Halo Infinite is the latest installment in Microsoft's flagship first-person shooter franchise and was intended to be a launch title for the Xbox Series X. After a poor reaction to the game's campaign reveal, the tough decision was made to delay Halo Infinite's release date by an entire year, with the game finally having its proper launch in December of 2021.
Comparing the initial campaign reveal to the launch product, it's clear that the Halo Infinite delay did the game some good. However, it's also clear that the game is still not technically in a finished state, missing some important features that fans have come to expect from the Halo franchise and, at the time of this writing, lacking modes to the point where it's impossible to even unlock all of Halo Infinite's achievements.
343 Industries will undoubtedly release more updates for Halo Infinite in the months ahead to make it a more content-complete game, and while it's still certainly worth playing in its current state, there's no getting around that it has a ways to go before it will live up to its full potential.
Does Halo Infinite Have Co-Op?
Campaign co-op has been a staple of the Halo franchise since Halo: Combat Evolved launched in 2001, with every main series Halo game supporting the feature thereafter. Halo 5: Guardians is when the series started to introduce restrictions on campaign co-op play, removing split-screen to widespread criticism, though still supporting online co-op. Halo Infinite, unfortunately, is the first main series Halo game to launch without co-op support at all for its campaign.
Co-op was planned to be in Halo Infinite at launch, but was delayed so that the developers could get it right while ensuring that the game's release date didn't have to get pushed back again. It's unclear exactly why co-op couldn't be ready in Halo Infinite at launch, but it may have something to do with the game's new open world structure. Generally speaking, most open world games don't offer co-op at all, and with Halo Infinite promising split-screen co-op at that, one has to imagine that it would be tricky to implement.
An exact release date for Halo Infinite campaign co-op has not been announced by 343 Industries, but it's expected to arrive sometime in May 2022 when Season 1 wraps up and Season 2 begins. In the meantime, a Halo Infinite glitch allows for split-screen co-op for those curious to see how it might wind up working, though it's lacking important features and is certainly not how the final product will be.
Can You Replay Missions in Halo Infinite?
Open world games don't usually allow players to replay missions, with some exceptions, so it's not all that surprising that Halo Infinite is lacking this feature as well. We know that Halo Infinite will let players replay story missions at some point down the line, but similarly to the missing co-op feature, fans aren't quite sure when it will be added. And also like co-op, replaying missions has been a staple of the Halo franchise, and so to see it missing in Halo Infinite is disappointing for sure.
The official reason why Halo Infinite doesn't let players replay missions is because the developers want to make sure that the feature is working properly before it's added to the game. It's anyone's guess when it could be added, but in the meantime, its absence may be causing problems for completionists. Unless someone was following a guide while playing through the Halo Infinite campaign or painstakingly hunting down every collectible, chances are they may have missed a skull or audio log in one of the mission areas. And since it's currently not possible to replay story missions, it means Halo Infinite players are essentially locked out of getting those collectibles until an update adds mission replays.
For impatient players who want to unlock all of Halo Infinite's achievements, which requires collecting the skulls and other collectibles, it means having to start a brand new save file and play through the game all over again. Those who can wait will just have to hang tight until 343 Industries adds mission replays in a future update for the game.
Where is the Halo Infinite Elimination Mode?
Completionists wanting to unlock all of the Halo Infinite achievements are out of luck anyway, with or without the ability to replay missions. One of the achievements in Halo Infinite is called "MEDIC!" and it asks players to revive three allies in a matchmade game of Elimination. The problem is that the Halo Infinite Elimination mode does not currently exist in the game. So at the time of this writing, it is impossible to unlock all of the Halo Infinite achievements and 100% the game.
Halo Infinite initially launched with only a few playlists, forcing players to play game modes they may not necessarily care to play like Capture the Flag and Oddball. Thankfully, 343 Industries has responded to fan feedback about the Halo Infinite multiplayer playlists and has added Fiesta, FFA Slayer, Tactical Slayer, and Team Slayer modes to go along with the other playlists that the game had at launch. Hopefully this means that Halo Infinite fans don't have to wait too long for Elimination Mode to make its way to the game's free-to-play multiplayer component.
Where is the Halo Infinite Forge Mode?
Forge Mode was introduced in the Halo series with Halo 3, giving fans unprecedented customization options and allowing them to tweak multiplayer maps. Over the years, Halo's Forge Mode has expanded exponentially, giving fans more and more freedom when building maps. Halo 5's Forge Mode was especially impressive, and so many fans are excited to see how what the Halo Infinite version of Forge will bring to the table.
At the same time that 343 announced the Halo Infinite campaign co-op delay, it also announced the delay of Forge. Forge is expected to arrive in Halo Infinite roughly the same time as co-op, which means fans shouldn't expect to see it in the game until May 2022 or thereabouts. Whenever Forge Mode does come to the game, it should help ensure a steady stream of fanmade content that will in turn boost the game's value considerably. Until then, fans will just have to make do without the popular mode.
Does Halo Infinite Have Dynamic Weather?
For the most part, there has been high praise for Halo Infinite's campaign, and for good reason. The Halo Infinite campaign is fun and shows that an open world take on the Halo formula certainly works. Even so, the Halo Infinite campaign is not without its critics, as some have complained about the Zeta Halo setting lacking certain features to help better bring it to life, like dynamic weather, for instance.
The argument has been made that more variety in Halo Infinite's weather system would go a long way, and luckily, this is another feature that is supposedly on the way. 343 Industries has not provided a timetable for when Halo Infinite fans can expect dynamic weather, but it's something that's reportedly being worked on and will presumably be implemented in one of the many updates that are in store for the game.
Halo Infinite is Unfinished, But Still Worth Playing
Halo Infinite is missing features that are staples of the Halo franchise, and so it's hard to shake the feeling that it's an unfinished game. But even though Halo Infinite is not the complete package just yet, it's still worth checking out, especially since the multiplayer is completely free and the campaign can be played through Xbox Game Pass. Over time, Halo Infinite should become a better and better game, but fans will have to wait for future updates to get the full experience.
Halo Infinite is out now for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.