I’ve introduced some friends who never played Halo back in the day to the MCC on PC, and they are pretty much in love with Halo 1-3 (still haven’t played 4 or ODST). They are so interested in the terminals and the expanded universe that most of the time while we play we just talk about Halo’s story. And I have to admit that, same as happened with me, the feature that makes them most interested in the lore is the Flood. Other than that, the game’s plot (expanded universe aside) feels… I don’t want to say average, but it would definitely be a more common sci-fi space war story. Keys’ infection, Delta Halo’s outbreak and the rampant Penitent Tangent, the Gravemind trying to corrupt Cortana using the logic plague, the Flood helping Chief and the Arbiter… Boy, was that interesting!
While Halo 4 didn’t feature the Flood, they were still involved in the plot, since the Didact was trying to recover from the infestation. Haven’t really played Halo 5 due to exclusive policies (and even if I know it’s a cliche, I’ll just say I HATED the way Chief and Arbiter’s reunion was ‘handled’).
What I am trying to say here is that I am genuinely concerned about Infinite’s campagin. It really needs to bring the Flood back. I know that many people think they were frustrating to fight, but that’s just something that can be fixed with a more polished gameplay mechanics. 343 decided to set Infinite in Installation 07, which has the richest setting for the most interesting story-telling we’ve seen so far. If someone asked me, I would expect the remainings of the Primordial or mendicant bias to make an appearance, and learn about the origin of the infestation. But really, the game rating T for violence makes me really worried about the game becoming an average sci-fi shooter against a few covenant. The banished may have some interesting things to tell, but we have already fought the brute in Halo 2 and 3, and a brute leader in Halo 2. And really, with all the history behind Zeta Halo, focusing the story only in the banished would be a huge waste and irresponsibility from 343 to me. I just wish we could fight the source of the infestation side by side with the Arbiter. And I really don’t understand the excuse that ‘Infinite pretends to be a fresh new start to the franchise’. If you want to bring back old characters or concepts, just do proper storytelling and no one will suffer from not having played the previous games.
Actually, all common complaints are secondary to me: the game not looking next gen, the game being an open world or not… Halo 1-3 are still amazing games because they had amazing stories. And lately, the most award winning games are usually not next-gen. Instead, next-gen games are often a flop. I just want a good story, really.
I know the campagin must already be pretty much set nowadays, but I just wanted to write here my concerns about it. I am equally concerned and excited for it. I don’t pretend to offend anyone, these are just my opinion and thoughts on the topic. I’m sure many of you will think different, and that’s totally fine to me!