So I’m going to say something really profound to a lot of people here…
I am totally confident that Halo Infinite will be the best halo so far.
Ok ok ok… I know what you’re thinking… NO, I am not parroting a Watch MoJo or Looper or Gameranx video.
I legitimately believe that 343 is going to wow ALL of us when Infinite is released.
Here’s my thoughts as to why:
1- Devotion
Halo 5 had a rocky start. No forge, no splitscreen, few gametypes, Warzone bugs, ect. I would attribute this to time constraints in development. Halo 5 is now a HUGE game with arguably the most diverse set of activities from any Halo game thus far. Halo 4 was unbalanced, Halo 5 had a bad campaign, and even had to make cuts. I think the root cause is because they were experimenting, and had too many ideas to fit into one package at such a short time. Halo 4 took 3.5 years to build a new engine, completely redesign the art, balance it all out, give us a long campaign, etc. in just 3.5 years. That’s a pretty tight schedule. Halo 5 built off of the Halo 4 engine and had to overhaul everything from Halo 4, design countless armors and helmets, an still cut some aspects like splitscreen and campaign. Not to mention that 343 had some teams divided to build Halo Wars 2 and help with a couple movies. Halo Infinite’s Slipspace engine was in development shortly after Halo 5 released. We still don’t have a release date for the new installment, but it seems clear to me that 343 is spending more time on Infinite than they have for any other Halo game so far. Not only that, the team seems to be unified. A Halo arcade shooter for Dave & Buster’s just came out, and 343 had next to nothing to do with it beyond licensing and advice (correct me if I’m wrong). Halo Infinite looks promising to me because they’re taking their time and devoting as much as possible to the game.
2-They’re listening More Than Ever
A big complaint that Bungie Zealots had about halo 4 is that it strayed too far from the formula of Halo’s before it. Honestly love what 343 has done with Halo 4 and 5 artstyle and gameplay wise, though I don’t think either are flawless. 343 has (in my opinion, unfortunately) given into the bungie zealots’ demands to return to the old art style. I don’t think the new art style looks bad in the slightest, but honestly Halo 4 and 5 had such a distinct style that separated them from other games at the time. It blows my mind that people called it generic, as if to suggest it looks ANYTHING like other game franchises. Still, I am remaining optimistic about the new style, as the natural aspects of it are breathtaking. Clearly, 343 is listening to everyone with this one.
3-They’re Still Mixing Up The Formula
The game is OPEN WORLD. This is exactly what Halo has needed since CE. It brings up the question of how multiplayer will be though. Will it also be open world, with portions cut out to have the games in? Or will the multiplayer maps be entirely different rendered places? I hope the latter, which would be easier to do anyway. It’s good that we’re seeing Halo go in new directions and try new things. To me, I have never seen Halo as needing to stick to a strict formula. Just make the multiplayer fair and balanced with fixed loadouts, put the Chief in it, and all the enemies we love.
4-We Might See The Flood Return!
The end of Halo 5 revealed some growling from a distant halo which we can only assume is indicative of the Flood. A huge part of Halo’s lore is becoming a prominent player in the story again! Imagine what it would be like to see the Flood vs. Prometheans!
All in all, if we have a campaign as good as Halo 4, with gameplay similar to Halo 5, and more fleshed out characters from fireteams Blue and Osiris, with Halo 5’s forge, this will undoubtedly be the best Halo so far.