It's no secret that Halo Infinite launched missing a decent amount of content. While the campaign and multiplayer are both excellent experiences, the lack of things such as Forge Mode and multiplayer assassinations at launch gives the entire package something of an unfinished quality that many fans have noted. One of the biggest missing features, however, exists as a sad example of "what could have been" every time players resume Halo Infinite's open-world campaign: campaign co-op.

While it's going to be coming at some point in 2022 as confirmed by 343 Industries, the lack of campaign co-op at launch feels like more of a misstep now than ever before. Now that anyone can try Halo Infinite's campaign, it's clearer than ever just how fun it would be to play with a friend. Although that will be possible in the future, not having it now, when Halo excitement is at its peak, will lessen the co-op's impact in the future. After all, it'll be more likely that both players will have already completed the campaign by the time the feature launches.

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Halo Infinite's Co-op Design

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There are plenty of moments within Halo Infinite's campaign that feel specifically designed for co-op, which makes its absence all that much more noticeable. This could be because 343 Industries promised that co-op would be included in the game following Halo 5's lack of campaign multiplayer and the design is simply a remnant of that promise, but without having another player there, it feels a little odd. All too often, players will order a warthog or mongoose from Echo-216 at one of the game's many F.O.B.s, only to load it up with brain-dead marine AIs who couldn't shoot their way out of a paper bag. Given how frequently they're relied on as backup, it seems as if the game wants players to engage with its marines, but they just don't have the skill required to be trusted in the same way that another human player would.

As a result, some of the game's combat encounters can be quite difficult, and the marines hardly ever make a difference when it comes to the outcomes of those fights. Halo Infinite's encounters are so open-ended given the sandbox of the world that they would greatly benefit from another player being added to the fray. There are so many different ways that players can go about reclaiming an outpost, but given the fact that there's only one player, real strategy just isn't a part of the experience.

Halo Infinite's open-world lends itself well to experimentation, and it does a good job reaching its potential when played alone. That said, it takes one watch of the warthog fling video that's made the internet rounds for players to begin imagining the possibilities of what could be achieved with a second Spartan. On that front, the campaign wouldn't necessarily be experienced any differently, but it would open itself up for a lot of goofy fun that's already being seen in private multiplayer lobbies.

Eventually, when co-op gets added to Halo Infinite's campaign, all of these things will be possible - it's just a matter of when. For the time being, however, it can't help but feel like something of a missed opportunity given how strong Infinite's singleplayer is and all the areas where having a player two would greatly benefit. For now, fans will just have to wait, but there's no telling how much interest they will have in replaying the campaign when co-op is finally added. Based on Halo Infinite's early success, it seems like there could still be an audience for it, but only time will tell.

Halo Infinite is available now for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.

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