[READ FIRST] I believe it to be vital that 343 Industries reads this review, so if someone could directly link/send this review to them on Social Media (I don’t have one they use) or something, I would appreciate that. Since I have been told they don’t look on the waypoint forums, or at least as often. Because this review is long, I recommend picking your preferred section, or scroll down to a random bullet point. I have provided SOLUTIONS to as many issues as I could. The [PRIORITY ISSUE: ALPHA] bullets are the things that need to be addressed immediately as they deal with gameplay and things hindering the potential Halo: Infinite could have for what it currently is. The [PRIORITY ISSUE BRAVO] bullets are things that look long term, but must be addressed before this game is abandoned for the next one. Everything else is in it’s own category as I’m not sure where to categorize it, or needs its own category. I am confident that I have forgotten something. I recommend looking at ALPHA 1s, 2s, and 3s in ‘The Bad’ section of ‘Multiplayer, Gameplay, Sandbox, etc’.
Summery
Campaign:
The Campaign was enjoyable thanks to the story. But after completing that after two days, the only thing left was the Ubisoft checklist of objectives and collectables. After doing as much of that, it got extremely boring. No will to go back in. The Campaign is mared from missing co-op and mission select as two of it’s main issues. Read below for specifics.
Multiplayer:
The multiplayer has almost all the issues. From missing content, features, and online access required; this is the main source for why Halo: Infinite gets a 2 out of 10. The aiming is terrible, the Store prices are overpriced by 75% to 80%, Store items rotate out, the Challenge system is not fun and counter-productive, the motion sensor is 18m and not 25m, the outline system replaced team colors instead of giving us the option, and too much content and features are missing. See below for specifics and many more issues.
Other:
The merchandise is ok but the promotions got too complicated. The product itself does not live up to the advertisement campaign.
Overall:
Halo: Infinite does not live up to the series’ Sequel Philosophy and offline friendly legacy. Halo’s Sequel Philosophy is retaining at least 95% of all previous features and sandbox content at release. This was started by Bungie and lasted from Halo: C.E. through Halo 3. Halo 2 was missing Race and the Assault Rifle. Halo 3 brought them back but was missing the Spectre and Brute Plasma Rifle. Both games also took giant leaps in adding new features while having less than a handful of missing content. That is the main reason why those games were great. Along with everything besides Matchmaking was available offline. Even DLC maps could be accessed offline after downloading them. The Sequel Philosophy was also used by George Lucas for his Star Wars movies. In that medium, it was that the next movie would have bigger and more epic battles while retaining his vision for the story.
This all changed with the release of Halo: Reach (which is now considered a great game when compared to Halo 5 and Halo: Infinite) which did not follow the Sequel Philosophy and strayed too far from Halo’s fair gameplay with Bloom. Halo 4 washed the taste of Halo: Reach out (by getting rid of the gritty art style and returning to a Halo 3 color style, but unfortunately with plaster-like details) and was fun initially. But Spartan Ops was not available offline and Halo 4 was missing classic playlists along with ranked playlists at release. Halo 4 did bring back the Battle Rifle and some other stuff but still did not meet the Sequel Philosophy expectations. Halo 4 also had the art style change which should have only stayed in that game. And then Halo 5 happened. It has the least amount of Sequel Philosophy content at release (until Halo: Infinite beat that record with less). And the campaign is the only thing available offline. Halo 5 is a 3/10 game, which could be tied with Halo: Infinite for 2/10 as the ratings fluctuate by 1. Basically, Halo: Infinite is a terrible Halo game. If it wants to be great, it needs to bring back at least 95% of all previous sandbox content, features, AND everything but Matchmaking needs to be accessible offline (all DLC, like maps and store items downloaded online, then accessible when you are offline). This game was supposed to keep me entertained until Starfield released, but no, I’m already bored.
Campaign, Story, and it’s Environment
The Good:
• Master Chief’s armor looks great.
• Master Chief’s shoulder armor actually looks good now unlike how terrible it was in Halo 4 and 5.
• The Story is overall, great. If I had to rate it, the story on paper, it would be a 7 to 9/10. Unfortunately, the rest of the game prevents it from being that overall rating.
• The environment is large, open world style.
• The Elites look like how they should look. Additionally, their size is correct and seems like they were already designed to be playable in multiplayer.
• Finally introduced a new species, Skimmers.
• Skirmishers returned.
• The grunts are funny. Including the one from the propaganda towers.
• Insert many bullet points specifying different spoiler related points. Not specified in public to reduce the chance of spoiling things for individuals waiting for co-op. Which is why Halo: Infinite should be releasing in springtime with co-op. And because hands get too cold to play properly in wintertime. Games should not be released from late October to the end of February.
• There is no achievement that requires you to complete the Campaign on Legendary by yourself. This is good.
The Bad:
• [PRIORITY ISSUE] Split screen and Co-op are not available at release for campaign. SOLUTION: Add it back as soon as it is ready, even if that is one day before Arc 2. Or, enable it now to get feedback. Either way, the respawning MUST be like Halo: C.E. through Halo 4. Halo 5’s thirty second respawn timer helped ruin that game.
• [PRIORITY ISSUE] You can’t select and replay missions from the campaign menu. I am baffled how this is not a thing at release. SOLUTION: Add it back, accessible from the main menu, and the in-game map.
• Most boss fights are not fun (Bassus, Jega, and Esharum) and feel more like bullet sponges. Some felt like they were on Legendary difficulty, when I was on Normal. SOLUTION: Tone down the health, or let us upgrade ours to their levels. If they don’t have shields and a helmet, then I shoot them in the head, they should die regardless of health. Helmets should not take more than a few shots to pop off. Isn’t that right, Bassus!
• The design of the boss’s health bars is uninspiring. SOLUTION: Change the look to where it looks like a pulsing heart monitor for the health bar. And change the shield bar’s shape and color.
• [LONG TERM ISSUE] The side objectives feel more like Ubisoft style checklist (BORING), instead of Bethesda’s style of side quests and wanting to live in the world. I recently got my first Far Cry game (the 5th one), and I hardly want to play it due to how boring it is. The side objectives in that game are very similar to the ones in this game. SOLUTION: Take more inspiration from The Elder Scrolls/Fallout if Halo continues this path. Include side missions (replayable) with cutscenes. Add repeatable quests. Add bases that can be upgraded through an in-campaign Forge interface (house equivalent regarding the bases). Add a large amount of misc items to get, which have the various resources needed to upgrade said bases. Add an inventory (weight based) for said items and sandbox items. Make it to where you can drop said items. Add a large amount (100+) of upgrades to obtain just like how it is in Skyrim and Fallout 4. Example: Upgrade your Motion Sensor: Range (5 Ranks), Altitude (1 Rank, updates dots to tell you if they are above you, Reach style), Subterrain (1 Rank, updates dots to tell you if they are below you, Reach style), Sixth Sense (1 Rank, Enemies are always shown on radar) and Seventh Sense (1 Rank, shows cloaked enemies on radar in gray) are just a few for ONE Upgrade Tree. Add MANY dungeon like location to clear with rewards at the end which resets in 30 in-game days. It needs to be where I want to live in the world, not do chores for a checklist.
• Missing an actual version of the Banished Skiff vehicle that is not just a destroyed environment prop. It was featured in an official product. What happened to it?
• Hunters and Brute Chieftains are not fun to fight anymore, and are too hard. SOLUTION: Bring back how they moved and reacted in Halo 3.
• Missing the ‘expected to return in every entry’ enemies/allies: Drones and Engineers. If there are multiple species on ground, then there is no excuse to have these and Skimmers at the same time. SOLUTION: Bring them back. Any enemy/ally type that was/is in an alien faction(Covenant, Banished) should be standard to return.
• Missing multiple biomes, like deserts and snowy mountains. It makes this game stale quicker. SOLUTION: Add them back, either in the inaccessible top left areas, or in mini area D.L.C. between full game inclusions. Some of the mountain tops should have already had snow on them.
• Missing an additional faction to fight that isn’t sentinels, like the Prometheans for one example. The art style of the Prometheans is expected to change when they return.
• The entire top left area on the map is inaccessible, except for one small part, for two missions. SOLUTION: Update those areas to be accessible, or remove them from the map.
• Missed opportunity to introduce Parisa from the short story ‘Palace Hotel’ in the book ‘Halo: Evolutions’. When the Master Chief says he keeps a promise, he keeps it. And it would be interesting to tie that phrase back into the series again with this character. The short story was created after Halo 2, so it technically acts as extending one of the levels like a DLC, but not implemented into the game. Of course I don’t want any romance in the campaigns with Parisa being introduced as I can’t relate to it and it won’t fit. Instead, it would be more of emotionless caring from John and that it all just eventually gets established that there is a relationship. Just like how it is with Master Chief and all the other characters. If the eventual plan is to phase Master Chief out of being the main character and have it be someone else, then it’s best to have that character be his offspring. As they will most likely have characteristics of his personality. It is preferable compared to getting a random new character like what was intended with Halo 5. The thought originated from “Ok, Master Chief has a destiny to obtain the Mantle of Responsibility for the Human Species. What is supposed to happen after that? He will probably become the human equivalent of the non-corrupted Didact. So we can either continue to play as him or have a time skip and play as his kid/kids as they will follow in his footsteps. And it will keep the gameplay balanced as Master Chief will probably be too overpowered by then.” Plus if it is two siblings (brother and sister), it would be a way to imitate Halo: Reach’s campaign with Noble Six, except it is those two siblings, and their positions are swapped based on who you choose. And perhaps the armor is customizable as well. This is an interesting idea that I would like to see, but I don’t see it happening for at least another 20 to 30 years.
• The design of the Brute’s snouts and noses are not like how they were in Halo 2 and 3. SOLUTION: Return the elongated snout from those games for the non-named Brutes. Keep the current look for some specific individuals like Atriox.
• The Sentinels sound horrifying and like Vex. SOLUTION: Change their sounds back to how they were.
• Some questions that were expected to get answered in this game about what happened to various characters, were not answered.
• Insert some bullet points that involve spoilers.
The Neutral:
• Seeing some of the collectables is nice, but I felt like it took away from some of the fun aspects of exploration. SOLUTION: Add an option to determine if you want to see them on your map or not.
• I like that the marines can follow you but sometimes you don’t, or want to keep them safe. SOLUTION: Add a recruit/follow and stop mechanic.
Multiplayer, Gameplay, Sandbox Content, and Overall Content
The Good:
• The Brute Chopper finally returned.
• The Spike Grenades returned.
• The Grappleshot is very fun to use. I’ve wanted one in Halo since Halo: Reach after thinking of new ideas for armor abilities. My main reference since then was Lost Planet.
• The classic artstyle has returned. It isn’t overdetailed and busy like the previous one.
• The Battle Rifle looks great again.
• The Cindershot weapon is fun to use. I like it.
• Bots are finally in Halo. I have wanted the aspect of playing multiplayer by myself in Halo just like the classic Star Wars: Battlefront games. And this is close to it.
• The Academy and Training mods are fun and interesting.
• Non-Forge made Big Team Battle maps are back.
The Bad:
• [PRIORITY ISSUE: ALPHA 1] The aiming is the worst in the series. Worse than Halo C.E. and Halo 5. This is the number one issue affecting gameplay that needs to be fixed immediately. It makes the game not fun to play. It feels as if aim assist is non-existent. In order to keep the reticle on the target (or try to), I have to have the sensitivity really low, but that causes me to not react quickly enough from other directions. In the previous games, my sensitivity was between 3 and 5. I have it below 2 in this game. SOLUTION: Imitate the aiming of Halo 2, Halo 3(without the lead your shots mechanic), Halo 4, or the universal option on Halo: T.M.C.C. This game is unbearable otherwise.
• Halo Infinite has an in-game predatory ‘macrotransaction’ store. Even worse, is that all the shop items don’t act as proper DLC that can be purchased through the Microsoft store. SOLUTION: Relocate them and, either way, adjust the prices to the correct values as explained below.
• [PRIORITY ISSUE: ALPHA 2-A] The in-game store’s prices are overpriced by at least 75% to 80%. SOLUTION: Decrease the prices to a consumer friendly, collector friendly, artistic friendly (customizing is fun for artists outside of Forge) price. Perfect example 1: The $20 bundles (Zvezda Armor Bundle) are the wrong price and should be $3 or $4 maximum which is their correct value. At this price, three of these bundles ($9 to $12) would equate to a map pack. Three maps, three armor sets. This, like everything else, will help fund the free maps better than what was planned as more people will be purchasing more. Halo 4’s Champion Bundle DLC came with 4 COMPLETE armor sets, for $10, WITH 2 maps and MORE. There is no excuse. Perfect example 2: The $15 bundles (A259 Collection Bundle) are also the wrong price and should be $2 or $3 maximum which is their correct value (unlike the Sentinel’s Blades Bundle which should be $1 or $2). More examples: The $10 bundles (Enigma Bundle) should be $1 or $2 (the Pineapple Heaven Bundle is definitely valued at $1), the $5/$7/$8 bundles (Cibi Blue Team Emblem Bundle) should be $1 or $2, and the Boost and Swap Pack should be $1. Perfectly priced as all things should be. I can see myself trying to obtain as much as I can with these prices… if it’s all available permanently.
• [PRIORITY ISSUE: ALPHA 2-B] The in-game store items are up for a limited time. Once an item is in the store, it should stay permanently so that there will be no fear of missing out. SOLUTION: Have the Featured tab show what is new for the day or week (as is what the meaning of Featured is), then have separate tabs for what was previously featured. If nothing is new to put into Featured, then rotate popular Bundles back in from the other tabs.
• [PRIORITY ISSUE: ALPHA 2-C] The in-game store layout/UI looks like something from Fortnite and other Free-to-play games. It also reminds me of Fallout 76. I don’t want a ‘Halo 76’. SOLUTION: Halo-fy the way the store looks. The Exchange on Halo: T.M.C.C. is a good start, especially with the blue background.
• [PRIORITY ISSUE: ALPHA 2-D] Based on accidentally given out info, the overall price to obtain everything in the store for the Heroes of Reach Arc is estimated to be over $1,000. That’s unacceptable. Make that 3 or 4 times a year per Arc and it is beyond unacceptable. SOLUTION: In addition to the solution in ALPHA 2-A, having a full Arc Bundle would be a great idea. Whether it is implemented at the beginning of the Arc, or end, it will be beneficial. It will work as follows: Purchasing the Heroes of Reach Arc Bundle will grant owners everything that was in the store during the specific Arc for one low, affordable price. This and every Arc Bundle will be available indefinitely. The price… I think $60 (a friend says $40) will be acceptable. For when they are available: If in the beginning of the Arc, owners will automatically unlock the shop items as they come available. If at the end, players can purchase some items early (which generates bonus revenue beyond the $60) as people will want things immediately instead of over 3 to 4 months later. This will allow collectors an affordable way of getting everything overtime, and 343 Industries a better overall revenue intake in addition to the $10 for each Reward Path per Arc.
• [PRIORITY ISSUE: ALPHA 3-A] The Challenges and their implementation is terrible. Many are too specific and too hard. The way how it’s tied to leveling up is counter-intuitive to match objectives. It is to the point where I only go for the challenges and nothing else just as intended by the Challenge system. SOLUTION: Simplify the challenges and make them easier. Examples: Change (Earn 5 Killing Sprees/Multikills) to (Earn 10 different medals). Change (kill 3 Choppers) to (kill or get 3 kills with any vehicle). Change (kill X enemies with a specific power weapon) to (kill X enemies with any power weapon). And change (kill a Scorpion tank) to (Congratulations! The match spawned a Scorpion tank or Wraith) The only challenges that should be specific are getting kills with starting weapons. Every challenge should also be possible to obtain in Bot playlists. No more Pvp requirements(event challenges can be the exception but still need to be simple and fun as the above examples). Halo: T.M.C.C. seems to have the best challenge set up. Take inspiration from that (outside of winning matches, sprees, and multikills).
• [PRIORITY ISSUE: ALPHA 3-B] A challenge you swap can reappear later (specifically earn 5 Killing Sprees in Fiesta can return as a capstone challenge). SOLUTION: Make it to where if a player swaps a challenge, that challenge’s chance of returning is SIGNIFICANTLY reduced to return for that player.
• [PRIORITY ISSUE: ALPHA 3-C] The Capstone challenge can not be swapped. Peerless Warrior: Get 5 Killing Sprees in Fiesta is such a terrible challenge that it reveals the need to swap Capstone Challenges as well. SOLUTION: Add the ability to swap Capstone Challenges, or make them less stressful. Kill 100 Spartans or Play X amount of matches sounds acceptable.
• [PRIORITY ISSUE: ALPHA 3-D] The Daily Challenge has a cap of 50 (this info is from the second beta week). What if someone wants to play more than 50 matches and get rewarded? What if someone can play 55 matches one day, but none the next day? SOLUTION: Remove the cap.
• [PRIORITY ISSUE: ALPHA 3-E] The rewards from the Capstone Challenges are time locked and can cause fear of missing out which can lead to anxiety. SOLUTION: Remove the Capstone Challenges and put the rewards elsewhere, where they are not time locked. Or make it to where if you complete the Capstone Challenge, then you can choose from one of any current/previous Capstone Reward you have not yet obtained.
• [PRIORITY ISSUE: ALPHA 4] The motion tracker’s range is too small. This is another major issue negatively affecting gameplay, making it not fun. Enemies can be on you too quickly by the time you immediately look away from it and die as a result. It also does not account for lazy eye, especially when everything the left eye sees is blurry. This also supports the need for HUD customization. The motion tracker is 18 meters but it does not seem like it at all. SOLUTION: Increase the motion tracker range back to 25 meters like how it was before Halo 5. And make sure it actually is 25 meters otherwise a 30 meter range will have to suffice.
• [PRIORITY ISSUE: ALPHA 5] The new outline system introduces new problems which includes: Split second decision making with conflicting colors and outlines. Accessibility issues for individuals hard coded with Red vs. Blue in their mind. You are always on the same team color. The reticule is tied to it and can potentially not be red when looking at an enemy. And more. SOLUTION: Add a toggle to bring back Red vs. Blue. The snake must be Red team. Add a toggle for outlines to go with it as well. Add a separate color choice for the reticule.
• [PRIORITY ISSUE: ALPHA 6] The H.U.D. layout is actually bad. In the since everything, but the small motion sensor, got cluttered into one corner. And the style of the bottom right area doesn’t fit Halo. The layout also negatively affects gameplay. Even the weapon part went from showing symbols to numbers. I read the symbols as a picture faster than numbers (this has to do with right brain hemisphere people focusing on the artistic side of things, and the left hemisphere being more mathematical). SOLUTION: Add new accessibility options that include the following: Move grenades back to the top left with unique symbols. Move the equipment icon back to right, above the motion sensor. Move the weapons back to the top right WITH a toggle for either symbols or numbers for the ammo (but the symbols MUST be unique per weapon like in Halo C.E., 2, 3, and 4; as this was an issue Halo: Reach had). In addition the ability to move whatever to any corner would be great. Having the option to move the motion sensor with the equipment icon above it to the bottom right corner would be perfect for my eyesight.
• [PRIORITY ISSUE: ALPHA 7] The user interface and menus in this game are terrible overall. The party layout isn’t like Halo 3 or Reach. Theater is not below Custom Games. The white text with gray isn’t Halo-y. You have to use bumpers to go over tabs AND player mid-match. The Theater UI is really terrible. You have to press Y to go to the Reward/Challenge menu, which is in the way of where the Halo: Reach style party roster should be. It is just bad, like Halo 4 and 5’s versions. SOLUTION: Imitate Halo 3 and Halo: Reach’s versions perfectly. The roster, just like Reach to where you can just tap right to see everyone’s Spartans/Elites. For the text, Halo 3’s white/orange words with blue behind them was perfect for Halo. Make it to where the D-pad is used to change players when dead, mid-match. Just imitate Halo 3 and Halo: Reach.
• [PRIORITY ISSUE: ALPHA 8-A] Removed the ability to customize your primary and secondary colors individually, while replacing it with the below average armor coating system. The armor coatings can also be locked to specific ‘armor cores’ which is bad. SOLUTION: Restructure the coating system to work as follows: Add a base coating for each color from the previous games by default. Then make it to where each armor piece can have it’s own coating applied (Helmet, chest, chest attachment, left shoulder, right shoulder, upper arms, forearms, waist, upper legs, knees, lower legs, and various attachments). And make sure all colors (including ones available now) are applied to all ‘armor cores’.
• [PRIORITY ISSUE: ALPHA 8-B] The chest attachments, utility, and wrist attachments don’t change color. They are boring and colorless. They were colored in Halo: Reach. And the grenadier chest piece is properly colored, but only when a specific coating is applied. SOLUTION: Include them to be colored with whatever color choice you pick.
• [PRIORITY ISSUE: ALPHA 8-C] The entire idea of the Armor core system is disappointing. From not being able to choose whatever helmet and shoulder you want, to not being able to customize your forearms and legs separately. SOLUTION: Scrap the idea of the armor cores being restrictions, and turn it into a fun way to make MANY custom spartan presets. Think of each one being a different character on your in-universe team that you can roleplay as. And you can create as many as you want (a minimum of 15 if there must be a limit), like forge maps. NEXT: Add the following to be changeable: Chest (like in Halo 4), Waist, Forearms, Upper Arms, Legs, and Techsuite (when applicable). THEN: Allow all Helmets, Shoulders, Chest Attachments, etc. to be compatible. This system could then be the greatest in the franchise, if the other issues are also addressed.
• [PRIORITY ISSUE: ALPHA 8-D] Many armor pieces are incorrectly named AND use the un-Halo prefixes (UA/, SAP/, TAC/, etc.) from Halo: Reach (which is one of many problems with that game). What was advertised as what are the Mark VII shoulders, they are not called what was expected. They are called ‘UA/ Agathius’ instead which should NOT have the ‘UA/’ part. And if those are not supposed to be Mark VII shoulders, then where is the ‘Agathius’ helmet and chest? SOLUTION: Remove all of the prefixes for the shoulders, chests and knee pads. NEXT: Change the names of the pieces to what they should be. Example: Change ‘UA/ Agathius’ to ‘Mark VII’. These prefixes are ok for helmet attachments, wrist, and utility slots.
• [PRIORITY ISSUE ALPHA: 8-E] Missing the following color combinations in a proper pattern by default: [Primary/Secondary] (Red / Orange), (Blue / Light Blue), (Green / Lime Green), (White / Light Blue), (Brown / Tan), (Black / Gray), (Gold / White), (Yellow / White), (Black / Black), (Purple / Blue or Azure), (Pink / Red), (Pink / Blue), (Silver / Gray), and (Olive Green / Brown). SOLUTION: Add these in using either the Halo 3 or Halo: Reach color placement style. But they must be default options. See [PRIORITY ISSUE: ALPHA 8-A] for the other solution.
• [PRIORITY ISSUE: ALPHA 8-F] You can’t attach more than one helmet attachment. And some can’t have color optionally added to them. SOLUTION: Add the ability to select up to five helmet attachments in the following slots: Left, Right, Bottom, Top, and Forehead/Visor. And add a color option for them.
• [PRIORITY ISSUE: ALPHA 9] Missing MANY emblems AND took away the toggle, background, and custom color options featured in previous games. This mistake was made in Halo 5, and it happened again. And to add insult to injury, they are segmented (nameplate, armor, weapon, vehicle) to attempt to increase the amount available, which causes the opposite effect. SOLUTION: Bring back the toggle, background, and full color customization for emblems. Along with all the classic emblems for default. And if an emblem is unlocked for one thing, it should be unlocked for everything.
Character Limit reached: 32,000. I had 64,000+. See reply below for continuation.