The news of 343 Industries releasing a campaign trailer for Halo Infinite was received with hype from fans of the series, as the first look in its infamous 2020 trailer left players with mixed opinions. Today's reveal proved Halo Infinite should be a well-rounded product with a lot to unpack when it comes to the game's campaign revolving around the Banished, Cortana, and The Weapon. In terms of actual gameplay, Halo Infinite's campaign seems to be a big departure from the style of past games, looking more akin to action titles where explosions are main features.
Halo Infinite will have a bunch of replayable missions taking place in different biomes where the Banished, its main antagonistic race, have supposedly established themselves after the defeat of the UNSC. These objectives will range from regaining control of an enemy base to rescuing allies or defeating powerful enemies that pose a threat - very similar to games like Just Cause, Far Cry, and Assassin's Creed. Halo Infinite's PvE gameplay is also very reminiscent of what players can achieve in Just Cause thanks to the Grappleshot and environmental explosives.
How Halo Infinite Compares to Just Cause
One of the most prominent tools in Halo Infinite's new trailer is the Grappleshot, which is shown several times with different strategic purposes. The Grappleshot can grab weapons lying around and instantly equip Master Chief, it can attach itself to hard surfaces like walls or moving ships in order to make spectacular moves, and it can grab explosives to throw at destructible objectives. While this in-and-of itself isn't a bad thing, it strays from what Halo fans have been used to with the series' gameplay.
These things are something the Just Cause games do regularly, and they are one of the most iconic elements of the franchise because of how crazy and over-the-top everything is. This huge difference with Halo Infinite poses a few questions, such as how much of it is going to affect the campaign and the player experience as a whole. While the Halo grappling hook can be a fun tool to have because of crazy interactions it can lead to, like using it on teammates in PvP to get to safety or to close the gap with an out-of-range enemy, it's a big departure from what came before.
All the imposing objectives that players have to blow up in one way or another are not bad, but they are likely there to make for aesthetically pleasing and adrenaline-fueling moments while playing Halo Infinite's campaign. This is also where all the vehicles come in, as they are often shown with dramatic shots where Master Chief is either trying to detonate something or save someone - like the allied soldiers who the Spartan purposefully drives off a cliff. The main takeaway here is that the scale of Halo Infinite seems to be epic, emphasizing the importance of Master Chief's role within the Halo universe and celebrating the feeling of being a hero.
This is further underlined by the open-world approach of 343 Industries, despite Halo Infinite not actually being fully open-world. Ultimately, the new Halo title looks like a game where the scale of each conflict and mission is meant to feel larger than ever, which can appeal to different audiences for games like Just Cause as well.
Halo Infinite releases December 8 on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.