One piece of feedback I have in general about the campaign (and the new maps.)
Like, don’t get me wrong, generally I think the game looks pretty good, but I feel like the banished, forerunner, and human aesthetics blend way too much.
I think one of the strongest design points of Halo CE was that the interior of the pillar of autumn looked so incredibly different from the truth and reconciliation, and the insides of the forerunner structures were yet again a very different look. In Infinite I find myself often wondering where I am, because the inside of a forerunner structure looks a bit too steel and human, the human structures look a bit too forerunner, and the banished stuff looks super human and doesn’t really have a very distinct art style IMO.
Does anyone else miss the clear differences of older halo artwork? Maybe I’m noticing it more because there is literally only one biome in the entire campaign.
8 Likes
I feel like the Banished aesthetic is definitely more grey than it was in HW2 where it really had some punchy, aggressive reds with just grey accents. It doesn’t help that because we have some old covenant colors mixed in (Blue elite armor, orange grunt armor, some brutes in blue/teal, Pulse Rifle is purple) it kind of dilutes the Banished red aesthetic while also not fully utilizing the old, almost evangelical alien vibes of the OG covenant.
I feel like the HW2 Banished aesthetic really wasn’t fully utilized in this game, which is a shame because I freaking LOVE the Banished in HW2.
2 Likes
Halo Infinite loves the color grey.
UNSC is grey, forerunner is grey, banished is grey, even the rocks of their prefered biome are grey.
Its the artistic representation of 343’s lack of creativity. This sort of extends to other areas too.
UNSC green is kinda just gone.
Banished plasma is all the same shade of red. The covenant had greens, purples, blues, oranges, and even some weird mixed stuff in Reach for like the conussion rifle. HW2 banished achieved covenant roundedness through multiple layers of plate, whereas in Infinite they like metal boxes, except for vehicles, which are still just round for some reason.
Forerunners still miss their more brown earthier tones they had in the bungie days. Infinite didn’t really revert to the classic forerunner style, they just toned it down a bit and included some more classic shapes. Forerunner architexture in general feels extremely samey, while forerunner architexture had a pretty wide range of styles in each halo game before.
Part of the problem is the game is very…unambitious with its set pieces. There’s no gas mines or bridges over giant chasms. There’s no fancy control rooms or libraries. Just alot of hexigons and some pillars.
5 Likes
Banished structures need more red and less steel. I get it that Banished are all about war and stuff but cmon man, it’s just depressing to have all your enemy structures look like grey boxes.
When other games do pure grey structures, the structures themselves are unique. Banished structures are just lazy. Covenant structures are all spherical, curvaceous and purple. Banished should look sharp, aggressive and red.
2 Likes
The art style got really repetitive for me after about 6 hours of playing, I haven’t even finished the campaign yet because I just don’t like the story. It’s boring, repetitive, lacks the “wow” moments and environments of previous Halo campaigns and most of the good stuff is told through these lazy audio logs. It took a while, but once the rose-tinted glasses wore off, people saw this game for what it really is. I just watched the 2 new map preview video, and again, it seems lazy and uninspired. It’s not worth reinstalling this game for just 2 new maps after 6 months. Just my two cents. Peace.
3 Likes
We definitely don’t have the same variety in color palette with the Banished as we did with the Covenant. I wouldn’t say they all look the same since Forerunner structures are still very distinct from the other two (even if the lighting dilutes some of the golds in the interiors), but the Banished do need something (like everyone else has said, more red) to set them apart from the few UNSC structures and the more neutral silver Forerunner metals.
1 Like
yeah… i mean, compare them to say h3. you could tell the difference from the man made and semi-abandoned look of the unsc. the shiny purple and well kept of the covenant. and the well kept but nature captured forrunner structures…
halo reach, whiles did have mostly human made maps, still looked unique. from the clean apartment of reflection. to the farm lands of powerhouse. even the more metalic feel of countdown. and the clashing looks of covenant on human lands. like on spire
in infinite… non of the unsc maps have unique feel to them to make them differ, and neither does the forrunner/halo ring maps. they all feel the same
2 Likes
This.
This one statement encapsulated halo infinite in one sentence.
Grey.
Not black and white for contrast.
Grey.
Not a rainbow of colours and vibrancy.
Grey.
Not a library of customization or a world of uniqueness.
Grey.
Grey is the colour of no identity. No character.
It’s the colour of forgotten.
3 Likes