Halo Infinite has proven to be popular mainly within the Halo community, despite drawing some controversy. 343 Studios have been criticized for their era story-wise with the campaigns of Halo 4 and Halo 5: Guardians but had made big promises for Halo Infinite.
Fans were expecting a much more Master Chief-centric storyline for Infinite and were expecting some development on plotlines established in the previous two games. It was a surprise to a lot of fans when the game instead moved on to a new conflict between the UNSC and the Banished. Infinite also saw massive changes to the structure of the game, with the franchise moving from linear, instance-based missions to open-world. While Infinite's single-player needs fixes, it is worth playing for any Halo fan as well as those looking to get into the series at a jumping-on point.
8 Loved: The Banished
The Banished is a Brute faction that has been warring against the UNSC, denying the Human-Covenant ceasefire. While primarily being comprised of Brutes, they have also got some Grunts, Elites, even humans. Led by Atriox, players take down the Banished across a Halo Installation Ring, taking down their camps and leaders. The faction is one of the best things introduced to the lore.
While a lot of fans wanted to see development on the plot line of AIs taking the Mantle of Responsibility, they were impressed with the Banished and felt they were an appropriate successive villainous faction to the Covenant.
7 Didn't Love: Lack Of Forerunner Elements
Despite being controversial, Halo 4 has gone on to be more fondly remembered since its release. The Didact was the main antagonist of that game, being an ancient Forerunner Warrior who had been locked away for hundreds of thousands of years. Halo 4 also featured the Librarian, who assists Master Chief and is the enemy and wife of the Didact.
Since Halo 4, there hasn't been much of a Forerunner element. With the developers promising that Infinite would be the most groundbreaking Halo game, a lot of fans expected there to be more expansion on the Forerunners. Halo Infinite's bosses have been well-received overall by fans, but many would have liked a Forerunner boss such as the Didact to have appeared.
6 Loved: Open-World Gameplay
Halo has long been established with linear, instance-based campaign levels that tell a connected story as the player progresses through various missions. Halo Infinite switched up the formula and was open-world, offering players a chance to traverse a massive Halo installation ring. Players can take on the story and side-missions in whichever order they choose, giving complete freedom over their experience.
The switch to open-world has proven to be one of the most popular features of the game, with most players praising the freedom in exploring the installation ring as they see fit. It also complements treasure hunters who like to look for Easter Eggs across Infinite's map.
5 Didn't Love: Repetitive Locations
The bane of all open-world games is repetitive locations. These can make a player feel bored in no time if they go through multiple areas that look completely the same. While Halo Infinite mostly does a good job in giving different sections of Zeta Halo a distinct look, there are definitely times when enemy bases look the same.
It's a sign of lazier game development and one that eagle-eyed fans are not likely to miss. With audio logs and Easter eggs dotted all around the map, players pay extra attention to all the map elements, leading to repetitive locations becoming a problem quite quickly.
4 Loved: Master Chief's Mechanics
The mechanics around Master Chief are impressive, and one of Halo Infinite's saving graces. Gone are the days of clunky, slow movement for players controlling the Spartan. In Halo Infinite, Master Chief feels fluid, responsive, and his grappling hook helps to add dynamics to traversal that are genuinely fun. Master Chief's tools have given a sense of progression for players, and helped to make the gameplay feel more varied.
One of the things people loved about Halo 5: Guardians was how it felt mechanically, so it's great to see that this has been streamlined further and refined for Halo Infinite. With the number of combat situations players face in this game, responsive mechanics are crucial.
3 Didn't Love: Budget Cortana
Cortana had appeared as the trusty sidekick to Master Chief right from the first game, Halo: Combat Evolved. Throughout the years she has been built up as a fan favorite, and her evil turn in Halo 5: Guardians took the story in a new way that many were unhappy with.
In Halo Infinite, the Master Chief is assisted by a new AI called "the Weapon". The Weapon is based on Cortana in her coding and appearance, leading many to view her as a discount, budget version of Cortana. Many fans weren't happy with this new AI so blatantly being Cortana 2.0, as it threatens to detract from the emotional weight of the original Cortana's rampancy and Chief's loss of her.
2 Love: Weapons
The weapons in Halo Infinite feel distinct, refined, and fun. With many of the weapons seeing upgrades and some seeing downgrades compared to their previous appearances in the series, it feels like 343 has managed to strike a balance that makes all weapons feel viable in certain combat situations, with the best single-player weapons being great for ANY combat situation.
Whether hanging back and sniping Banished villains to even the odds, or running in guns-blazing with a Mangler, players can choose how they approach bases and missions and use the weapons that feel right to them. Because the game is open-world, it means that players don't have to worry about a mission changing over and their weapon being replaced as with older Halo games.
1 Hate: Time Jump
Halo 5: Guardians, for all of its controversy, established interesting plot developments that had huge ramifications for the overall story moving forward. Cortana had assembled an army of AIs from all over the universe, deciding to take the Mantle of Responsibility for themselves and utilize the Guardians, huge robotic creatures created by the Forerunners, to achieve peace across the galaxy and stamp out any dissent. Fans wish they knew before starting Infinite that this plotline would be abandoned, to save disappointment.
Rather than deal with anything established in the previous game, Halo Infinite instead jumps forward 18 months, explaining away the conflict with Cortana and the AIs off-screen. This time jump was extremely anti-climatic and annoyed most fans. It is not known why 343 decided to take this route with the story, but it's been proven to be a mistake, as it left the majority of Halo's fanbase confused and apathetic to the franchise's continuation.
Halo Infinite is available on Xbox One Series X/S, Xbox One, and PC.