Unless you’ve been living under a rock the last 2 years, you’ve likely heard about 343 Industries’ upcoming sequel to Halo 5: Guardians, Halo Infinite. In case you missed the 2018 announcement of the game, along with its new Slipspace Engine, you can find the trailer below:
A year later at E3 2019, we received a portion of the game’s opening cutscene, which you can find down below this as well:
This year is finally the year of not only the Xbox Series X, but also Halo Infinite, barring any delay caused by the COVID-19 virus pandemic. In this list, we’re going to go over everything that has us feeling all giddy for the upcoming release of Halo Infinite, and why we think you should be excited, too. Let’s jump in.
The Slipspace Engine
343 Industries Industries has spent the better part of five long years since Halo 5’s release, developing the new game engine that Halo Infinite will be powered by; the Slipspace Engine. 343 Industries has previously stated that the Slipspace engine will allow for faster creative iteration, potentially opening up the Halo franchise to faster content releases in the future, and a cleaner development pipeline for both new titles in the series and smaller expansion such as DLC packs, and potentially, even ODST style spin-offs.
New (or rather old) Art Style
When the world got their first glimpse at Halo Infinite in 2018, there was a lot of excitement. Not just because there was a new Halo game being announced, but because when the camera pans over at the end and focuses in on the Chief’s helmet. After viewing this, fans immediately knew that the classic art style would be making a return. To be fair, since then we’ve seen a bit more and learned that Sparth, the Art Director on Halo Infinite, is pulling inspiration from all of the games in the series. So I imagine we’ll see a beautiful blend of both the modern take on Halo and the classic approach to its art. Truly, if Halo Infinite could’ve done anything this early to win me over, it’s this approach to its art.
Combat, Evolved
It’s no secret that you could poll 100 Halo fans, and you’d probably get 100 different answers for what Halo Infinite’s gameplay should be. An evolution of Halo 5’s? A return to the classic gameplay of Halo 1-3? Or a mix of the two? Maybe something completely new and unheard-of? There are no right or wrong answers here. While thousands of other Halo fans and myself would like to see more of a classic approach to the gameplay, there have now been just as many “modern” halo games as the “classic” ones. Who’s to say who’s right or wrong anymore? 343 Industries has a daunting task on their hands that I do not envy – Who do you try to please? The longstanding hardcore Halo fans? Do you chase industry trends and try to appeal to as many people as you possibly can? Try to find a balance in both? No matter what it ends up chasing, the question of what is one of the reasons I’m most looking forward to the reveal in July.
It’s Chief or Nothing
Halo 5: Guardians was received with mixed reviews. While I personally liked it (and gave it a solid review score of a 9/10 on ReclaimerHub back in the day), I understand why people felt it was lacking and downright disappointing. Halo 5’s marketing campaign led players to believe they’d get a Halo 2 style campaign, playing evenly as Chief and Spartan Jameson Locke as they hunt each other down and try to solve the mysteries of the titular Guardians. Unfortunately, players spend only 3 of the 15 missions in Halo 5’s campaign as the Chief and his old friends in Blue Team.
This was obviously not what people wanted, and it felt like Halo 5 was more of a spin-off because of it, rather than a true sequel to Halo 4. The only reason I’d argue against that is because of Cortana’s character development within. 343 Industries has told us that we’re going to be getting a Chief story front and center this time around and, between the aforementioned art style and promise of a story of reconnecting with his lost companion, Cortona. This gives me massive Halo 3 vibes which I am more than excited for.
Open World… maybe
Halo Infinite’s first trailer and key art give me the distinct feeling that Halo Infinite will feature a much larger campaign experience than any of the games that have come before it. Whether that’s a fully-realized open world akin to that of Breath of the Wild, or segmented like Destiny’s Destinations, Halo Infinite has the potential to be massive. This is not an unfamiliar feeling, however, as every Halo game since Halo: Reach has been theorized to be an open-world game, and it’s largely due to what Bungie tried to do in ODST.
Still, I digress, as Halo is the perfect universe for an open-world game and it’s that hope that it has the entire Halo community abuzz. Will it feature a linear mission structured campaign within a large fully explorable ringworld? Who is Brohammer, the pilot seen in the second trailer of Halo Infinite, and what is his purpose in the game? Could he be filling in for the missing Cortona or at least be the Chief’s current companion?
Only time will tell.
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There you have it, my list of reasons to be excited about Halo Infinite. What would you like to see in Halo Infinite that I didn’t touch on here? What makes you the most excited? Let us know and keep an eye out for even more on Halo Infinite here, in the Outerhaven!
Halo Infinite is currently scheduled for release on Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and Windows PC this holiday 2020. Are you looking forward to the game? If so, we’d love to know why in the comments below.
