Last year, 343 released an eight-minute demonstration of its upcoming game Halo Infinite. While most of the gameplay would look pretty familiar to Halo fans, there were a few new features, such as the Master Chief’s new wrist-mounted grappling hook.
A recent development update teases that the Grappleshot isn’t the only new weapon in the Halo arsenal. It will be just one of the many ways players will interact with Halo Infinite’s open world.
In 343’s first “Inside Infinite” development update, Infinite’s developers discussed the game’s new sandbox open world. A big part of that has been designing the game’s equippable items, such as the Grappleshot. The sandbox lead designer Tim Temmerman said of the Grappleshot, “We have some really exciting equipment we haven’t shown yet, but the Grappleshot is probably my favorite of the bunch that we have shown.” He then explained that the Grappleshot has a lot more functionality than was shown off in the demo last Summer.
Another developer, Elan Gleiber, was similarly proud of the Grappleshot but teased more new equipment that 343 wasn’t ready to reveal yet. Gleiber avoided specifics but hinted at a new item with a lot of physics-based interactions. The new piece of gear, whatever it is, can apparently send enemies flying with the right timing and positioning. Meanwhile, Quinn DelHoyo and Brian Berryhill were excited about Halo Infinite’s new vehicle options. 343 is still keeping its cards close to its chest, so their hints were even more frustratingly vague than Gleibers. From what little they were able to say, it seems Halo Infinite will feature at least one totally new vehicle and another that has gone through substantial changes since its last appearance in the franchise.
The post indicated that many of the new items would be somewhat familiar to returning Halo fans. For example, the Drop Wall deployable shield seen in last year’s demo is an evolution of similar items that have been with the series since Halo 3. The post doesn’t say what else could see an evolution, but items like the jet pack are certainly a possibility. The post also suggested that elements of Halo Infinite may have changed since last summer. For example, the Ravager plasma launcher has gone through a substantial overhaul since its appearance in the demo. Again though, the developers avoided saying anything too specific.
343’s unwillingness to deal in details may be frustrating for some fans. However, given the industry’s tendency to over-promise, it’s probably the right move. The backlash against Cyberpunk 2077 is an abject lesson on what can happen when developers show off too much too early. For now, fans will have to be content with the promise of more reveals to come.
Halo Infinite releases in fall 2021 for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Halo Waypoint