The arena-style combat may not appeal to everyone, but it still makes for some intense PvP sessions.

Black Mesa

If developing a sequel to Half-Life is challenging, remaking the experience, especially as a small team of fans, is an almost Herculean effort. Yet throughout many years of waiting, Black Mesa was finally a reality, delivering everything we loved about the original with gorgeous revamped visuals and entirely new sections like Xen.

DOOM (2016)

Considering how diminished interest had been in the franchise, it’s a miracle that DOOM even released. The fact that it’s this good is just an anomaly. Everything about it, from the visuals and action, particularly the new Glory Kills, is simply fantastic.

Perfect Dark

GoldenEye 007 showcased Rare’s surprising expertise for incredible first-person shooters and Perfect Dark only solidified it. With a tighter narrative focus and strong characterization (as seen with the iconic Joanna Dark), it weaved stealth, tense gunplay, memorable set pieces, and stellar levels into one cohesive package. The fact that it delivered so much despite the Nintendo 64 nearing the end of its lifespan is an achievement unto itself.

Titanfall 2

While it’s a shame that the original didn’t become all that popular, Titanfall 2’s fate is even more tragic given the sheer quality involved. The multiplayer is much more involved with its variety of Titans, weapon types and abilities (even if some maps could be hit or miss). Furthermore, the campaign is simply an all-timer with its level design, boss fights, and stories, making it worth the price of admission alone.

Half-Life 2

When you’re in Valve’s shoes and Half-Life is the pinnacle of narrative first-person shooters, there are high expectations. Yet, Half-Life 2 surpasses with relative ease, from the presentation and world-building to the story-telling and characters. Each area is memorable and unique; the Combine makes for enjoyable foes to fight; and the Gravity Gun is iconic all on its own.

Along with performance improvements and UI fixes, update 2.7.0 for THE FINALS also brings with it more stringent cheat detection. According to the studio, players will be able to feel the difference in the number of cheaters they encounter in their matches. As a result, cheaters are being detected and removed from the game faster.

The studio also reminds players to report any cheaters they might see in the game, along with a solid comment explaining their rationale for why they suspect a player of cheating.

THE FINALS was released back in December on PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X/S, and quickly got quite popular. By January, the game had crossed the 10 million player mark. Since its release, the game has been getting quite a few updates, including new game modes, maps, equipment, and bug fixes.

For more details about THE FINALS, check out our review.

PATCH NOTES:

Content and Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where launch options like -dx11 stopped working. However, we still recommend playing without any additional options
• Fixed a rare crash on the server

UI

• Polished the look of the incoming melee damage indicator
• Fixed an issue with single item bundle purchase where the wrong item was equipped
• Fixed the nametag sometimes intersecting the HUD in terminal attack when in the squad-up screen

Update 2.5.0 also brings the Boombox, which players earned by completing the recent Community Challenge, and balance changes. The Data Reshaper now has a range of 15 meters, but its target field of view has gone from 25 to 12 degrees. The Cloaking Device’s activation cost is now 33 percent instead of 14.2 percent, which won’t affect how long it can be sustained but makes it costlier to turn on and off constantly.

Health for the Mesh Shield has gone from 1000 to 750, while the KS-23 has received an accuracy buff with less bullet dispersal when aiming down sights, running and jumping. Embark is looking into changes for the Stun Gun and visibility of cloaked players, though these won’t go live until Update 2.6.

THE FINALS is available for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and PC. Check out our review, where we praised its gunplay, creativity, and destruction, for more details.

Update 2.5.0

Balance Changes

Gadgets

Data Reshaper

• Range increased from 5m to 15m
  
• Target FOV decreased from 25 degrees to 12 degrees
  – Dev note: to account for the increased range.

Stun Gun

Dev Note: We’re aware of player frustrations around being stunned by the Stun Gun and are planning some changes to get it to a better place. However, these changes require more testing before we deploy them so it will be update 2.6 before these arrive.

Specializations

Cloaking Device

• Increased the activation cost from 14.2% to 33%.
  – Dev Note: This does not change the maximum sustain time, but makes it drain faster when toggling it on and off too frequently. In addition to this change, we’re also investigating changes to the visibility of cloaked players, but these will not be deployed until the 2.6 update as they require more testing

Mesh Shield

• Decreased health from 1000 to 750.

Weapons

KS-23

• Bullet dispersion reduced when jumping, sprinting, or zoomed in, to make the weapon more accurate

Security

AFK/Idle rule enhancements

• Added detections for software such as cheat tools and injectors, leading to suspensions