The Finals' new destruction tech unleashes total havoc, and I love it

Gamers love wreaking destruction. Destroying bad guys remains the objective of many titles, and if we can destroy the environment along the way even better. The destructible environments in the new Donkey Kong Bananza are a big part of what makes the Switch 2 game so much fun, but the holy grail is destruction that causes more destruction in realistic chain reactions.

That's what The Finals is now doing, accomplishing the original vision of the game. Season 8 of Embark Studios' free-to-play first-person shooter has introduced Smooth Destruction, a new system that allows collapsing structures to cause damage to other buildings and objects (see our guide to the best game development software if you're looking for tools for your own title).

As shown in the X post above, Smooth Destruction allows satisfying knock-on destruction effects that players crave. Realistic? Well, perhaps not. Some have noted that the architecture appears to have no weight, splintering like apart like Styrofoam.

But it's impressive if the upgrade doesn't have any performance impact, and it does add to the gameplay by opening new strategic options. Some players now want to see it Battlefield.

The Finals Destruction is EVEN Better Now... - YouTube

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Embark describes the process as a “fundamental leap forward” and proof that its evolving our core systems can transform the game as much as brand-new features.

In its patch notes, it says: “With this new update, we’re dialing up the cascading damage that can occur when buildings or objects fall into others. Starting with suspended structures and cranes, making these crash down can cause real damage and totally reshape the environment, creating new emergent play spaces in the process!”

It says it plans to spread Smooth Destruction across every Arena.

For more inspiration, see our feature on indie game developers. And if you need to upgrade your own setup, don't miss our pick of the best laptops for game developers.