The word "infinite" in the latest Halo title is extremely appropriate.
There’s so much to consider that it feels boundless.
On one hand, the core gameplay is undeniably excellent, in both the campaign
and in multiplayer.
The gunplay, movement, and its extra tools are ridiculously enjoyable,
allowing for limitless player creativity.
Infinite elevates the sandbox principles Halo was built upon
more than any game in the series.
Yet for as big as Infinite’s campaign can feel, it’s also shockingly sparse.
Meanwhile, the multiplayer’s monetization and progression systems are frustrating to say the least.
Both of these issues are giant mosquitos sucking up some of the fun.
But, even with all that said, the aspects it does get right are so mighty
that it makes Halo Infinite hard to walk away from.
Starting with the campaign, the open world structure of Halo Infinite is used to great effect.
It instills a strong sense of unpredictability and improvisation
which hasn't resonated as much since the original Halo: Combat Evolved.
There are many ways the game cultivates these moments.
In combat, it can mean frantically running away from a hectic battle
only to encounter something like a power weapon, turret, or vehicle
that can help turn the tide, providing both relief and excitement.
This same "anything can happen" sentiment also applies to exploration.
It’s so satisfying to wander off in a direction just to see what you can find,
be that a cache of weapons, a group of enemies,
or perhaps some poor marines to save.
Truly the undeniable star of the entire campaign is the grappling hook.
It really does change everything.
Obstacles that would be absolute barriers in other Halo games
are minor inconveniences here.
Whether it's zipping up to the top of an enemy base, scaling a mountain, snagging a distant weapon,
or even using it to hijack an enemy vehicle,
there’s a wild amount of versatility for a single tool.
If you have even the faintest amount of curiosity, it will be satiated.
Sometimes you may just want to grapple straight upward for no other reason than to see if you can.
While the Halo sandbox has always been excellent at providing crazy moments
that feel personal to you, the grappling hook multiplies the opportunities for such moments, without question.
Although the grappling hook is the best piece of equipment, the others are useful in their own right.
The drop wall provides crucial defense; the threat sensor reveals enemy locations;
the repulsor can push both enemies and projectiles away;
and the thruster gives a quick burst of movement that’s helpful in retreating or just getting around.
There’s also a ton of incentive to upgrade equipment, simply because
of how good the upgrades are, such as decreasing the lengthy cooldown of the drop wall
or giving the grappling hook a powerful melee strike.
The added utility makes it extra enticing to run all over the large map
to find the spartan cores needed for upgrades.
Similarly, earning Valor is a well-implemented form of progression.
As you complete various tasks throughout Zeta Halo,
you earn Valor and climb up what is essentially a single-player battle pass,
acquiring new weapons and vehicles.
These additions to your arsenal can be called upon at any forward operating base
that you clear.
Going from not being able to call in hardly anything to summoning a tank whenever you want is pretty great.
Valor also ties in well with the story,
providing a great sensation of actually reclaiming Zeta Halo for the UNSC and humanity as a whole.
The weapons themselves feel finely tuned, and the available arsenal is generally effective
depending on the situation.
Classics like the plasma pistol and battle rifle can come in clutch at the right moments,
while new weapons like the mangler and shock rifle absolutely shine.
The mangler chews through enemies, and the shock rifle
has the dual purpose of picking off distant opponents or temporarily halting vehicles.
Or you can just go full Donkey Kong and throw barrels of explosive energy.
The point is, the usability of a lot of the weapons
provides a great amount of combat variety throughout the campaign.
However, there are significant downsides to the open world approach compared to other Halo games.
There’s a visual sameness that really plagues the campaign.
Aesthetically, it feels like you've seen everything there is to see by the time you're halfway through the game.
The style of Zeta Halo itself doesn't change much, nor do the various Banished and Forerunner structures
that are littered throughout.
There are times when Infinite pulls you away from the open world, but
this really only means you're shuffled into corridors, fighting tons of enemies again and again.
The various compositions of enemies in different encounters do help alleviate things, but
sometimes it feels closer to a wave-based mode like Firefight
than a well-constructed campaign.
Halo has never been especially well known for its boss fights, but
it's an area that Infinite invests fairly heavily in.
At their best, these fights really do feel as intense and climactic
as the story positions them.
Without giving too much away,
you may be trapped in a small room with an ultra dangerous close-quarters enemy.
As a result, you have to be extra quick on your feet
and make split-second decisions about which offensive options to use and when.
Unfortunately the boss fights repeatedly rely on the same tricks,
which takes away some of the novelty and awe from a few of the encounters.
The story of Halo Infinite accomplishes many significant things,
and it’s very personal in a lot of ways.
Part of the intimacy comes from a new character known as the Pilot,
who serves as an excellent counterbalance for Master Chief.
Whereas Chief leaps into danger without a second thought,
the Pilot is deeply terrified, and his feelings help ground the story.
He just wants to go home and gets very frustrated
at being trapped in a warzone.
The new AI companion, the Weapon, also plays off Chief exceedingly well.
While purposefully similar to Cortana,
her naivety clashes with Master Chief in interesting ways, considering
he's someone who's been to hell and back several times over.
The Chief himself is also quite captivating, since he feels more introspective and vulnerable,
but not so much that it compromises the character.
He questions his past actions
and wrestles with guilt in ways that make him relatable.
For all of the good Infinite's story does, ultimately where it ends up feels way too familiar,
like the game just hit a giant reset button rather than actually pushing forward.
It's obvious that there’s a strong effort to return to Halo's roots, but
Infinite's story takes that far too literally.
Halo 5's plot was overwhelmingly and understandably criticized,
and Infinite indeed does feel like it’s desperately trying to clean up what that game established.
The lack of forward momentum is also reinforced by how Infinite
doesn't do a great job of establishing the new threat it introduces.
Without going into detail, it's hard to buy into their menace or purpose
when the game goes out of its way to dance around them.
The other pillar of Halo Infinite is its free-to-play multiplayer,
and boy, is it one tangled knot to unravel.
First, and most importantly, it feels sublime.
The shooting and movement are top-tier,
and while certainly not perfect,
the weapon balance and map design lead to many incredible moments.
In both quick play and big team battle,
players start with an assault rifle and a pistol, and both of these weapons are strong.
The AR excels at close and mid-range combat, especially when paired with a melee attack,
and provided you have decent aim, the pistol can either chew through shields
or clean up a weakened enemy.
As soon as you spawn, you feel pretty capable on the battlefield, but
not so much that there isn't motivation to go out and collect other weapons.
Being on a team that’s on top of gathering power weapons is critical to doing well in a match.
Halo Infinite successfully embraces its arena shooter DNA,
and feels so much different than other contemporary AAA shooters without feeling old.
New elements like the grappling hook and repulsor, as well as new weapons,
prevent Infinite from becoming hollow nostalgia.
Some of the maps are also just a joy to play on, with a surprising amount of nuance
that becomes more apparent the more you play.
Bazaar, for instance, feels slightly different depending on where you're engaging the enemy.
If you're at either end of the map, the areas are cramped just enough for mid-range fights,
but there are plenty of ways to ascend to high ground and objects to hide behind,
making it easy to catch someone off guard.
The middle of the map is more open, and fights can easily descend into scrappy brawls.
On the Aquarius map,
it's easy to simultaneously feel like you could be attacked from all sides at any given moment
and like there’s plenty of cover.
It ultimately leads to thrilling situations where you try to flank the enemy
or get unexpectedly flanked.
Still, not all map and mode combinations work as well as others.
One-flag CTF on the Launch Site map is infuriating.
It's way, way too easy to defend the flag since you have an abundance of tools and cover,
while the attacking team has to travel long distances
while they’re much more exposed.
The imbalance can lead to unsatisfying stalemates.
The progression and monetization in Halo Infinite's multiplayer takes some time to fully understand.
Much of it centers around a battle pass which has both free
and premium tracks, although the premium track feels practically mandatory
considering it offers some of the best rewards.
Progressing through the battle pass means completing weekly challenges
as well as matches.
While the developers have toned down the difficulty of the weekly challenges,
a lot of work still needs to be done.
It's so incredibly irritating to get a challenge that involves winning a number of matches
of a particular game mode, only to repeatedly not matchmake into that specific mode.
As of this writing, there’s no way to choose which game mode you matchmake into,
meaning that if your heart is set on getting certain challenges done,
you'll inevitably feel like you’re wasting precious time.
There’s also the issue of challenge swaps, which come in limited supply.
You may get a challenge you don't like only to swap into another challenge
you don't like, so it's easy to burn through swaps.
One of the problems is that some challenges can be wildly easier to complete than others,
even though they give equal amounts of experience.
If you manage to complete all of the challenges in a given week,
you'll unlock an ultimate challenge that includes an exclusive reward.
The idea here is great.
It's very fulfilling to have something to show for going through so much effort.
There just isn't enough of this in Halo Infinite.
The amount of things you can show off and be proud of
is grossly dwarfed by an overwhelming amount of pay-only items in the shop,
which has overpriced bundles that refresh daily and weekly.
Any free-to-play game is expected to have paid cosmetics, but
it isn't comforting when your knee-jerk reaction to a lot of the items
is that the price should at least be cut in half.
There’s no way to earn in-game currency either,
which is a standard in the free-to-play market.
The troubling monetization is exacerbated by the rollout of the first event, Fractured Tenrai,
where progress is severely gated over the course of several months,
and the way the event even works is confusing.
You have to complete event-specific challenges,
but after clearing the initial batch, you have to complete regular challenges
to acquire more event challenges.
Not to mention the cool samurai armor you unlock
can't be greatly customized right now unless you're willing to spend more money.
Fractured Tenrai perfectly encapsulates a lot of the problems
with Infinite's progression and microtransactions as a whole:
it's overwrought and overly aggressive.
On a more positive note, 343 Industries has been receptive to feedback.
They have already changed how experience is doled out twice,
and now you can easily get one battle pass level per day
just by playing six matches, regardless of how well you do in those matches.
The developer has also said that more game mode playlists are on the way.
Hopefully, they continue to listen and to execute on feedback
because the foundation is so solid,
and if these issues can be addressed, the future of the game is bright.
And that is the ultimate takeaway from Halo Infinite.
There’s a lot to rightfully criticize, but this is also
the most vibrant and exciting Halo has felt in what feels like an eternity.
Regardless of the rewards, it’s hard to put the multiplayer down.
Infinite needs to absolutely be called out for its glaring shortcomings,
but it's also important to recognize that at its heart, there is something undeniably special here.
Final score: 8 out of 10.
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