What Just Happened With Halo Infinite?
Is Halo not dead? Did “dead Blaze” ever die? If you’re watching this video, you’re one of two people: those that hate 343 and everything they stand for as a company, or you’re someone who just wants to know if the hype surrounding Halo this season is legit.
If you’re the former, I’ll be honest, I got nothing for you. I don’t have the deep-rooted scars of Halo 4 and 5, nor deep roots playing Halo 1 to 3. Full disclosure, I didn’t touch or play any of them. What did you just say? And while a large chunk of Halo boomers may have just hit the stop button or are viciously hitting the comments section writing an entire monologue on why whatever I have to say next is now totally irrelevant, bear with me. I make the case that this lack of baggage makes me as impartial of a judge in what’s been happening with Halo Infinite as is possible.
The struggles of Halo Infinite by now are well known. We’ve seen the hashtag campaigns, the news of all the top-level changes, and read about the issues plaguing Infinite’s development. We sat through a monotonous six-month first season, another six months for the second, and an odd but welcome winter event that carried us over another four before we hit season three. The biggest complaint between each season was the content between the first two seasons was, well, sparse, launching with a total of 13 maps which, while nice, got repetitive quick. But with the end of season 2 and the winter event that followed into the launch of season 3 earlier this year, one thing really seemed to change: Forge.
Forge, Forge, Forge! Season 4 launched back in June, and while it was met with mostly positive reviews, there were those, including myself, who felt it may be too little, too late, wondering if there was anyone left who really cared. But what this August drop proved is the studio’s commitment to the game is apparent. Quality-made, fan-favorite Forge maps are quickly being rotated into the main playlists. Game modes like Squad Battles are getting some love, with new maps being added. Big Team Battle continues to see more updates to improve gameplay. Even some of the missing medals are back, and Forge continues to get better, with reactive water textures having now been added.
The “move slow to move fast later” mantra that was the crux of some of the early pressers is really starting to come to fruition. They needed to take some time and move a little slower then, so we could ultimately move faster later. Network issues and bug fixes are being addressed, and personally, after this last update, online matches have felt pretty clean, stable, and bug-free. And while that may feel like the bare minimum of the core mechanics of Halo Infinite, some of these recent changes have prompted even my own friends who tired from the game to pick it back up and check it out again. Others frustrated by the state of other AAA titles are also curiously wading back into the mix, looking to see what Halo has been up to, and it seems like some of them are being pleasantly surprised.
And while the Steam charts and numbers are still sad, there does seem to be an uptick in players’ sentiment all around, on Twitter, or as Elon likes to call it, X. The biggest knock on Infinite throughout the launch and the first season was it just didn’t have enough follow-through content, not enough maps, not enough customization, not enough playlists. But the last season seems to have finally started to check all those boxes off. While the game is still far from perfect, and it continues to face steep competition with a slew of other shooters right around the corner, I see the game is finally in a place that many expected and wanted it to be in at launch. Now, all that’s left is getting more eyes on it and encouraging those that left to give it another kick.
End of the day, though, it’s just a game, and the only metric ought to be, are you having fun? To that end, it seems like a lot more people who do pick the game up are. Heck, even the pros who were exhausted from the game are fighting a rekindling of sorts. But is it too little, too late? Personally, I don’t think so. While it may not be much, the direction, sentiment, AKA trendiness, of the game gives me a bit of optimism and, dare I say, excitement to see what season 5 brings. So, if you’re on the fence about trying things out, now may be the best time to dive in, given the current trajectory of all things 343 has been doing right to ship. It’s hard not to feel a tinge of excitement for season 5 come October. But what do you think? Does Halo Infinite have a chance here? Is there hope yet?
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