I’m an uncompromising, loud-mouthed Halo apologist, however even I fell off of Halo Infinite. Regardless of 343 Industries’ newest sport feeling simply pretty much as good as a Halo sport ought to, its unusual, staccato launch and lack of latest maps surrounded it with an air of perpetual stagnation for almost two years. As such, I performed it on and off from its November 2021 launch till the tip of final 12 months, after which simply kind of forgot about it.
Then, in February of this 12 months, 343 cleverly known as on its unbelievable group to assist spice issues up, providing a number of new maps in official playlists that gamers may simply discover and revel in (quite than having to make use of the customized sport browser to seek out Forge-made maps). However it wasn’t till final month’s providing, a brand new playlist known as Squad Battle that mimics the Massive Group Battle of yesteryear with maps that previous Halo heads will know, that Infinite really began to sing.
You’ll be able to lead a horse to water, however you may’t make them drink. Equally, you may inform me that I ought to get again into Halo Infinite, however you may’t make me do it when Overwatch 2 and the new Nicki Minaj Name of Obligation operator are proper there. However if you happen to’re my fiance and also you’re dogged sufficient, you may at the very least get me besides up Halo Infinite once more out of curiosity—particularly if you happen to inform me there’s “extra previous maps.”
Halo Infinite Squad Battle received me again into the sport
The Squad Battle playlist debuted in July 2023 and gives a cheerful medium between the chaotic 12v12 Massive Group Battle matches and the much-less-forgiving 4v4 face-offs. The 8v8 video games are a mixture of conventional Slayer matches and a few objective-based modes, and so they’re all set on maps made by the Halo group. Extra importantly, the entire maps are from previous Halo video games. Sure, meaning Valhalla is again. Rejoice, Spartans.
I don’t even understand the legendary Halo 3 map is a part of the rotation till I queue up for a sport and see photographs of its evergreen timber, its ankle-deep water, and its hulking, futuristic constructions because the match masses up. Dazed, I stroll out onto the angled ramp on one finish of the huge, sunlit valley and am hit with a violent wave of nostalgia, adopted instantly by the cockpit of a Banshee. Increase, splattered.
What follows is a match that’s the perfect Halo Infinite has ever felt because of a mixture of its rock-solid gunplay and the near-faultless structure of a traditional Halo 3 map. New weapons just like the Commando are good for the scale and scope of Valhalla, permitting me to choose off gamers tenting in a faraway Forerunner construction whereas nonetheless serving a goal when certainly one of them drops out of the sky and onto my head.
I spam grenades into the cave operating alongside the facet of the valley wall, identical to I did again in 2007. I leap a Warthog by way of the gravity cannon and flip end-over-end towards the hill within the heart of the map, identical to I did again in 2007. I snag a sniper rifle and creep alongside the sting of a rocky outcropping, popping heads with a maniacal giggle, identical to I did again in 2007. The Halo Gregorian chants are ringing in my ears, the bass drum is thrashing in my chest.
The subsequent match is on Exile, a Halo 4 map set on the website of a downed UNSC ship. As soon as once more, there are autos galore, and nooks and crannies for enemies to cover in, rifles in hand. I leap in a Banshee and streak straight as much as the sky, careening down towards a lone enemy Spartan like a peregrine falcon, swooping up and away from the bottom on the final potential second. I’m grinning ear-to-ear all through the match, unaware of the rating, unbothered by dying. Why does this really feel so a lot better than the rest in Halo Infinite?
Certain, there have been sprawling open maps with enclosed areas dotting the terrain and autos simply ready to be ridden because the sport launched. And certain, the weapons and motion mechanics, which expertly stability older Halo physics with extra trendy FPS expectations, have at all times been nice. Possibly that is all one large train within the energy of nostalgia, and I’m solely this gassed about Halo Infinite as a result of it gave me a little bit Rat’s Nest as a deal with.
However perhaps, simply perhaps, Halo Infinite has at all times been this good. It simply wanted a well-recognized conduit, a recognizable face, to remind you of that.
