HALO INFINITE [2021] XSX REVIEW

🏆  MASTERPIECE  🏆

The positive:

💗 Steve Downes & Jen Taylor are still rocking it!

💗 Phenomenal closure to the reclaimer saga

💗 A compelling & emotional storyline

💗 Stunning presentation & unprecedented graphics

💗 Killer soundtrack & audio design

💗 Seamless transitions from gorgeous cutscenes into game

💗 Amazing combat loop & Killer boss fights!

💗 Rewarding exploration & fun with the grappling hook

The negative:

👎 You have to be familiar with the Halo Wars lore to get the Story.

👎 Several bugs & crashes at launch (fixed by now 2023)

👎 The Marines AI is terrible (fixed by now 2023)

👎 Zeta Halo is desperately lacking in visual variety

👎 There’s frequent pop-in, especially for distant objects and assets

After 6 long years filled with many setbacks, delays, and a gameplay trailer that got every Halo fan worried, Halo Infinite was finally released at the end of 2021 and saved the series by finally doing something different. 343 Industries went back to basics and centered the story around three core elements: The Master Chief, an emotional storyline about the relationship with his AI companion, and the battle against an exciting and dangerous new threat.  With a strong focus on exploration & freedom combined with the enhanced combat loop, 343 Industries has created my favorite Halo campaign. One that will resonate with veteran Halo fans and will inspire a new generation of players to explore its universe. 

REVIEW SCOPE

Half-life first and then Halo, that's how I came to be a passionate gamer. I consider myself an old-school Halo fan since 2001 when Combat Evolved came out, I was only 15 years old! and since then I completed every game or every campaign at launch. Although I feel I have a different relationship with Halo and the overall experience than most players. I have never played multiplayer, coop, or anything other than the campaigns, and I have never checked on what the devs are doing. I know all about Bungie, I've just never been a part of the community, and since 343 took the mantle of responsibility, I have seen them take heat like no other developer before. I loved the Bungie trilogy, Reach was my favorite! but I found the reclaimer Saga to be superior in every way: The gameplay mechanics, the combat encounters, the level design, and even the new storyline! I've done my research about "343 against the world" read the forums, and seen the videos, I get where all the hate is coming from, and I understand them, 343 seems to keep breaking their promises and letting everybody down. I know forge is a big thing for both level designers and users who want to experience custom content or mods, I've just never been interested in that, so the fact that they haven't included Forge is not something that changes my experience. I'm just not affected by the fact that "they promised Infinite will have couch co-op and they failed us" or "MCC did not have dedicated servers on launch". It seems that every complaint about 343 is legit, but if you only play the campaigns it’s hard not to love them. There is actually something they got wrong and deeply affected me: The HALO TV SHOW. OMG! shame on you 343 💔

THE BANISHED?

I loved the Halo 5 Guardians campaign! It was not what I wanted, but I liked what I got. Cortana becoming the bad guy was not where I wanted the story to Go, but I still loved the narrative and the way it was told. The implementation of new and strong main characters was refreshing.  But overall fans and critics alike despised the Story, the characters, and the new gameplay mechanics. This has loomed over 343 Industries like a dark and ominous cloud since 2015. And now at the tail end of 2021 Halo infinite manages to bring the series back to its roots by capturing the very essence of Combat Evolved while improving the core mechanics to deliver genuine player freedom.

Halo Infinite Storyline is as brilliant as confusing. I was halfway through the story, and I still didn't understand what was going on. It's all very confusing, I was puzzled by the intro ... was that a dream? Is that how the story ends... with that brute killing the Master Chief? but who is this Atriox? If you haven't played the Halo Wars Strategy games, and you didn't read the books, then you will be clueless like a noob who never played a Halo game before, despite you being a badass spartan that has beaten every Halo campaign Heroic or even Legendary. 343 Should have included a video in the menu to introduce some basic concepts to Fans who might be missing some pieces, like who are the banished or why are we on Zeta Halo. 

The game begins rather confusingly. The heroic Master Chief is brutally beaten by an imposing Brute named Atriox, the leader of a fearless army known as the Banished. Tossed into space, Master Chief finds himself stranded and helpless as Atriox's forces decimate Earth's UNSC forces. After six months missing in action, a UNSC soldier known as the 'The Pilot' manages to recover and power up the robotic hero. After getting a SITREP, the chief sets out to destroy this new enemy and disrupt whatever they are planning to do in the ring.  To do so, he'll need the help of The Pilot, and a brand new AI companion called The Weapon. I really enjoyed the new character, the weapon is a proper replacement for Cortana in her own right. 

HALO EVOLVED

Infinite has a wonderful presentation, with stunning visual art and unprecedented graphics (XSX) The forests are thriving with wildlife, grass sways in the breeze, and Forerunner structures feel suitably imposing. The destruction of Zeta Halo exposed the Ring's inside structure creating spectacular vistas. That ring on the horizon is physical, interacting with the sun and casting long shadows across itself. While very beautiful, Zeta Halo is desperately lacking in visual variety.

The game soundtrack also deserves praise, atmospheric exploration music, thrilling combat tracks, and a mix of classic and modern Halo melodies. It all sounds very Halo. The score is deployed perfectly in a few key moments to really get the blood pumping. 

I absolutely enjoyed stepping back into Chief’s shoes once again, the combat has been the series’ biggest strength since its inception, and Infinite’s combat is the best this series has ever had. Movement is slick and fluid, there’s an excellent variety of weapons and all feel incredible to shoot. The enemies are varied and have outstanding AI. Besides the enhanced combat loop, Infinite has amazing boss fights! These mostly see you facing the imposing bosses around a small arena figuring out the way to finish them off. Halo Infinite really is good Halo. For old-school fans of the Bungie games, Halo Infinite is a strong return to form, and the best running and gunning the series has ever had. Every activity in the game, whether it's the story missions or the open world side objectives, boils down to combat, and the combat loop perfection ensures that repetition is never experienced.

Between the story missions and exploring a good chunk of the open world, the campaign took me about 35 hours to complete on Heroic difficulty, it was quite a challenge but I took my time sightseeing too. I enjoyed my time with the campaign quite a bit overall, always interested in seeing where the plot was going next, and enjoying the moment-to-moment combat and exploration. 

CONCLUSION

Halo Infinite is the best game from 343 Industries, a good return to form, and my favorite Halo: another epic journey with a new strong focus on emotional drama between the gigantic characters. A marvelous soundtrack connects us with our beloved Master Chief and this new world. And combat is the best this series has ever had. After 6 long years filled with many setbacks and worries, 343 Industries created my favorite Halo campaign. One that will resonate with veteran Halo fans and will inspire a new generation of players to explore its universe.