After playing multiple hours of Halo Infinite I must say I’m having a blast. However, I don’t think that the way the open world is handled suits Halo as a franchise. Too much evolves around everything being accessible in this open space which causes the lack of major set pieces or scripted events. It’s also quite monotonous considering that even Halo CE featured multiple biomes, while Infinite just features forests, Forerunner sites and Banished camps.
In my opinion, there is no need for a massive connected map in Halo. I’ve read that a main inspiration was Breath of the Wild, which is not the correct role model for Halo. Instead, Halo Infinite should consider having a look at Metro: Exodus as a role model for future expansions. This idea combines the new Halo with the older Halo titles. Because don’t get me wrong: exploring an open area in Halo Infinite is a ton of fun and I think it should stay. But it needs to go more hand in hand with classic scripted missions.
Just like Metro: Exodus, 343i should consider creating multiple smaller open areas instead one large connected map like in Infinite. Imagine having a linear mission starting like the Silent Cartographer with the player landing at the beach during an epic battle and fighting their way through. After that, the area opens up and gives you the option to explore this tropical beach area. There may be one or two main missions in that area and a lot of interesting side content.
Once you’re done or just want to continue the campaign, you can hop into your pelican and the next linear main mission will begin, leading to another open area (e.g. a desert map). Again, it’s basically the same idea Metro: Exodus perfectly implemented. After you’re done with the campaign you may get the option to return to the open areas. Or there could be a fast travel option once an area has been unlocked. That depends on the kind of story they want to tell. If Chief is in a hurry to save humanity, it may not make sense to have open explorable areas that you can easily hop between. But this is also an issue in the base game already and something Metro: Exodus handled fine as well.
Also, side content doesn’t have to be as pointless as a lot of stuff in Infinite is. Sure, we don’t need side missions like finding a missing pan (we’re the Master Chief after all), but why not have optional side missions that integrate into the main story? For example: Imagine getting a distress call that leads you to Buck and his team. Buck tells you that they have a mission that ties to the goal of the main mission. You can then decide to join them and help, or just focus on the main mission. That also opens up the option to bring back familiar charakters without overcrowding the main campaign.
Summary: Halo doesn’t need to be open world. In fact, I think it shouldn’t be. But that doesn’t mean that more open explorable areas can’t be integrated into the game. If done right, they drastically enhance the game thanks to the awesome Halo sandbox. Infinite created the foundation, now expansions can build on that. Just like Joe Staten said: developing Halo 3: ODST was the most fun because the foundation was already there and they were able to use time and resources on creative ideas and expanding what Halo 3 did instead of waiting for the tech team to come up with an updated engine. I hope we see it here as well.