Halo Infinite is a triumph against all odds. As a sequel to a divisive pair of games, itself forged through development hell and a pandemic, and getting delayed a whole year after a poor initial showing, the writing was on the wall for a dumpster fire. But instead the stars aligned. In a year when the tentpole big budget shooters were disappointing or broken, some having completely forgone a campaign, Infinite came out swinging with wildly engrossing multiplayer and one of the most enjoyable shooter campaigns in years.
Central to the success of both the campaign and multiplayer is Infinite’s perfected gameplay. It is hard to parse exactly what makes the game feel so good moment to moment, but the act of doing just about anything in Infinite is a joy. This leads to the multiplayer feeling extremely responsive with tactile feedback, making pretty much any kill feel satisfying. The generally well made maps and sandbox of weapons/abilities seem tuned to offer up ample opportunities for these moments. Finally, matchmaking feels more fair and subtle than many other modern shooters, never seemingly punishing a good match with disproportionately challenging opponents. Put these aspects together and you have a multiplayer suite in which “one more match” easily becomes a couple hours.
On the campaign side, gameplay remains king. The sandbox of weapons, vehicles, abilities, throwable exploding barrels, and marines at your disposal makes every encounter feel like something unique may emerge, even if there are only a handful of activity types to peruse. Nothing beats later in the game mounting up with a bunch of marines, all equipped with wacky weapons, and pushing an assassination target to just witness what will happen this time.
Perhaps the greatest edition, however is the grappling hook. The hook is a revelation that changes everything for the better. The formerly trudging Chief now whips around the world like Spider-Man, opening up whole new strategies for fights and traversal. The mountains you see can be scaled with ease and pure joy, often revealing a small secret or inspiring vista to look over while the original Halo theme plays softly in the background.
These vistas immensely feel like returning to early Halo vibes, and this feeling permeates the entire explorable world. The music, the locals, the sights and sounds, everything feels like a proper spiritual successor the earlier games executed to perfection. The story similarly follows this philosophy, effectively jettisoning many of the crazier, more recent story threads to focus more intimately on the Chief and a few others. Somehow, it manages to wrap up the past in a surprisingly effective and satisfying way while kicking off the next decade of Halo. All the while, the story probes the nature of the Chief as the seemingly immortal, archetypical savior/demigod of humanity more effectively than at least most of the series.
Considering the number of ways the the well had been poisoned for Infinite before release, it is astonishing to see how successful it has become broadly and how successful it has been to me. That is not to say it is without fault. The multiplayer side still needs progression tweaking and more content (like the upcoming forge mode) to keep it thriving. And the campaign would be even better with a larger variety of activities to undertake and another editing pass to improve some of the weaker aspects of the story. But to focus on these negative attributes feels like missing the forest through the trees. This is, perhaps, Halo at its best. A rare double feature of a worthwhile and ridiculously fun campaign and an engrossing multiplayer, all launching not on fire. Perhaps it is somewhat reflective on the state of games that such a feat is deserving of the highest marks, but Infinite certainly earns them. The future of Halo has rarely looked brighter.
Central to the success of both the campaign and multiplayer is Infinite’s perfected gameplay. It is hard to parse exactly what makes the game feel so good moment to moment, but the act of doing just about anything in Infinite is a joy. This leads to the multiplayer feeling extremely responsive with tactile feedback, making pretty much any kill feel satisfying. The generally well made maps and sandbox of weapons/abilities seem tuned to offer up ample opportunities for these moments. Finally, matchmaking feels more fair and subtle than many other modern shooters, never seemingly punishing a good match with disproportionately challenging opponents. Put these aspects together and you have a multiplayer suite in which “one more match” easily becomes a couple hours.
On the campaign side, gameplay remains king. The sandbox of weapons, vehicles, abilities, throwable exploding barrels, and marines at your disposal makes every encounter feel like something unique may emerge, even if there are only a handful of activity types to peruse. Nothing beats later in the game mounting up with a bunch of marines, all equipped with wacky weapons, and pushing an assassination target to just witness what will happen this time.
Perhaps the greatest edition, however is the grappling hook. The hook is a revelation that changes everything for the better. The formerly trudging Chief now whips around the world like Spider-Man, opening up whole new strategies for fights and traversal. The mountains you see can be scaled with ease and pure joy, often revealing a small secret or inspiring vista to look over while the original Halo theme plays softly in the background.
These vistas immensely feel like returning to early Halo vibes, and this feeling permeates the entire explorable world. The music, the locals, the sights and sounds, everything feels like a proper spiritual successor the earlier games executed to perfection. The story similarly follows this philosophy, effectively jettisoning many of the crazier, more recent story threads to focus more intimately on the Chief and a few others. Somehow, it manages to wrap up the past in a surprisingly effective and satisfying way while kicking off the next decade of Halo. All the while, the story probes the nature of the Chief as the seemingly immortal, archetypical savior/demigod of humanity more effectively than at least most of the series.
Considering the number of ways the the well had been poisoned for Infinite before release, it is astonishing to see how successful it has become broadly and how successful it has been to me. That is not to say it is without fault. The multiplayer side still needs progression tweaking and more content (like the upcoming forge mode) to keep it thriving. And the campaign would be even better with a larger variety of activities to undertake and another editing pass to improve some of the weaker aspects of the story. But to focus on these negative attributes feels like missing the forest through the trees. This is, perhaps, Halo at its best. A rare double feature of a worthwhile and ridiculously fun campaign and an engrossing multiplayer, all launching not on fire. Perhaps it is somewhat reflective on the state of games that such a feat is deserving of the highest marks, but Infinite certainly earns them. The future of Halo has rarely looked brighter.