The Final Exam

The Final Exam

Released Nov 2024

This intense simulation recreates a school shooting scenario, lasting 10 minutes. Players navigate halls representing real-life tragedies, collecting gun bills to survive. The game aims to highlight the failure to protect schools and motivate action to prevent future shootings and save lives.

42% positive · 533 reviews
Done
All announced content has been released
Medium confidence
Done
All announced content has been released
Medium confidence

Where to get it

Free on Steam

Evaluation

The Final Exam launched on November 1, 2024 as a free-to-play title. The store description presents a fully self-contained experience: a tightly scoped, 10-minute choice-driven simulation with a fixed structure (five gun control bills to collect, a defined set of scenarios, a single survival outcome). There is no mention of future updates, additional content, expansions, seasons, or any post-launch content cycle anywhere in the store listing. The developer has made no public communications announcing planned additions. No DLC is listed. The game was clearly designed and shipped as a complete, finished product — a focused, message-driven experience rather than a game built for ongoing updates.
Evidence
Store description presents a complete, self-contained 10-minute simulation with a fixed structure — no mention of planned updates, expansions, or additional content.
description · Nov 1, 2024 source development ending
high
Short description confirms the game's focused, message-driven scope with no indication of future content additions.
store metadata · Nov 1, 2024 source development ending
medium

Media

Details

Developer
Publisher
Change The Ref
Achievements
—
Platform
Windows
Controller
—
Steam Deck
Playable
Players
Single-player

About this game

Ten minutes.

That’s how long the average mass shooting lasts, and in this school, it’s also how long you have to escape.

Set in an American high school, The Final Exam places players in students' shoes to experience a choice-driven survival game that mirrors the real-life decisions students must make during a mass shooting. As players navigate through emotionally charged scenarios like classrooms, lockers, and gyms, they confront the challenges and fears faced by students in a world where a shooter invades a place that is supposed to be a safe haven.

With immersive storytelling and an audio-driven experience, players go through safety drills like building barricades, hiding in lockers, and crawling quietly to escape the school. However, the only true way to survive is by unlocking five gun control bills hidden throughout the school.

The game is free of gore, violence, guns, and blood because it aims to be more than just a game; it’s a call to action. By promoting discussions about gun control and community safety, the Final Exam forces adults to confront a harsh and, unfortunately, too common reality. It empowers players to think critically about the issues affecting their community, encouraging them to become advocates for change.

The clock starts now.

The Final Exam for PC also supports high-end display setups with 4K resolution and beyond, widescreen configurations, faster frame rates, and more.

Last evaluated Jun 19, 2026
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