I have a theory… well more of a hunch. In short, and as the title gives away, could Halo Infinite and the subsequent games released under its umbrella be a sort of spiritual successor to Marathon Infinity?
For those who don’t know, Halo itself was a spiritual successor to the Marathon series. AI characters, cyborg heroes, ancient forerunner types, etc; a lot of the stuff we see in Halo originated here. The Marathon series was made up of 3 games: Marathon, Marathon 2: Durandal, and Marathon Infinity. If you haven’t played the series yet, I highly recommend it, even after all those years the writing is quite something to behold!
The last game in that series, Marathon Infinity, was the strangest. Why not name it Marathon 3? Well, it seemed to have something to do with the gameplay and story, in which you spend it jumping between alternative timelines (all perhaps a dream), trying to stop the release of the W’rkncacnter, an ancient eldritch abomination trapped in a star. Unlike the last two games which were linear, this one actually has you jumping around different levels trying to find the correct exit that will take you forward in your quest… rather than backwards or lead to a dead-end.
So where are the similarities to Halo Infinite?
Well firstly the titles are very similar, Infinite and Infinity. Also, like Marathon, in the Halo series they stopped giving numbered sequels simply calling the latest game infinite.
Then there are the similarities between the Endless and the W’rkncacnter. Sure, the Endless aren’t scary abominations, on the contrary they appear to be quite humanised., but both appear to be able to distort time to their own benefit, and both were trapped by ancient precursor type races in prisons and are eager to escape.
Of course, this could all be coincidence, and the folk who worked on the original Marathon games probably have little to do with the current games. But if there is a connection what could the implications be for further Halo Infinite stories?
Well, it’s possible we will see ourselves jumping back and forth along the timeline or perhaps even into alternative realities (Samurai Spartans anyone) trying to stop the Endless being released. In Marathon Infinity all the jumping was round the events of the Marathon 2, so perhaps we could see the Master Chief trying to stop the failed UNSC operation of Zeta Halo, or the destruction of Doisac… though perhaps we could go even further back into the Human/Covenant war. Could this be used as a way to almost reboot the series or bring back old enemies?
In the end Marathon Infinity in the end didn’t erase the events of Marathon 2, but who know where this story could go
