I initially took Final Days for granted. It came off as a run of the mill top down arcade shooter that was enjoyable to play, but could start to feel like mindless fun in a hurry. It took me getting my ass kicked by this game repeatedly before I realized it deserved more respect. Running and gunning won’t get you far – this is a game that requires an impressive amount of strategy and thinking for maximum success and the highest scores. What’s equally impressive about Final Days is that this – a game boasting online co-op play with sixteen other players, four player split screen local co-op, one hundred plus enemies on screen at any given time, and with five unique game modes – was developed by only one person. Michael De Piazza of +7 Software has a lot to be proud of.
In Final Days you play as one foot soldier with up to four additional bots (or many more human players if online) tasked with making it out alive against a mutant outbreak. The main campaign of the game is broken up into two modes – Rendezvous and Escape. In Rendezvous, where I spent the majority of my time, you must survive hordes of mutants over a seven day period. Each day is presented in a new area as you push through to the final rescue point. In order to survive a single day and move to the next area, the soldier must battle against seven waves. Each wave spawns a larger number of mutants and adds in tougher enemy types. Players will get a very brief rest period between waves where they can collect new ammo types, find health, explore the map, or even set up traps and fortifications. What I loved most about Rendezvous is how it rewards your exploration and understanding of the map. If you rely simply on spraying and praying, you won’t last long in Final Days. Rather, the player will need to figure out the map – where do you need to avoid so you don’t back yourself into a corner? Where can enemies be funneled to make them easier to pick off, and what explosive traps and fortifications can be set up to take down multiple mutants at once or even barricade yourself from the hordes? It also won’t take long to tell where mutants spawn from. This doesn’t make things easier, but it allows you to strategize even further.
The second campaign mode is called Escape and involves traveling through forty floors of a facility overrun by mutants. Each floor represents a new stage in Escape mode and, while the enemies you face and the arsenal at your disposal doesn’t change at all, the approach differs greatly from Rendezvous. Escape boils down more to moving and reacting quickly through small rooms and corridors. The challenge of massive hordes in Rendezvous is replaced by smaller areas of maneuverability in this mode. Furthermore, new rooms and hallways are blacked out until the player enters – meaning you never know what’s waiting behind any new door. It could be a room absent of any threat and a cool new ammo type or additional armor. It could also be group of fast moving mutants who pounce on you the second the door opens. The interconnected rooms and hallways act as a maze. In some instances, you’ll find the exit to the next level of the facility very quickly. But moving on immediately means that several rooms will have been left unexplored. The player can opt to exit to the next level, but may risk missing valuable ammo and armor pickups that could prove extremely useful in later levels where tougher enemies await. It’s a nice balance of risk and reward that isn’t found in other modes of Final Days. Escape can be thrilling at times, but I thoroughly enjoyed the strategy involved with Rendezvous much more.
Final Days also offers variations on the aforementioned campaigns with two additional modes. Last Stand is similar to Rendezvous, but with no end. You are challenged with simply taking on an endless stream of hordes as long as possible. In Eradication mode, you are traversing floors of a facility like you did in Escape without a final destination. These additional modes offer added value and challenge for players who have already mastered the two main campaigns. Online global leader boards are also available allowing players to compare their progress through all modes against others around the world.
The default ammo type is a basic single shot with clip size of 15 and unlimited ammo. You start out with this at the beginning of each new play session. However, as you traverse levels and take down mutants, you will be rewarded with new ammo types that have a huge impact on firepower. The variety in ammo types are plentiful and players will be sure to develop a preference. But you can’t simply equip your favorite and stick with it. Aside from the default ammo type with unlimited clips, the quantity of ammo for each type is extremely limited. Mainly with Rendezvous, I found myself rationing my better ammo types until the hordes got larger and enemies had larger HP pools in later waves. And it wasn’t as simple as just throwing on any powerful ammo type for harder waves – it becomes situational. When I had the opportunity to funnel a large group of mutants into a small alley way or corridor, the rapid fire ammo type was best. I could risk using an explosive type, but with area of effect damage, there was a chance I could take hits to myself. In situations where I had a large group of mutants spread out in front of me with space to retreat behind, I found the fire ammo to be the best. It’s just another example of how a seemingly simple and basic arcade shooter had hidden layers of complexity and strategy.
Recommendation: Final Days offers players a lot of fun and won’t break the bank. It’s surprisingly rewarding and takes a refreshing amount of planning to survive. The game balances action well with thinking and the variety in its game modes means there’s likely something for everyone. Most importantly though, it’s a testament to the efforts of just one lone developer who set out – and succeeded – in crafting a fun and frantic experience based on a few simple premises.
Final Days is currently in beta with a full release on Steam on September 18th, 2018.
*Final Days was provided to the reviewer by the publisher but this fact did not alter the reviewer’s opinion*
