The latest mainline entry in the beloved Halo franchise may have its controversies, but regardless of its faults, Halo Infinite still provides a story bursting with heart and humor despite its protagonist's famously stoic presence. Believed by many to be the best the franchise has been in years, Halo Infinite had a lot going for it when it was initially released. Issues around an unclear roadmap and co-op disappointments have tainted its reputation, but that doesn't take away from the fact that Halo Infinite is a great game.
Alongside the familiar FPS trappings, fast-paced action, and classic science fiction elements, Halo Infinite manages to craft a compelling and surprisingly touching story with the impenetrable Master Chief at its center. For a franchise known mainly for its badass main character and dedicated playerbase rather than its emotionally nuanced storytelling, Halo games as a whole still manage to pack an emotional punch from time to time, which is particularly surprising given the fact that gamers never actually see Master Chief remove his helmet.
How An Emotionless Soldier Still Conveys Emotion
For all intents and purposes, Master Chief's entire identity is his armor. It's instantly recognizable and practically all the player ever sees of him, becoming so interwoven with his character that he doesn't really exist beyond it. Master Chief's face is completely covered, which presents plenty of problems when it comes to showing off how he's feeling at any given moment.
Halo Infinite navigates this in several interesting ways, showing that although Master Chief may seem impenetrable and emotionless, that isn't actually true at all. With Master Chief's lack of expression to rely on, Halo Infinite uses the surrounding characters to showcase his emotions. The Pilot in particular is used as a character for Master Chief to bounce off of, and their unlikely friendship is one of the key tent poles that props up the plot. It's always been clear that Master Chief is a man of action rather than words, and Halo Infinite uses that to full effect when he risks everything to rescue the Pilot after he is captured by Jega 'Rdomnai.
The Pilot is much more expressive than the Spartan, but instead of reducing Master Chief to a monosyllabic machine in comparison, this helps to shine a light on the moments when he does open up. Master Chief's weighted silences and carefully chosen words can convey much more than a facial expression could, and his sparse sentences as he comforts the Pilot clearly show his growing affection for him. Master Chief rarely opens up, but admitting his guilt over Cortana's fate provides a rare insight into his thoughts and feelings. Players have already been through a lot with Master Chief, and they don't need to see his face to know what he's feeling, especially when it comes to his ill-fated AI companion.
Master Chief's Surprisingly Heartbreaking History
The Halo series is one of the longer running franchises that are still releasing popular entries to this day. From the early days of Halo: Combat Evolved on the original Xbox, to the launch of the Reclaimer Saga and its new focus on expanding the Halo universe, the series has gone through many changes. Master Chief has transitioned over the years into an iconic figure in the video game landscape, with his hulking stature, legendary armor and famously taciturn demeanor all becoming hallmarks of his character. It's an impressive feat, then, that this enigmatic a protagonist has been able to carry a franchise on his shoulders for over two decades, providing some incredibly emotional stories as well.
Human emotion can be conveyed in lots of different ways, but one of the main ones is through facial expressions. In many types of media, characters wear masks not only to hide their identities but also to shield their emotions and reactions from others and to remain withdrawn or mysterious. Master Chief wears his helmet mainly for tactical reasons, but it serves the same function as a mask and means that there will always be a barrier between him and the player. This makes it even more impressive when the developers can still convey what he's thinking and feeling purely through other methods, like speech, silence, and the decisions he makes.
Even though it's predominantly an action game, Halo Infinite still has an engaging story intertwined with its combative encounters. The Halo franchise is steeped in lore, and it continues to expand as the newest title delves deeper into the origins of the Halos and the mysteries Endless. Many of the emotional story beats in Halo Infinite rely on player knowledge of previous games, like Master Chief's difficult life and relative lack of friends and true allies, as well as his heartbreaking history with Cortana. Halo infinite plays on these elements throughout its campaign, showing that even a super soldier trained from childhood to be a militaristic killing machine still has a heart.
Halo Infinite is available now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S