Here are mine:
LIKES
Forerunner structures – Constantly reminded of Halos CE, 2 and 3 at every turn while maintaining the elements of Halo 4 that were worth keeping
Design of semi-open world – Awesome – Should feel repetitive like Far Cry but is surprisingly engaging
Weapons – At first glance, weapons seem too similar or redundant, but most are incredibly fun and efficient (exceptions being the Sidekick and Disruptor)
‘Unscripted’ dialogue – makes enemies fun to fight and allies fun to be around. Possibly the best combat dialogue of the franchise
Razorback – More-or-less the return of the Troop Transport Warthog but worth its own mention due to how fun it is to drive
General sound design – Really helps set the Banished apart from the Covenant while still being relatively familiar
Story – Great job with the Master Chief at this point in his journey. The Weapon and Pilot are also done really well. The Banished are incredibly threatening
Banished aesthetics – From species to weapons to vehicles – Everything feels right. Grunts in particular look better than ever
Base movement – Feels great. Doesn’t force the player to rely on sprinting
Banished units – Love how old Covenant species now feel equal due to not having a typical hierarchy: A story element conveyed through gameplay - Even Grunts feel like worthy opponents
Nods to the series so far – Plenty of references to past Halo games, books, popular culture… Makes it all feel connected despite being a soft-reboot
Throwable fusion coils – Terrific use of something that has been in the series since Halo 2 – An unexpected addition that adds much variety to the gameplay
Mood-setting lighting – Deserves its own mention – Got the heart pumping vigorously more than once
Enemy stumbling – Great use of animations when enemies are affected by explosives or injured but not killed
Power seeds – Appreciate the extra layer to activating switches – Would be better without forcing the player to complete every firefight before continuing (See “arena level design”)
DISLIKES
Bullet sponge enemies – Mainly Hunters and Chieftains – Not fun
Frustrating Scorpion handling – Halo 5 was the same – In Halos 2 to 4, it was the best. CE’s handling was also much better than 5 and Infinite
Arena level design – Preventing doors from opening until every firefight is complete – Doesn’t go well with bullet sponge enemies – Irritating
Polish – A few minor glitches and a near crash – Bit worrying for a modern video game – Hopefully patched soon
Lack of cover – Only a problem in specific areas but a major problem in those parts of the missions – Usually indoors
Skimmers – Created to be less annoying than Drones. Drones were easily more fun to fight as they didn’t have Shock Rifles
Gladiator-style battles – Done in Bioshock Infinite, Far Cry, Fallen Order and probably countless other games – Feels uninspired and uninteresting (as both a story and gameplay element)
Too many non-musical moments – Set pieces feel lacklustre without the music to support them. Epic themes should kick in more often, especially when in vehicles
Holograms – Escharum never looks at the player – Breaks immersion
UI and HUD – Atrocious – Shouldn’t all be squashed into the bottom right-hand corner. Shouldn’t require ridiculous use of the D-pad. Should have a visual ammo display like in every other Halo game
Accessing audio logs – Difficult to navigate in menu
Customisation options – Armour, colours, logo, weapon and vehicle customisation are all part of an abhorrent monetisation scheme – No real rewards for campaign achievements
Poorly-timed subtitles – Too much of the dialogue is revealed on-screen before it is said, spoiling the story seconds ahead - Annoying
Lack of blood – Immersion breaking Hitmarkers – Much prefer diegetic feedback (like blood, distinctive sound effects and exaggerated death animations)
Is Infinite the perfect soft-reboot the franchise needed, or is there still a fair bit 343i need to get right? There’s undoubtedly a lot to love, but the bullet-sponge enemies and outright terrible UI are almost completely unforgivable in my books. The latter needs urgent fixing. What are your thoughts?