I have felt this ever since I played HI, it completely lacks any set piece moments like literally every Halo game before it. It has 0 vehicle runs. I guess the “Run” to the house of reckoning can count as one. But it’s so short and disappointing that I really can’t bring myself to say it even truly is one. I’ve been doing my annual playthrough of Halo. I’ve made it to Halo 5, and honestly aside from how the story itself was executed. The game itself is so much more fun to play. It has fun ground and vehicle sections, like the mantis run to save the arbiter is legit an epic section. We get to go to a variety of unique locations. It has a larger and more fun weapon sandbox. While the advanced movement made MP sweaty, it is fun in the campaign. Hell since space isn’t wasted for the sake of “open world” each section and location feels tailor made and so detailed. And let’s not even talk about the complete lack of environment diversity. Even back in HCE, we got forest, island, desert, tundra, and forerunner. But with HI we literally just get woodland, and forerunner and since its open world. There’s so much just empty, wasted, and useless space. I would love to see a forerunner area and actually learn a story from there. But no, you go to an interesting landmark and it’s just there, no use for it, no story to tell about it, just wasted resources it feels like.
To go back to vehicles and set pieces. The vehicles are so flimsy that it’s not even fun to drive them around the empty openworld because they get destroyed so easily. Like the more I play the other Halos. HI just feels so berren, it feels like such lost potential. They game plays amazingly, but gameplay is only half the equation. And even then it’s only the gunplay and on foot gameplay that feels good, like I said, vehicle play is just so not fun.
I love Halo. I even enjoyed H5 for what it was worth. But I just can’t stand that this is what we waited 6 years to get. It breaks my heart. I know 343 will likely update the game to feel better. But the base campaign will always be this disappointment. I really hope 343 has some amazing knockout campaign DLC planned. Because as of right now. Halo Infinite is honestly my least favorite I’m the series. For reference, Halo 4 and ODST are tied for my favorite campaign wise.