It’s no secret that Halo is one of the biggest first-person shooter franchises in gaming. While it might not carry the same serious tone or realistic combat as our beloved Battlefield, Halo helped set the foundation for competitive multiplayer when it blasted onto the scene in 2001. The sequel, Halo 2, kicked online multiplayer into overdrive, leading to the modern FPS experience we love. After several delays, the sixth game in the franchise, Halo Infinite, is finally out on Xbox consoles and PC. While it offers familiar gameplay that’s as fun as ever, Halo Infinite takes some risks in both its story and design, but they pay off for the most part. Today, we’re taking a look at the story, campaign, and multiplayer and deciding if 343 Studios was successful at creating a quality Halo game for the next generation of hardware.
Halo Infinite‘s Story Makes it Easy to Jump In
In the beginning, Halo was a simple story about a powerful super-soldier named Master Chief who just wants to kick some alien butt and save humanity. As the series got more popular and the universe expanded, Halo‘s narrative got more and more complex. By the time the series hit Halo 5: Guardians, things were pretty convoluted and often confusing, whether you were a longtime fan or not. To make Halo Infinite a rewarding experience for both franchise veterans and curious newcomers, 343 Studios had to make some concessions and offer a straightforward story that’s easy to follow.
To achieve this, Halo Infinite‘s story kicks off six months after Halo 5: Guardians ends, with the war between humanity and the Banished mostly finished. During a climactic fight with the Banished leader, Atriox, Master Chief is partially defeated and thrown into the weightless abyss of space, only to be saved a few months later by an observant pilot. After spending some significant time in space, Master Chief (and by proxy, the player) has very little knowledge about the war, and instead focuses on retaking a giant ring installation known as the Zeta Halo. Together, the pilot and Master Chief head down to the nearby Zeta Halo and make it their mission to defeat the Banished and reclaim the ring.
By removing itself from the grander narrative and presenting a simple objective to the player, Halo Infinite sheds some of the excessive lore that the series has built up in previous entries. You don’t need to play the past five Halo games to understand Halo Infinite‘s story, as most of it involves systematically eliminating every Banished soldier you find while you investigate the Zeta Halo’s mysterious function. The story still links into the existing Halo narrative well, but it is self-contained enough to be approachable for new fans. Ultimately, Halo Infinite lacks the cinematic nature of previous installments, but it balances things out with some awesome gameplay.
Why Open World Design Works Perfectly for Halo Infinite
In the past, Halo was designed as a game with linear levels, but one that still boasts open-ended combat through large areas and intense battles. Halo Infinite takes things a step further by adopting the open-world format, offering a variety of activities and collectibles in addition to the standard story missions. Approximately 75% of the game takes place on the surface of the Zeta Halo, an expansive map that is dominated by Banished control points, outposts, and propaganda towers. There are also stranded marine squads for you to rescue, as well as high-value targets to kill and upgrade points to find. Instead of holding your hand and directing you toward an objective for hours on end, Halo Infinite encourages players to get crazy and experiment.
This push toward player experimentation and combat creativity is most evident in the addition of new pieces of equipment to use, including a deployable shield, evasive thrusters, and a glorious grappleshot. The grappleshot is like a grappling hook, only better. You can use it to grapple to high ledges, pull weapons toward you, or fling yourself in the air. Generally speaking, the grappleshot completely renews Master Chief’s sense of speed and mobility, making it tons of fun to simply move around the battlefield.
The weapon arsenal is also doubly impressive this time around, containing both human and alien weapons that are tons of fun to use. Halo staples like the Assault Rifle, Sniper, and Shotgun are still here, but you’ll also find powerful new weapons like the Skewer, which fires a massive bolt capable of one-shotting enemy vehicles. Each of the high-value targets on the map also holds a modified weapon, which you earn upon their death. This includes everything from a shotgun with a tighter spread to homing rocket launchers, all of which are tons of fun to experiment with. No matter where you go on the Zeta Halo, whether in pursuit of a story mission or hunting down audio logs, Halo Infiniteloves to present you with large-scale battles and a variety of enemy types. It’s most interested in letting the player create their own crazy power fantasy by providing a proper set of destructive tools.
Is Halo Infinite Worth Your Time?
Before Halo Infinite, the series was a must-play for fans of science fiction and linear first-person shooters. Now, the series has evolved into something that’s new but mostly familiar, making it a good entry point for newcomers. With the addition of the grappleshot and open-world design, Halo Infinite might put off some franchise veterans, but we suggest not judging a book by its cover. While the open-world might feel like an unnecessary modern adjustment on paper, it makes sense in its execution, promoting the kind of gameplay that made Halo so fun in the first place.
If you’re new to Halo and are considering Halo Infinite as your first foray into the franchise, we wholeheartedly recommend it. The game provides invigorating FPS gameplay with an emphasis on creativity during firefights, while its story is compelling enough to keep you motivated for main missions. While its plot might be a bit rudimentary when compared to its predecessors, it’s an undeniably enjoyable game that offers at least a dozen hours of fast-paced shooting. The path to release might’ve been bumpy, but Halo Infinite is worth it in the long run.
-Matt
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