Uploaded March 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

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THE FINALS Season 2 sees a new map, SYS$HORIZON, added to the game alongside a new 5v5 game mode (Power Shift), new weapons, new gadgets and in-game functionality, like Private Matches. Following a Season 2 pre-launch event I attended, in this video I look at the creative influences on the game, both for gameplay and, perhaps more importantly, the game's lore and story, which may see the game define a completely new sub-genre of shooter games.

00:00 Intro To Season 2 Of THE FINALS
0:57 Let's Talk About The Big Picture
1:26 The Lore Of THE FINALS Season 2
2:50 Intro To The Creative Influences On THE FINALS
4:01 The Two Types Of Creative Influences
4:42 SPOILER WARNING!
5:05 Creative Influences On THE FINALS Gameplay Elements
5:12 Sabata (Movie)
6:29 Ready Player One (Movie)
7:08 The Running Man (Movie)
8:56 Smash TV (Game)
9:35 American Gladiators (TV Show)
9:54 Tron (1982 Movie)
10:26 Tron: Legacy (2010 Movie)
10:42 Squid Game (Series)
11:18 The Hunger Games (Movies)
12:57 Formula 1 (Motorsport)
13:51 Nods To Creative Pieces, People and Games
14:15 Jan Matejko (Artist)
14:30 The Battlefield 1 Chicken
14:50 Creative Influences On THE FINALS Story And Lore
15:35 Stories That Stay Inside The Narrative Walls
16:10 Example: Oppenheimer (Movie)
16:34 Example: Battlefield 1 (Game)
17:04 Stories That Break The Narrative Walls
17:32 CNS Show Us The Narrative Walls Were False
17:44 THE FINALS Is Defining A New Sub-Genre Of Shooter
18:10 THE FINALS Virtual World vs The Meatspace
19:04 Where Can This Take THE FINALS?
19:30 What This Means For The Future Of THE FINALS
21:00 The Matrix (Movie)
22:14 Overview Of LOST (Series) and Westworld (Series)
23:13 LOST Details
23:37 LOST vs MYST (Game)
24:13 Comparing LOST And MYST To THE FINALS
24:42 Westworld (Series)
25:16 Squid Game (Series)
25:55 Summary Of The Creative Influences On THE FINALS Story And Lore
26:23 What Might The Meatspace Look Like?
27:01 Outro

Thanks to Spear (youtube.com/@SPEARHEADPR) and Serpenger for helping me record gameplay footage.

Download and Play THE FINALS here: store.steampowered.com/app/2073850/THE_FINALS

Invite to The Finals Official Discord: discord.gg/thefinals
Visit and contribute to THE FINALS Wiki here: https://www.thefinals.wiki/wiki/Main_Page

Invite to the Duhtopia Discord (run by Duhmeister and where I hang out): discord.gg/HAah3SmMPH
The Finals website: reachthefinals.com
The Finals Twitter account: twitter.com/reachthefinals
The Finals YouTube account: youtube.com/channel/UCEqzN3PRSCrxYq5tUwYJaPw

Embark Studios website: embark-studios.com
Embark Studios Twitter account: twitter.com/EmbarkStudios
Embark Studios' other game in development:
ARC Raiders website: arcraiders.com
ARC Raiders Twitter account: twitter.com/ARCRaidersGame

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Outro Music by Matt Langley.
You can check out his music on Amazon, Spotify, and YouTube Music here:
music.amazon.com/search/Matt+Langley?filter=IsLibrary%7Cfalse&sc=none
open.spotify.com/artist/5sk3FFw7hAV30RuvlWRcgD
music.youtube.com/search?q=matt+langley
And his Bandcamp page here: mattlangley.bandcamp.com
He is also on Apple Music and iTunes.

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My voiceover was recorded using an Audix OM3 Dynamic microphone: amzn.to/2EBfItU
With a Rode Windscreen: amzn.to/2Hr9Pm0
That is connected to my PC via a Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 2nd Generation USB Audio Interface: amzn.to/2GNLXfo

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#TheFinals #season2 #lore