Halo Infinite’s campaign is messy. In a confounding attempt to bridge the narrative gap between Halo 5: Guardians and Halo Wars 2, 343 Industries have served up an almost incomprehensible mash-up of plot. When it comes to the struggles of Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, I just don’t care about the can-do platitudes, two-word responses, and “hoo-rah” mindset. Contrasted against Weapon — the ironically-more-human AI companion replacing Cortana this time around — or Echo 216 — a regular-ass dude who rightfully doesn’t want to throw himself into harm’s way to win a war that’s already been lost — Master Chief feels as empty a suit of armor as ever before. While playing, these characters almost feel like purposeful foils to Chief’s stoic roboticism, mirrors put in place to let him consider his own lack of humanity. Unfortunately this golden opportunity for a 20 year old series to get introspective goes wholly unexplored and feels like one of the year’s most high-profile fumbles.
And yet even though this failed addition Halo’s overarching narrative left me stunned in lethargy, Halo Infinite’s mechanic strides elevate it to not only compete with the current crop of first-person shooter monoliths, but absolutely trounce them with a heavy emphasis on fun and physics. At this point I would be comfortable saying this is the best Halo has ever felt. Weird!
At its core, Halo’s greatest strength is improvisation. In the compact corridors of previous entries we’d mosey our way from setpiece to meticulously designed setpiece, all the while swapping weapons as quickly as we could drain them of their ammunition. Every grenade was thrown within seconds of picking it up, every gun utilized to the last few shots and discarded — as it turns out, “evolved combat” means reloading takes more time than grabbing an already loaded gun off the ground. Miraculously, 343i’s decision to move Halo Infinite into an open world expands the opportunities for improv. Grappling between pine trees, hijacking vehicles, and discovering new weapons feels even better in an expansive physics-based sandbox than it did within the metal labyrinths of the series’ past. Even the spontaneity of the original trilogy’s more open levels pale in comparison to what can be accomplished when an enemy encampment can be squirreled away in any forest or quarry or atop any hill. And say you get tired of this “new” Halo and find yourself missing said metal labyrinths, all you need to do is head towards the nearest story mission to reacquaint yourself with the quality of level design that put the franchise on the map to begin with. Outside of its bizarre plot, Halo Infinite’s campaign is fun to exist within and poke at the edges of. Every whiffed grapple shot and every truck flipped off a cliff is just another opportunity for procedurally generative comedy, aided at its best by the all-too-serious in-game characters who don’t get the joke.
Crucially all of these mechanic improvements make their way into Infinite’s free-to-play multiplayer component as well, which has revitalized the series in a way most corporate executive freaks could only dream of. In the few short weeks since its “beta” release we’ve seen balance changes to the way experience is gained post-match, a suite of new and returning game modes, and multiple events. It’s absolutely enthralling. As of this writing I have played at least one multiplayer match daily for about a month. For years and years I’ve been on a hunt for “the one,” the one multiplayer game I can feel good about jumping into to clear my head or listen to podcasts or a new album.
Finally, Halo Infinite is that game.
And yet even though this failed addition Halo’s overarching narrative left me stunned in lethargy, Halo Infinite’s mechanic strides elevate it to not only compete with the current crop of first-person shooter monoliths, but absolutely trounce them with a heavy emphasis on fun and physics. At this point I would be comfortable saying this is the best Halo has ever felt. Weird!
At its core, Halo’s greatest strength is improvisation. In the compact corridors of previous entries we’d mosey our way from setpiece to meticulously designed setpiece, all the while swapping weapons as quickly as we could drain them of their ammunition. Every grenade was thrown within seconds of picking it up, every gun utilized to the last few shots and discarded — as it turns out, “evolved combat” means reloading takes more time than grabbing an already loaded gun off the ground. Miraculously, 343i’s decision to move Halo Infinite into an open world expands the opportunities for improv. Grappling between pine trees, hijacking vehicles, and discovering new weapons feels even better in an expansive physics-based sandbox than it did within the metal labyrinths of the series’ past. Even the spontaneity of the original trilogy’s more open levels pale in comparison to what can be accomplished when an enemy encampment can be squirreled away in any forest or quarry or atop any hill. And say you get tired of this “new” Halo and find yourself missing said metal labyrinths, all you need to do is head towards the nearest story mission to reacquaint yourself with the quality of level design that put the franchise on the map to begin with. Outside of its bizarre plot, Halo Infinite’s campaign is fun to exist within and poke at the edges of. Every whiffed grapple shot and every truck flipped off a cliff is just another opportunity for procedurally generative comedy, aided at its best by the all-too-serious in-game characters who don’t get the joke.
Crucially all of these mechanic improvements make their way into Infinite’s free-to-play multiplayer component as well, which has revitalized the series in a way most corporate executive freaks could only dream of. In the few short weeks since its “beta” release we’ve seen balance changes to the way experience is gained post-match, a suite of new and returning game modes, and multiple events. It’s absolutely enthralling. As of this writing I have played at least one multiplayer match daily for about a month. For years and years I’ve been on a hunt for “the one,” the one multiplayer game I can feel good about jumping into to clear my head or listen to podcasts or a new album.
Finally, Halo Infinite is that game.