(Semi-spoilers for Halo 4 and the very beginning of Halo Infinite, fine to read if you’ve watched and gone through IGN’s and Gamespots videos and articles on Infinite)
I recently played through 4 watching all the cutscenes and I enjoyed it a lot. Previous playthroughs I’ve skipped cutscenes just to finish it ( I know this was bad). And I’ve only really played through a few levels of 5 and it just didn’t interest me that much so I haven’t finished it. But after more info about the start of infinites campaign from IGN and gamespot got realeased, I think this game can technically work as more of a sequel to 4 than 5.
From gamespot and IGN we know that there was a battle between the UNSC and the banished 2 years before the game, and it left Chief stranded in space and humanity endangered. Until the pilot found him and this starts the game, so from this I’m assuming that a portion of the game will be based on figuring out what happened while he was out. Now how this can work with just halo 4, after Chief beats the Didact and Cortana sacrifices herself to save him, and he’s later picked up by the UNSC. So this leaves the story at where Chief is with the UNSC, so now I can just take the whole story of Halo 5 and treat it as part of that unknown that chief is trying to figure out.
After writing this post, some of it doesn’t make as much sense as it did in my head but I think I’ll post it anyways to get anyone’s thoughts on it.
The story of Halo 5 can still be enjoyed. In matter of stories made by 343 I still like Halo 4, more great wonders can be done by continuing the story of H5.
Infinite can be a re-telling of Halo CE. Chief explores the ring… fighting the covenant (Banished) while the Pilot asks the exposition questions. Perfect for introducing newbies and refreshing veterans.
Meanwhile… the weapon updates us on where Cortana is up to. Setting up the next part of the story
I guess that’s possible but H5 did have major impact on chiefs relation with both the UNSC and Cortana.
For me personally I can’t understand why someone wouldn’t play the H5 campaign. I know we had a lot less chief then we wanted but there are some amazing missions (e.g. sangheli) and I had a lot of fun searching for the scattered weapon variants.
From a story perspective, Halo 5 felt very disconnected to everything Halo 4 set up.
Then, when it comes to whatever Extended Universe stuff used, the issue wasn’t that the game used such things, but that the game didn’t go out of it’s own way to properly adress it. But even then, I felt it did a poor job regardless having some experience with the EU.
So, you can play through Halo 5 no problems, but the turbulence of Halo 4 to Halo 5 I suspect caused massive shifts in the planned story, and Halo Infinite is now a “soft reboot” and not even close to what was originally planned.
Given that the Campaign Overview explicitly states that Halo Infinite continues the story of Halo 5, no, it really can’t.
You’re going to be left with questions of how Cortana is back, what happened to the Galaxy, who are the Created, why is Cortana the bad guy now, what are those Guardian things, and likely many, many more.
Halo 5 is canon. Halo 5 takes place before Halo Infinite. It is not being retconned, and will be necessary for the story of Halo Infinite.
None of which are impossible to explain in Halo Infinite.
Especially considering it at an early stage for Halo Infinite was said that it’d be a good point for newcomers to jump into Halo.
Halo 4 had a short summary of the MCC at the beginning, and Halo 5 barely touched anything in Halo 4. Heck, prior to Halo 5, Cortana was dead, stated multiple times by officials. Claiming Halo 5 won’t be retconned is as such an extremely bold claim, or for the aforementioned reasons, that it’ll be necessary as well.
Its definitely more a sequel to halo 5. And halo wars 2
I’d recommend at least watching cutscenes from both.
And read or listen to shadows of reach if you want a full picture of chief’s story after 4.
I’m intentional omitting the next 72 for those who think I forgot it.
I hate that story haha.
I guess it can be seen as a halo4 sequel if you want but it isn’t really.
It is definitely a follow up to halo 5 even if they are relegating that arc to background.
Impossible? No, I’m sure there could be a synopsis. It wouldn’t be a good thing, as that’s a lot of plot, and some players have been vehemently against this “offscreen events” notion. Bad enough when it’s in - gods forbid - literature, imagine the backlash if all of that is a brief explanation? A Guardian shows up and someone just says “Oh yeah, Cortana’s not actually dead, she went crazy in the Forerunner Internet, and that’s a big machine she’s using to impose AI Fascism on the galaxy.”
When there’s a whole game explaining all of that in detail… why bother?
Halo 5 touched on a lot more than people give it credit for. Major plot elements first.
First and foremost is Cortana’s apparent death. Directly mentioned in many areas (aboard the Argent Moon, on Genesis, in Osiris’ discussions, aboard the Infinity, etc)
The recovery of the Domain. First indicated on Requiem when the Chief is able to access fragments of the Domain via the Terminals. Cortana mentions “This node is caught in a loop trying to access something it’s calling ‘the Domain’, an offworld data repository of some kind, though I’m only able to extract bits and pieces of the complete exchange… I’ll log it for investigation later.” And in Halo 5, we see the Domain itself.
Cortana’s “rampancy”. A major plot point in Halo 4, we see the effects of this continue, and the mystery of it deepen in Halo 5. Now there’s apparently a “cure” for Rampancy, to which Cortana seemingly uses to sway other AI to her forces and build an army.
The Didact, and connections of the Logic Plague. This was always a possibility, as touched on in Halo 4’s Terminals and the Forerunner Trilogy. And in Halo 5, in her Address to the Galaxy, Cortana quotes the Didact almost verbatim: “Our strength shall serve as a luminous sun toward which all intelligence may blossom. And the impervious shelter beneath which you will prosper.” Interesting to note that she says intelligence, not life.
The Promethean Armigers. Created by the Didact as his personal forces against the Flood, we see Cortana take command of them after accessing the Domain.
Jul 'Mdama’s Covenant, and it’s breaking and dissolution after the loss of the Didact (it’s “god”).
The UNSC Infinity
Commander Lasky, as well as how he got to be the Captain of the Infinity.
Spartan Commander Sarah Palmer, and the Spartans of the Infinity.
Catherine Halsey’s involvement with Jul’s Covenant, as well as why her and Palmer don’t quite get along, and why she’s now missing an arm.
And likely many more that I’m forgetting in these early hours of the day.
When the Developer of Halo, 343 Industries, have many times and even in an official Halo Infinite Campaign Trailer said that Halo Infinite continues the story of Halo 5, it is in fact the least bold claim to remind that Halo 5 will not be retconned. It is a fact, stated many times over by now.
Ya I agree halo 5 is unfairly maligned.
What plot point do you feel wasnt represented in 5 from 4 @Naqser ?
I discussed it in relation to halo 3 and as a sequel to 4 in this thread if anyone is interested in a quick detailed comparative.
h ttps://forums.halowaypoint.com/t/halo-3-will-always-be-1-the-importance-of-first-impressions/3782/14?u=modod
But halo 5 is very much a sequel to 4 and in many ways is a version of halo 3 that makes more sense as a sequel with only knowledge from the games. Although admittedly this is made clearer by external media.
Where as halo 3 as, I believe you, @TheKiltdHeathen pointed out only makes sense now in 2021 due to a novel. Over 10 years post launch.
I have only watched the IGN video, but given what was said about Cortana, I think you may be right OP.
I had an idea awhile back (can’t find the old post until the migration is complete) that Halo Infinite’s campaign would primarily pull from Halo titles now available on PC.
This includes all of MCC and Halo Wars 1 & 2. I’m sure the events of Halo 5 will definitely impact the story, but the presentation used in Infinite may not make a playthrough of Halo 5 as crucial as previous sequels may have been.
As an aside...
When I made that old post, I believe I was coming from a place that, using only the Halo titles available on PC, you could form two trilogies of games separated by the Halo Wars titles, which then lead into Halo Infinite.
Halo: Combat Evovled
Halo 2
Halo 3
Halo Wars
Halo 3: ODST
Halo: Reach
Halo 4
Halo Wars 2
Halo Infinite
Again this all hangs on how the evens of Halo 5 are recapped, alluded to, or incorporated into Halo Infinite’s story. But it is also worth examining that Halo Infinite has been built for a PC launch as well as Xbox, and prior to its release, the above titles were released on PC to new players after their original Xbox releases. (sans Halo Wars 2)
As a challenge to this - that Infinite will be able to follow Halo 4 while skipping Halo 5 - give a brief summary (no more than two sentences) explaining how Cortana went from dead to Empress of the Created and the Galaxy, as well as the three-year gap between Halo 4 and Halo Infinite in a way that satisfies with few to no questions.
I think that this story could also retcon ALL of halo four and five because They could just set back some dates in the campaign and MP, which could help it pick up after halo three. I don’t see any mention of Locke or the didact or ANY character from halo 343 era. They are really making a fan bases dream.