Halo Infinite (2021)

I've enjoyed Infinite though it is not particularly great. Too much of it just feels lower quality than you expect from Halo. The story can not be followed anymore, no matter how hard you try. It now ties into a sequel of a spin-off (Halo Wars 2) which is just bizarre. The sandbox works and that's the main point when it comes to Halo, so it's definitely worth a try. Here are some cool moments I captured while playing:

https://vimeo.com/1021120841

https://vimeo.com/1021121213

The online mode is okay, certainly not perfect but entertaining enough.

The campaign is mainly where this Halo disappointed me. I only managed to last about 8 hours before it became a burden to start up.

Not every game necessarily has to be open world and this one proves that all the more. The various bases to liberate or legions of troops to liberate quickly become boring and repetitive. On top of that, there is the fact that once something is cleared, it does not stay cleared. If you return to the same point a bit later, it is just filled with the same enemies again.

Gameplay is all in all okay. The grappling hook is a nice addition. The text lines of the different types of enemies are also very repetitious.

Currently having completed the campaign on normal to highest percentage (not including skulls you can't go back and get), and having started but not finished a playthrough on Heroic while also cleaning up those missing collectables.

I have put an absurd number of hours into multiplayer as well, however the game just doesn't have the content or additions that make me want to come back since I've completed the battle pass and every event that has come out. I'm looking forward to Season 2, however, I only play one or two matches a week now when I did complete every single weekly challenge for the first 3 months the game was out.

That feeling when when you finish the first couple hours of linear content, and a huge open world suddenly opens up....

...I don't like it. I like a well-orchestrated linear game.

EDIT: After beating the game, it's pretty easy to avoid the open world stuff.

When Horizon Zero Dawn said, "You're a warrior now! Go do open world shit!", I said, "Nah... I don't really want to spend 60 hours doing chores," and bailed shortly after that.

At least Halo Infinite's campaign appears to keep the amount of open world content in check. I'm seeing 10-12hr estimated completion times on HLTB, so I'll likely see it through.

Felt like updating this, since I haven't touched Halo Infinite in weeks. I think this game lacks the gamemodes and progression systems to give it longevity.

It's sad to see another beloved videogame franchise succumb to the live service model. Halo Infinite plays incredibly well and can be loads of fun. But like many other games these days, Halo Infinite is mostly a storefront.

A storefront for cosmetics, passes, challenges, shortcuts, etc. It's sad.

Ok game where combat and weapons feels good but the open world part gets kind of tedious after 5-6 hours into the game and the game lacks alot of variation in environment in the 12+ hours it takes to complete approx.

The overworld is pretty much a grassland and mountains for the entire game and the linear interior levels are either on a ship or some kind of futuristic setting. It lacks great moments and the dialogue is hit/miss this is the game with the best lines for Master Chief Though.

Boss encounters feels like playing against MP bots behavior and AI wise which is pretty unacceptable for a Single player experience in this day and age and overall the game feels a bit like a remnant from the Xbox 360/PS3 years. I honestly think even though the Halo games SP always had this sort of AI that its kind of unforgiveable to have it on what is considered a flagship title for one of the biggest studios/companies. It works with the normal enemies you encounter but feels really underwhelming and outdated against the few bosses it has.

Story is pretty uninteresting and it gets tedious as hell that its mostly conveyed through talking to the Cortana AI for the 50th time you put her on a pedestal where she snaps her fingers each time to solve the problem an equal amount of times she is put on there.

Graphics are really good and the game runs well on even older hardware like the 1080gtx i used with very little stuttering unless alot of enemies are in the overworld area but even that didnt bother me.

Sound is alright with voices/dialogue but the game lacks memorable tunes on par with those from Halo 2 and 3 imo and maybe even 4 that gave you goosebumps theres not really any of that sort here it fits and does its job but is forgotten as soon as you uninstall.

Upgrading skills in this game also feels like its tacked on i must say, theres 5 areas of skill you can upgrade but tbh besides for health and the grappling hook which gives you some quality of life improvements for combat and ease of travelling the other 3 like the thruster pack are pretty useless in the SP experience giving it a jarring feeling of that it was meant for the MP aspect of the game as it barely is useful aside from the shield in some heated moments.

Not the best Halo game i have played but i overall enjoyed it even though it outstayed its welcome around the 6-7 hour mark i must say as i didnt give a damn about the story at this point.

Overall : 8/10

I dont think its a boring game due to it being a fps so it kinda quenches your fps fix craving playing it for a coup hours each day due to the weapons being pretty satisfying to use and the grappling hook stuff is pretty neat too but the overall experience is just not so wholesome overall.