Halo Infinite Review – Back to Basics

I really hope that this time most of you will read at least this introductory paragraph in addition to the verdict. In my opinion, this is very important for understanding the context of my assessment of the game. Halo is one of my favorite TV shows. I watched the first series quite a long time before it came out – and of course I bought the then first generation Xbox console for it – I still have the console and the game in a collection with treasures such as the Collector’s Steelbook Edition of Halo 2 (with one of the most interesting “products” on the bonus disc) or the collector’s edition of Halo 3 (with the very famous helmet). I consider Halo Reach the best part of the series, I’ve spent literally thousands of hours of multiplayer in Halo Wars. The last two installments of the main series from 343 Industries took me some getting used to, but I admired their courage to turn the story and especially the relationship of the main characters on its head. The Halo soundtracks are some of my most listened to years. I love the Halo series and I love the Xbox. Which is why, unfortunately, Halo Infinite broke my heart.

• Platform: XSX (tested), XSS, X1, PC
• Publication date: 8. 12. 2021
• Producer: 343 industries (USA)
• Genre: FPS
• Czech location: Not
• Multiplayer: only contest so far
• Data to download: 28 GB
• Game time: 6+ hours
• Price: 1799 CZK (Xzone)

Restart at all costs

Bungie’s original Halo trilogy offered a very strong story-driven saga, with big gradations (from a battle for a single “planet” to a massive intergalactic war of multiple civilizations), unexpected twists (the second playable character of two) and a very worthy ending. full of sacrifices and unforgettable moments. “Wake me up when you need me,” the Master Chief said at the end of the trip. The Bungies subsequently released their masterpiece, remastering the legendary battle for the planet Reach. But then the creators of the series broke away from Microsoft and embarked on a journey to their destiny (Destiny game). The scepter has moved to a new studio, 343 Industries, created specifically to look after the most important Xbox series. Their Halo 4 very cleverly capitalized on the Master Chief’s relationship with Cortana by introducing new enemies. Unfortunately, the fifth part went even further and turned Cortana into something that few fans saw through – in addition, most of the game paid attention to a completely new character named Jameson Locke to the detriment of Master Chief. The show’s reputation had been shaken to its foundations, and it was clear that it was heading in a dangerous direction.

This story is the key to understanding what and why is happening in Halo Infinite. From the very first snippets of the game, it was clear that the developers from 343 Industries grabbed the nose (or poked Microsoft’s fingers) for the direction in which the fourth and fifth parts went. With every viewing of Halo Infinite, there was a return to the original first installment in the series in terms of visuals, content, setting, casting, just about everything. He seemed so ferocious that I was already beginning to worry that this was a continuation of an already told story, because, for example, in the five there was not even a hint of Cortana and her allies. In my mind, I was preparing for what would be a kind of soft reboot that so far has offered no answers or references to the ambitious lore saga. Well, maybe it would be better as a result. Because what the creators do, twisting history at all costs to erase the events of the previous two episodes and get to a point similar to the original trilogy, is sometimes really turned on its head.

Bending history at any cost to erase the events of the previous two installments.

If you’ve never played Halo, you’ll probably miss out on a lot of dialogue, as it’s often about “flashbacks” and quotes from past episodes of the series. But that doesn’t mean you don’t understand the story: it’s not complicated. More or less three heroes (the Master Chief, a frightened Pelican pilot, and a new AI nicknamed Weapon or Weapon) fight on the surface of another Halo ring against an alien faction called the Exiles. For insiders, there’s a line in the background about what really happened to Cortana – unfortunately very stubbornly built, so parts of it might miss you completely. Not to mention that almost all of the dialogue is so full of pathos (talks of hope from the good guys, talk of pride and defiance from the bad guys) that it’s almost impossible to take them seriously. When an iconic message from previous installments of the series plays from time to time, it’s clearly a bittersweet moment. In any case, if you stick only to the main missions on one of the lower difficulties, after six (!) hours you will have completed the story, and you will actually get to the same point where the series was with its first part. You can even play “remastered” music from the first part in several places.

“The Greatest Halo” or an endless open world

Story aside, the game’s second biggest attraction was the open world, a completely new take on game structure within the series (aside from the much more limited experiment in Halo: ODST). Well, I am happy to confirm that this processing of the game world can create impressive moments. Among the best are, for example, the dynamic alternation of the time of day, with spectacular sunsets / sunrises over an alien landscape. There are also powerful moments when you get the task of “destroy the air defenses” and scan the landscape to find a towering cannon on the horizon, jump into the car and drive in the direction of the route that you think is most suitable. I really enjoyed these moments, but I’m not sure they were worth the weaker graphics (I can’t help but get the impression that some “spoiled corridors” looked better in previous parts of the series) and especially for the (temporary) lack of co-op – especially given the following .

I hate to say this, but the open world content in Halo Infinite is strikingly reminiscent of the “pattern” from Ubisoft games. While the map isn’t as rich, there are additional action “icons” scattered around it that can be summarized into a few very simple patterns: the most common being destroying an enemy base to occupy it with human troops. This is sometimes interspersed with VIP mini-bosses, almost always of a humanoid type, although vehicles are sometimes used as well. In short, after trying a few of these interchangeable side effects, I completely lost the desire and motivation to do more. If you want to get the most out of the game, expand and, for example, collect all the lore entries, etc., I can imagine that you clear the entire map. Especially for higher difficulty, where you will need extra points to upgrade your equipment, although these are fairly limited upgrades (stronger shield, faster launch anchor charging).

Gameplay has been great

But Halo Infinite is by no means a bad game. This is mainly due to the very healthy basis of the gameplay, which is the famous “30 seconds of fun” that repeats over and over again. This means dynamic encounters with enemies of various types that scatter or surround you according to your and their weapons, while you think about throwing a grenade, one of the guns lying around you, or using a vehicle from small “motorcycles” to large tanks or hovercraft. I especially liked some of the new weapons, led by an electric rifle capable of delivering headshots, dropping shields, or even paralyzing vehicles. What I didn’t really like was the brand new launch anchor used to move around the environment and even in combat to paralyze the enemy. But without it, it would be almost impossible to conquer some of the more mountainous parts of the map. I was very sorry that the story campaign did not force you to properly test the tanks or hovercraft, although they certainly flicker on the battlefield. But the old parts of the series were able to build unforgettable missions around them.

Excellent weapons, controls and general “shootout” of course keep competitive multiplayer games that can be downloaded separately for free. I won’t go into details about it in this review because my colleague David already did it for me in his article. So, let me briefly say that I agree with his conclusions. Halo Infinite multiplayer is a welcome return to the more arcade-like concept of “old-school” competitive shooting games, where some weapons and especially vehicles add a twist or some teams’ endlessly inventive and fun stunts. Considering the sorry state of competition this year, this is a pretty clear winner in the new AAA competitive games category. Unfortunately, longtime fans are still missing some mods and features, but it’s probably only a matter of time before the creators expand the offering. The original version of the game was annoyed by the terribly slow and strict Battle Pass model, but on this front the developers have managed to respond since the release and create a healthier environment. It’s clear that Halo remains the most important Xbox brand (at least until Bethesda’s upcoming key games arrive) and will be properly pampered, so we can look forward to further additions and improvements to Halo Infinite.