Now that Halo Infinite's multiplayer portion is available for fans to enjoy freely, a lot of fans have flocked to the game to see if the year-long delay that the project faced last year was worth it in the end. As it turns out, it seems like that additional development time was well spent by 343 Industries, as many fans are citing Infinite's multiplayer as the best that Halo has ever been. While that specific sentiment is certainly up for debate among fans, there's no denying that, so far, the early access multiplayer aspect of the game has been a major hit.
While there's plenty to enjoy about the mechanics of the matches, one of Halo Infinite's most charming features is the many easter eggs and references to other media that are hidden in every crevice of the game. It seems like with each new item description and text box, there's something new to uncover. These references are setting a really fun tone for the game in general and serve as a nice reminder that, while there's certainly merit in the serious aspects of the series, Halo also isn't afraid to be a little more tongue-in-cheek with its multiplayer references.
Halo Infinite's Sense of Humor
Humor isn't always associated with Halo, as the games' campaigns tend to lean on the more serious side of the spectrum, however, there have always been moments of levity in the stories and 343 Industries and Bungie aren't new to adding humorous easter eggs throughout each level. Perhaps the most infamous comedy element in the Halo series is the "Grunt Birthday Party" skull which causes Grunts to explode in a burst of confetti while children cheer with each successful headshot. Based on the references within it, it seems like Halo Infinite is going for a tone like this with its multiplayer.
So far, the most obvious references to outside media in Infinite are the homages to the classic Rooster Teeth web show Red Vs. Blue. One reference lists the pink-colored AI Core as being "lightish red" which is a moment that happens early on in the show where one character sheepishly refers to their pink armor as "lightish red." Other references include loading screens that say "You Ever Wonder Why We're Here?" in reference to the first line of the show's pilot episode, and an achievement called "Bring Shiela Home Safely" which is referring to the Scorpion tank named Shiela that makes frequent appearances throughout the series.
Other humorous elements include a randomly spawning bot named Meowlnir that has kitten ears on the outside of its helmet. Another reference is the armor description for Jorge's armor set in the battle pass, which reads "Are you a born hero who stands too close to slipspace ruptures?" This is a reference which obviously is poking fun at Jorge's death in Halo Reach, where the spartan sacrifices himself in order to set off a slipspace bomb that destroys a Covenant fleet.
While these humorous aspects don't add anything significant to the game's actual mechanics, they do serve as a good way to help establish Halo's tone as a not-so-serious shooter. Infinite comparatively stands out from the likes of this year's Call of Duty: Vanguard and Battlefield 2042 which, while they certainly can get a little goofy from time to time, typically stick with a more serious tone over a self-referential one.
It seems like Halo Infinite is a celebration of the Halo series as a whole and its community, so it's only natural for it to include references to things like Red Vs. Blue or poke fun at older entries in the series. What's even more exciting than the handful of references currently known is the fact that this is setting up a precedent for more fun easter eggs to be added and discovered in the future of the game.
Halo Infinite's multiplayer beta is available now, with campaign launching on December 8 for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.