Halo Infinite Reviews
Halo Infinite’s multiplayer is one of the series’ best offerings to date. With time, it can become even better.
With an adventurous campaign, complete with a sandbox that'll still be there when your friends can join the fight, and a multiplayer suite that feels like a note-perfect revival of the Halo of old, Halo Infinite feels like the complete blockbuster sci-fi shooter we've been waiting for from 343 Industries. It hasn't happened overnight for the team, but the mantle passed to them, at last, feels earned.
Master Chief is back and better than ever. Halo Infinite introduces open-world elements that don’t distract from the main story and add value to its replayability and memorable action. Even with the inclusion of the thrilling Grappleshot, the gameplay still maintains its signature feel. Multiplayer may need a lot of finetuning, but it costs nothing to play and provides plenty of frantic fun for a group of friends and solo players. With more features and additions to come, Halo Infinite isn’t slowing down… No. I think we’re just getting started.
Unencumbered by the baggage of the upcoming story campaign, Halo Infinite Multiplayer is arguably the definitive incarnation of the franchise’s online competitive component and is strong enough to stand on its own despite its F2P leanings.
It's strange to see games that become worse after launch, but this is undeniably true for Halo Infinite. Because I trusted that couch co-op, a staple of the Halo experience, would be added in a post-launch patch, I gave the title the benefit of the doubt. I also expected multiplayer seasons to be plentiful, regular and full of engaging cosmetics, maps and modes. None of these things has happened.
It's hard to deny the missteps and missing launch-day features, but it's harder to deny how thoroughly engaging Halo Infinite feels.
Like Master Chief himself, Infinite lets its combat do the talking while looking towards a bright future. After that initial showing, we couldn't ask for more.
Halo Infinite on the Xbox Series X is classic Halo fun that has received a true next-gen makeover that really upgrades our favourite Spartan, the Master Chief himself!
As part of the series' reboot, Halo Infinite delivers a high-scoring answer with a newly designed single-player campaign and steady multiplayer mode.
Review in Chinese | Read full review
343 Industries made an amazing job in making Halo: Infinite feel new and captivating, yet familiar for long time fans that patiently waited for Master Chief to come back.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Halo Infinite's campaign closes a few doors and opens some others, and even if the open-world stylings could be better integrated into the overarching gameplay design, it's a title that pays homage to the past while looking to the future
In the end though it’s hard to fault what 343 Industries has accomplished with Halo Infinite. It’s very much the spiritual successor it purports to be -- with forward thinking design and elements that flow in a way that reminds you of the timeless nature of the fluid, stylish combat of old. The lack of co-op is something you feel, but in terms of cinematic spectacle this is the Master Chief carrying the flag once more for Xbox. Albeit in that new-school form of being able to jump in and, well, play anywhere.
Halo Infinite handles the burden of the franchise's long history gracefully. At times, as with the campaign's story, it can feel like developer 343 Industries is weighed down by Master Chief's Mjolnir armor. But Infinite's bolder design choices, like its open-world environment and Grappleshot, make it feel exciting and new. The multiplayer might play it a little safe to appease longtime fans, but if the worst thing you can say about it is that it feels like old-school Halo, then it's doing something right. It's Halo made for Halo fans, but there's enough novelty to keep it feeling fresh.
While there are some improvements that can be made, Halo: Infinite is a return to form for the storied FPS franchise.
After the disappointing Halo 5: Guardians, it really does feel like 343 Industries is getting the series back on track with Halo Infinite. The setting is familiar, and so is the gameplay, but like returning to your hometown to meet up with long-lost friends, it’s a wholesome experience and, once you scratch the surface, things are different enough to allay any fears that you’re just re-treading the same old ground. Perhaps the biggest shame is that co-op won’t be available until after launch, because those open areas could really do with multiple Spartans causing havoc in them. But until then, even playing solo is bound to be captivating thanks to firefights that put most other first-person shooters to shame.
If the audio didn’t absolutely carry this game, the one thing that I will give Halo Infinite is that it manages to be a good game, better than the other 2 big shooter games released recently. 343 Industries didn’t name this Halo 6 because if they did it would be so far departed from the franchise entirely. Thankfully, this managed to do what I knew it could, which is be the best out of the three FPS games in the past month.
It’s a very modern interpretation of what Halo can be, pulling from the kinds of games that are as big today as Halo was when it first launched. Rather that feeling like a Greatest Hits of modern video gaming, though, it still feels distinctly like Halo. Meanwhile, its potential to grow and change seems like it will have a much more lasting impact than any amount of bopping aliens in the head. Maybe “combat evolved” just means something new now.
Halo is back to its best with Halo Infinite, tight controls, and seriously thirst-quenching gunplay that feels so intuitively satisfying. Traversal has been improved hugely by the addition of the grappleshot, allowing Master Chief to zip around at speed, as well as adding a unique element for multiplayer matches. A particular dampener has to be directed at the online multiplayer, which is riddled with cheaters, but, if they were to be removed then the multiplayer offers a solid free-to-play experience that is fast and frantic. Halo Infinite, alongside a number of other Xbox first-party titles is a great addition to Xbox Game Pass, and it is certainly a marquee game that warrants a subscription to the service.