Halo Infinite Review

The Master Chief is back! Few video game characters have reached the iconic status of Halo’s Master Chief, but with that hype comes heavy expectations. I’m happy to say that the Master Chief’s legacy is elevated further by the Masterpiece of a game: Halo Infinite. Since its early Multiplayer Preview in July, I’ve written at least three separate posts about Halo Infinite Multiplayer, and now I am finally playing a Halo campaign again! Halo Infinite is considered the 6th “main” Halo game, as it resumes the adventures of Master Chief after the events of Halo 5 (2015), but it also takes place after the strategy game Halo Wars 2 (2017). On the mysterious ring world called Zeta Halo, Master Chief faces his biggest, most personal, physical, and emotional challenges yet, and win or lose, the galaxy will never be the same!

DavPoint: The Halo series is one of the most successful sci-fi franchises of all time. Spanning 20 years and twelve games (including six “main” titles and two spin-offs, strategy, mobile, and arcade games, and a VR experience) Halo has sold 81 million copies, and combined with other merchandise (novels, graphic novels, toys, etc.), it has earned $6.5 billion!

Halo Series, Wikipedia, Highest Grossing Media Franchises, Wikipedia

Technical: Halo Infinite was developed by 343 Industries (343i) for Xbox Game Studios, with support from SkyBox Labs, Sperasoft, The Coalition, Certain Affinity, and Atomhawk, for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S. After the release of Halo 5 (2015), 343i began work on their proprietary “Slipspace Engine” exclusively for Halo Infinite. The years of development have paid off with truly remarkable game environments and mechanics, dynamic lighting, and “new levels of emotion” expressed in high fidelity. Halo Infinite can be played at 4K and 60 fps in “quality” mode or “dynamic” 4K and 120 fps in “performance” mode on Xbox Series X and high end PCs, with lower targets for Xbox Series S and Xbox One X (1080p @ 60 fps “performance” or 30 fps “quality”), and locked 1080p @ 30 fps on Xbox One (S).

On my Xbox Series X, the results are jaw dropping. Previous Halo games used linear paths to connect separate “sandbox” play areas, but Halo Infinite turns the surface of Zeta Halo into one giant playroom. I believe it is fitting that Halo, a series known for innovating making the FPS genre possible on consoles, is taking the “open world” action-adventure-RPG formula and molding it into something uniquely “Halo.” This isn’t just an open world “approach these objectives in any order you want” experience, this is an interactive environment, full of activities like squads of marines to rescue, bounties to hunt, and enemy bases to shut down, weapons, tools, and vehicles to play with, and nooks and crannies to explore and secrets to find. Experiencing the incredible draw distances, dynamic lighting, dramatic details, and always excellent combat, all in 4K and 60 fps, is a dream of dreams come true!

Sound: I can’t talk about Halo without talking about its soundtrack. Halo Infinite credits the collaboration of Alex Bhore, Gareth Coker, Curtis Schweitzer, and Joel Corelitz, overseen by 343 Industries Music Supervisor Joel Yarger. (Of course, the world famous Halo theme by Martin O’Donnell is woven throughout, though O’Donnell’s involvement with Halo ended with Halo Reach (2010), and his employment with Bungie ended in 2014, while working on the Destiny soundtrack.) However it was made, this soundtrack is as much fun to listen to as the game is to play, and that is high praise!

I also have to recognize the performances of the heroes: Steve Downes as the Master Chief, Jen Taylor as the Weapon, and Nicolas Roye as the pilot, Echo-216; and the villains: Darin De Paul as War Chief Escharum, Ike Amadi as Atriox, and Debra Wilson as the Harbinger. For a massive game like Halo Infinite to focus on only a few characters, and for the game to star a guy like the Master Chief who doesn’t say much, it’s important to get as much out of the performances as possible. Without risking any spoilers, I’ll just say that these are exceptional performances!

Narrative: There is too much to be said about the Halo franchise in general, and how well Halo Infinite “concludes” the saga in specific, to fit in this review. Like the design decision to make Halo Infinite an open world adventure, the narrative decisions are a bit bold – and reactions may vary. On one hand, it’s a great self-contained story, with a tighter focus on a core group of characters that connects on a deeper emotional level. On the other hand, it doesn’t quite resolve every sub-plot and sub-sub plot from every Halo story. I’d like to say that knowledge of the extensive lore and back stories of the Halo franchise are not required to appreciate Halo Infinite, as the story more or less stands on its own as a tale of loss, unsurmountable odds, and heroism – that is, until it doesn’t, and I wish there were some kind of mechanism to help fill in the gaps. It’s not fair to expect this game to contain every detail from every story, and wrap up the entire series, but its open ending holds it back from feeling completely satisfying.

Game Play: Halo Infinite is more than a game with amazing graphics (experiences vary by hardware), captivating performances, and incredible sound design, as its held together by some of the best gameplay experiences I’ve had in years. I am seriously, always, always entertained, as the moment to moment action blends seamlessly with exploration and back to more action, and it all challenges the player with a steady escalation of difficulty.

DavPoint: Finding all the collectible items in Halo Infinite can be a challenge, but using a guide like IGN’s Interactive Map can help, as will waiting until earning enough “Valor” from activities to unlock the UNSC “Wasp” flying vehicle. I especially love that the game tracks items found in each region, and that the “Armor Locker” collectibles are different skins and cosmetic items used in multiplayer!

Believe it or not, I somewhat regret playing so many hours of multiplayer previous to the launch of the campaign, as my familiarity with new equipment like the “grapple shot” robbed the joy of using it “for the first time” as the Master Chief. That said, I can’t emphasize enough that countless encounters with enemies never gets old, as Zeta Halo is truly a fun-filled playroom!

Conclusion (For Now): Halo Infinite isn’t just an excellent iteration of the already excellent Halo series, it is an exercise in excellence nearly across the board, demonstrating master class development in open world game design, memorable music, emotive performances, and always entertaining game play. The name itself hints at infinite possibilities, and more is yet to come. I do miss the ability to play through the campaign cooperatively with friends, and designing all kinds of mayhem with the “Forge” game map/mode editor, so I’m looking forward to those features being added next year. For now, I’m more than happy with the content already available, both the multiplayer and campaign, and consider Halo Infinite a Masterpiece!

For more Halo Infinite, watch me play on the DavPoint!

• Developer: 343 Industries
• Publisher: Xbox Game Studios
• Platforms: PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S
• Rating: T for Teen for Blood, Mild Language, and Violence
• Release Date: November 15, 2021 (Multiplayer), December 8, 2021 (Campaign)