4/5 ★ – SlashStriker's review of Halo Infinite.

'Legacy' Review from 12/24/2021: Note: This review will only be covering the campaign as I am wholly uninterested in the free-to-play direction the multiplayer took for this entry. I’ll skip the usual introduction for this game, as Halo really needs none. Instead, I’ll start at the end; I really enjoyed Halo Infinite. I think it has some pretty notable flaws, but it also flaunts moment-to-moment gameplay that feels the way only Halo does. Infinite is the first new Halo since 2015 and the first Halo game that really felt like a Halo game to me since 2010’s Halo Reach. 343 dedicated their first two games to trying to push Halo ‘forward’, and I believe Infinite is their first Halo which can stand alongside Bungie’s. Very much unlike the original Halo trilogy and Reach, Infinite is a semi-open world game featuring several open sections alongside the standard linear story missions. These open areas feature Ubisoft-style objectives to complete, which reward the player with weapons and vehicles. I personally enjoyed the open world content and went out of my way to tackle all optional objectives before each story mission. That being said, they did become repetitive in the later half and anyone pretending these are a step above FarCry or similar are kidding themselves. One aspect of the open world I greatly enjoyed was the friendly marine AI. At each captured base marines will spawn who are happy to follow you into battle. I found their AI to be pretty smart, going out of their way to find better weapons, and their chatter was entertaining too! The increase in friendly AND enemy chatter is really worth noting. Hearing the game’s antagonists, the Banished, rallying, arguing and whining during fights was really spectacular and upped the charm factor. I would love to see this level of AI banter in more action games! Enemy designs are very solid, though the lack of any new groups of enemies is a bit disappointing. As much as the Prometheans in the previous two games weren’t standouts, they were still something different to shoot at and introduced a ton of new weaponry. Vehicles in the open world were a mixed bag. Banished vehicles were pretty solid, and the Wasp air vehicle was enjoyable. Unfortunately, the Warthog, the most useful vehicle to me, controlled like absolute shit. Constantly flipping over got old a decade ago, it needs some weight. Another major positive about the open world is the integration of the new grapple hook tool. I honestly felt like I was playing Spider-Man some of the time with how quick the cooldown is on the grapple, it made environmental navigation really speedy and entertaining! The biggest downside to the open world is it’s lack of visual variety. The entire open map is bland, with no variation in theme from one section to another. This only makes the repetition more obvious as you progress through the open world sections. That being said, the linear story sections feature incredible design and are much more visually diverse. I was very impressed with how much these areas channeled the classic Halo feel without trying to be a visual match for earlier games. All this would mean nothing if the action was weak, but thankfully it is where Halo Infinite shines brightest. I absolutely loved every firefight in this campaign. Creative movement and perfectly tuned gunplay has led me to feel this game has really perfected Halo’s combat. The linear sections also include several high quality boss fights, something I am not used to in a Halo game! I had fun learning the best ways to tackle each fight, even if I felt some instant kill attacks were unnecessary. I enjoyed the game’s story, though I feel it did very little to push the overall narrative of the series forward. It felt as if it was a high quality spin-off story, which I doubt is what 343 was trying to express with such a big release. Regardless, it was interesting enough. I found the game’s soundtrack to be very solid, if not a bit overly referential to Marty O’Donnell’s OSTs from the original trilogy. I did quite enjoy the wholly new tracks. I can’t argue with how much the original themes pump me up for battle though! Sound design across the game is really top notch. Spatial audio is solid, all the guns sound fantastic and as previously mentioned, the increased banter in combat scenarios is well done, and mixes well. Voice acting is also fantastic across the board, The Weapon being a standout! With that I think I’ve expressed everything that’s been on my mind since finishing the game. As a whole, this release has me significantly more confident in 343 moving forward. I’m glad Halo is getting back in the spotlight it deserves and very glad PC GamePass lets me join in! I played this game on PC via PC GamePass.