5 years, 5 long years. That’s how long it took to get Halo Infinite gameplay – and it’s finally here. 343 Industries opened the Xbox Games Reveal event with the long anticipated Halo Infinite campaign gameplay, and it looks incredible.
The gameplay presentation starts off with banter between the unnamed Pilot & The Master Chief; as they get shot down by Banished canons and crash land in a nearby pond. Chief orders the pilot to stay in the Pelican as he steps out onto the Halo Ring, and we’re dropped into the boots of Chief himself. With a clean new HUD and Assault Rifle design, the camera pans across the Halo ring and into the battlefield.
Gameplay Features
Halo Infinite‘s gameplay looks to reestablish certain classic gameplay elements while also advancing the gameplay with brand new elements as well. Sprint & slide return from some of the more recent games, but seem to be used more sparingly as combat has a lot more variety. The biggest addition looks to be the grappling hook, which allows Chief to zip over to enemies or nearby enemies or bring throwaway items to him.
The base gameplay itself greatly resembles that of classic gameplay in terms of prioritising enemies with certain weapons. There’s several different, unique weapons that work for different enemies, which includes newcomers such as the Banished Ravager & Pulse Carbine. Additionally, Halo Infinite brings back the throw-able equipment from Halo 3, such as a deployable shield. Of course, what would Halo be without it’s iconic Warthog, which is also featured within the trailer.
War of the Ring
While confirmed only a few weeks ago, this gameplay debut establishes that The Banished aren’t just the primary antagonists; but also a formidable force to be reckoned with. Familiar enemies return such as Brutes, Elites, Jackals & Grunts; and seem to be tougher than ever as they work together to take you down. From Brutes literally throwing suicide Grunts at you, to enemies flanking and more.
A new character, an unknown Brute Leader, is also introduced at the end of the reveal. He reveals that the UNSC forces at the ring have been defeated, and is surprised but welcoming Chief as a challenging foe. While there’s not mention of the Created, nor specifications on what exactly happened, the primary antagonist looks and sounds fierce. This is simply a tease of things to come, and this Brute looks to be a mighty character in this story.
Wonder and Beauty
Halo Infinite is the first FPS Campaign in 13 years to feature an actual Halo ring environment, and the game looks to deliver in that aspect. During the gameplay it is revealed that the Halo ring will be semi open world, with an in-HUD map to help guide the player around the large areas.
With the new Slipspace Engine, Halo Infinite’s visuals looks simply outstanding, as should be expected from a cross-gen title. The facial animations of The Pilot and the mysterious Brute are incredibly smooth and detailed, particle effects from explosions are thick and bright, and the lighting and reflections are simply jaw dropping. Even the massive, open environment is a direct product of the new engine, providing a much more open Halo title than before.
Fight Hard, Die Well.
Halo Infinite is on track to release Holiday 2020 alongside the Xbox Series X, with more news including Multiplayer coming within the next few weeks. Make sure you stay up to date at the official Halo Waypoint page & Twitter account! Of course, be sure to stay tuned at Informed Pixel as well, for we will be covering it every step of the way!
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Listen to my personal project, The Noble Core Podcast on Spotify and Apple. Our weekly Podcast primarily focuses on Halo news and content. Follow us on Twitter @TheNobleCore, you can also find me @TheNobleGrunt and my co-host @JonTheChief117 as well. Join us as we get absolutely hyped about Halo Infinite!
