Through a single trailer, you have sent this fanbase into a fantastically positive uproar. In 2 minutes, you have reignited the fire within the many fans who had abandoned the series without dousing those of your newer audience. Giving this much praise before any sort of actual gameplay is shown is probably a recipe for disappointment, but I just can’t contain the excitement; I came in to the HiddenXperia stream with a hope of seeing an announcement for MCC on PC (alongside the pipe-dream hope for it being distributed on Steam as well as Windows Store), and I came out seeing something even better, leaving me with more excitement and vigor for this franchise thanks to a simple Teaser Trailer (And an announcement post with additional detail… and a dropdown box with the option for Windows on the game’s official page).
I call this a simple trailer, yet this is a massive disservice to the effort put into both the trailer itself and the visual beauty and gravitas behind the Slipspace Engine, so I’ll try to break down the various elements which make it up (despite the topic title suggesting otherwise).
First, let’s address the new artstyle. One of the greatest things about this reveal is that the Infinite Teaser shows a compromise with the artstyle. Due to the nature of opinions, you knew picking one artstyle completely over another would’ve been a win/lose situation no matter what you picked, and what you’ve done here is probably the best decision you could make; pick and choose the best elements of each artstyle, slot them in together where they. And it works great for the most part: the Forerunner Beam Towers/speculated-to-be-a-Sentinel-Retriever with the brushed chrome aesthetic evocative of a joint project between the Builders and the Warrior-Servants (minus the floaty bits, though those are a pretty divisive element which I will not provide my ); the injection of Pre-war UNSC colours (greens, brushed steel greys, etc.) into the Post-war UNSC hardware (BRs, warthog) along with the return of some Pre-war hardware (Pelican, the interesting Reach/CE-styled and 2/3-coloured Marines); the sleek, form-fitting design of chief’s leg armour plates, alongside a helmet exhibiting smooth, uncomplicated details of the old style while using the form and shape of the newer design, which makes me highly anticipated for a full armour reveal. Nothing will satisfy all Halo fans, but I believe this creative decision is one that’ll satisfy the most (and please, don’t try to explain it away as being “New hardware somehow doesn’t work, but old hardware does”. Canonically, H4’s armour is the H3 armour, just with a drastic redesign. We don’t want another fiasco concerning a certain quote from Senator Armstrong).
Secondly, let me just gush about the Diabetes-level Eye-Candy which is the Slipspace engine. Words cannot describe the captivating photorealism of the familiar natural elements of forests, mountains and water, complemented by the fantastical splendour evoked by the herds discount Xerneas and Carl/Frank-from-Ice-Age cameos, all juxtaposed with the gritty Human military hardware and mysterious forerunner architecture. It always astounds me how far videogame visuals have advanced and evolved since the simple white-on-black pixels of Pong, with every new game release always trying to push the boundaries of realism and beauty. If I could give one criticism, its that the dust clouds (those created by the Frank/Carl stampede and the Warthog) are a bit… predictable. Bubbly. Samey - like they’re just some sort of particle effect used repeatedly every second something moves over loose dirt. But this is small beans to everything else the Engine does brilliantly.
Thirdly, the layers of easter eggs and hidden elements scattered all around the trailer. Its amazing how you managed to fool most of us for a good portion of the trailer’s length. Before that awesome new helmet was revealed, the only indication given this was a Halo game was a full view of the Marines, and even then a lot of people were still sceptical. Yet when you go through the trailer, so witness all these minute details hidden within the greater picture: the sunken Warthog wreck in the ocean; the small sentinel flock which gets hidden behind Chief’s leg; the Morse code on the radio revealing the specific ring as Installation 07 (I wonder if we’ll get to meet its Monitor and what its name might be (My money is on 117649 Diligent Continuance, if only because it sounds sophisticated and somewhat appropriate)); the Fight For Her poster unlocking memories from ODST and CE; even unknown inclusions like the completely unfamiliar Hieroglyphics reintroduce the elements of alien mysteries that the Forerunners evoked in many games prior. Its this level of detail that sells people on the initial viewing and keeps them coming back for more, and it’s excellent.
Its still early days, and wild rumours are being flung around left right and centre about the direction this game is taking; Is it going to be an open world/MMO/Destiny-style experience? How will elements like Cortana’s Created, the Covenant (if there’s any left at this point), the Banished and/or the Flood (if they’re going to be included) factor into the story and look like in this new artstyle? Will the gameplay have a similar compromise as shown with the artstyle (which is a completely different can of worms containing words like “Advance mobility” and “Dual Wielding” which, frankly, I don’t want to discuss here so can we keep that to a minimum in the comments, please)? Will there be a Battle Royale mode (personally, I think the gamemode would work well if combined with the inclusion of AI, but both PUBG and Fortnite have unfortunately saturated and overplayed it to the point that including it would just invite accusations of trend-chasing)? How will wildlife play a role in the game; decorations or obstacles (I wouldn’t mind seeing Blind Wolves, personally) These are all questions will no doubt be answered in the long leadup to the release date, but I can safely say the that the Halo community as a whole is intrigued at the least, ecstatic at the most and will keep a close eye on this title of amazing possibilities.
Good luck with Halo Infinite and your future endeavours, 343 Industries!
(P.S. As a silly suggestion, bring back Chips Dubbo. If only because I’m an Aussie myself).