Despite its rough reveal and multiple delays, things seem to finally be turning around for Halo Infinite. During E3 2021, 343 gave an update on how the development of the latest outing in the Halo franchise is progressing. But rather than focus on Halo Infinite's campaign like last year's reveal did, 343 instead opted to zero in on Halo's genre-defining multiplayer.
The gameplay shown during Xbox's E3 conference stood in stark contrast to what was previously shown of Halo Infinite. Not only did the game look better and showcase an entirely different mode, but perhaps the biggest surprise is that it appears to take more inspiration from Bungie's library of Halo games over 343's previous takes on the series. A core understanding of the series' gameplay and why it appeals to so many are both qualities evident in the footage shown and should be taken as signs that Halo Infinite is on the right track.
Halo Infinite: The Importance Of Equal Starts
One of the core ideas behind Halo's classic multiplayer is that of being able to adapt to the situation. Everyone spawns in with the same loadout, so players have to learn the maps, where weapons spawn, and also how to use each weapon effectively. It's only through this applied knowledge of the game that players are able to get a leg up on their competition.
However, ever since Halo Reach introduced loadouts, 343 has seemingly tried to expand on them in ways that, ultimately, detracted from Halo's balanced gameplay. Halo 4 introduced fully customizable loadouts akin to Call of Duty that allowed players to dictate the weapons they spawn with. In response to negative feedback regarding this choice, Halo 5 removed custom loadouts from its Arena playlists, but kept them in the game's popular, highly-monetized Warzone playlist.
343's handling of Halo has had its ups and downs, but the choice to leave equal starts — a defining feature of the original Halo trilogy — in the dust certainly fits into the latter category; it's perhaps one of the biggest reasons the Halo community's faith in 343 has been shaken.
Fortunately, the developer appears to be rather receptive to feedback. During Xbox's E3 showcase, 343's staff spoke on some of the core design philosophies surrounding Halo Infinite's multiplayer, and their words seem to echo what so many love about the original Halo trilogy. According to Tom French, the game's Multiplayer Associate Creative Director, "fair and balanced starts" will be at the heart of Halo Infinite's multiplayer, as identically equipped players will be forced to scour maps for weapons and equipment while making creative use of what they've acquired to claw their way to victory.
Innovation in Halo Infinite
Halo Infinite's multiplayer looks like a return to form for the series, but one shouldn't assume it will be lacking in innovation. The multiplayer trailer showcased one notable addition to the Halo series — the grappling hook. This staple of many modern video games looks like it will have some flexible use in Halo Infinite, as it can be used to reach certain parts of a map, as well as grab items like fusion coils, or even collect weapons.
Every applicable use exhibited thus far indicates that regardless of how players are using the grappling hook, it ultimately serves a sole purpose: to encourage creativity and quick thinking in gameplay the way Halo games are known to do. Rather than try to reinvent the wheel, the grappling hook seems to refurbish it to ensure the wheel lasts longer, and hopefully, other tools similar to it can do the same.
Lessons Learned From Halo: The Master Chief Collection
Despite the mixed success of 343's original Halo games, the developer has received high praise for the work it has done on Halo: The Master Chief Collection. Not only does the collection include nearly every mainline Halo game in one bundle, but it's also helped reignite interest in vintage Halo multiplayer across not just Xbox consoles, but PC as well. About five years following its Xbox debut, 343 brought the collection to PC, and a little under a year later, players on PC and Xbox were able to play together thanks to crossplay.
It's worth noting that Halo Infinite will also feature crossplay across Xbox consoles and PC. While there isn't any concrete proof, it seems fair to assume that The Master Chief Collection's PC debut and crossplay implementation could have been a means of testing crossplay functionality to ensure 343 could learn how to most effectively implement it in Halo Infinite's multiplayer.
But multiplatform crossplay isn't the only way that Halo Infinite is taking after The Master Chief Collection. The collection was the first Halo game to feature battle passes. Admittedly, they weren't officially called "battle passes," and they were available at no extra cost, but they functioned identically, as playing matches gradually allowed players to work through various tiers of rewards such as armor and weapon skins for use in multiplayer. Of course, as new seasons started, new battle passes would come, too.
But the distinguishing feature of the collection's battle passes was that, regardless of whether a new season had started or not, players could still work towards rewards from the previous passes. Battle passes in games like Apex Legends will often expire once a season has ended, making it impossible for players to access content from previous seasons.
Halo Infinite recently announced it will have battle passes, and it sounds like they work in the exact same way. The only difference is that players have to pay for each new battle pass. But even as new battle passes come out, just like The Master Chief Collection, players can still go back to older battle passes to make progress on them. Given the similarities between the two systems, it's almost indisputable that 343's decision to include such a feature was somehow related to its positive reception in The Master Chief Collection.
In the multiplayer reveal, Andrew Witts, the Lead Multiplayer Designer for Halo Infinite, described the game as "a celebration of [Halo] as well as an iteration of where Halo can go." Based on the footage shown, those words certainly seem to ring true. Despite 343's rough first couple outings with Halo, it looks like the third time might just be the charm thanks to a commitment to delivering an experience that is not just innovative, but above all else, authentically Halo.
Halo Infinite is scheduled to launch for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S holiday 2021.