It all began with Craig. That lobotomised brute, gormlessly gazing into the visor of Master Chief. Now, almost 3 years later, Halo infinite has seen continual updates bolstering a threadbare release which dwindled in popularity as time drew on. The latest slew of updates has seen alterations to the forge mode (added post-release), sandbox changes and an exchange akin to the one seen in 343’s Master Chief Collection. After years of rocky roadmaps, a lack of launch content and features culled from previous titles, just where does Halo Infinite sit now? Has it been enough?

I played at launch, pre ordered the game and sat through the campaign until its finish. It washed over me like a tepid wave, leaving me dazed and without truly realising what had just happened. Having boasted an open world combined with interior segments, it truly felt like Halo could not commit to either with true resolve. Having culled prior events from their previous 2 games, Halo 4 and 5 along with the spin-off RTS title Halo Wars 2, all of which included crucial story beats which were brushed aside to start from a blank slate. Halo seemingly possesses the ability to undergo what all of us wish to do after a night out, erase it all from memory and continue on like none of our previous drunken embarrassments had ever occurred. Though, like that flawed allegory, this method does not work for a fluid narrative.

Key figures like Atriox and Cortana are reduced to holographic loredumpers, providing drawn out exposition and dangling the stakes before us. Master Chief is now without Blue Team, Spartan Locke has undergone an insinuated offscreen death and Arbiter is nowhere to be seen. What happened here? Halo had always been known for its stellar campaign. Halo 2 told a tale from a vastly different perspective, seeing through the eyes of the Arbiter allowed for the player to understand the Covenant’s religious zealotry and the machinations of the scheming Prophets. Halo 3 tied the trilogy together with a neat bow, housing awe-inspiring setpieces, concluding moments for key characters and ending the Halo trilogy, with a bang. Halo 4 and 5 both began, and continued their own narrative beyond the events of Bungie’s trilogy. Though now they are like the disgruntled brutes of Halo Infinite… Banished. I’ll see myself out. It’s a key flaw of 343 to not hold faith in their unique narrative, instead choosing to retcon previous entry for the sake of building a fresh start for the Master Chief.

Rocky indeed. Master Chief’s fresh start is much like Infinite itself, flawed and without aim. Having jumped into multiplayer at launch, I sat there puzzled. No classic modes? Limited maps? No map voting? A store! What’s going on here? Well, here we are. Almost 3 years later, what has Halo Infinite done to remedy this initial sparsity of content and legacy elements?

Forge mode has finally arrived, as of December 2022, which is arguably the most pristine rendition of the mode. With a broad array of tools at the disposal of the forge community, maps have been given their own lifespan and have even been introduced into the map rotation. Seasonal updates include a battle pass, new store items (bought with IRL currency) and a fresh slew of maps. Even fan favourite game mode Infection was introduced. Now even the ol’ plasma pistol has regained its former prowess as the EMP cheese it once was. Though, as you may have noticed, all of this arrived post-release. And, as a Halo fan of over ten years, it came too late.

This is the game’s achilles heel. Ol’ father time. Gamers are fickle, understandably, when the plethora of games that have arrived in recent years boast such strong player retention and the rising scene of AAA single player games, why would anyone return to Infinite? The progression system necessitates an incredulously large undertaking from new players and old players, the few wearisome left, who have continued on are drip-fed new pieces of content and armour for which they can experience.

Halo, as it once was seen, was a bastion of the First person shooter genre. Innovative and encapsulating, it was unlike its grounded contemporaries who were mired in the war theatres of WW1 and 2. Though times have changed. Halo has been waning in popularity due to these issues which have appeared with dreadful regularity. For a fan of the older Halo games as I am, Infinite feels far removed. Half of this is testament to the desire of corporations, banefully circle-jerking around the pentagram of the 10 year game. Though, as is so often the case, this demonic ritual falls flat on its face. Infinite, unlike its modern contemporaries, launched in a nigh-on half finished state. Evidenced by a rushed development which, by any metric, entered into development hell prior to the arrival of Joe Staten. The reveal of Craig was the first nail in its coffin, followed closely by the lack of content, the second nail and the third took shape in its waning player base.

Now when I have infrequently returned to Infinite I feel disheartened. The egregious monetisation undermines the fluidity of its gameplay. Each victory rang hollow, as inevitably, the ‘cool’ armour pieces were gated behind the spending of one’s cold hard cash. A gripe which has been addressed through the addition of Spartan points. These are in-game currency derived from Halo MCC, now adopted by Infinite and implemented to allow players to unlock previously vaulted customisation pieces. But aha! I hear you see, now we can get those pesky paid pieces for free, that’ll show the cat-eared monstrosity (who just gunned me down) what for! No, no it won’t. Inherently this would undermine the players who have spent IRL money on these items. Vaulted content only guys, that’s all you’ll find here.

One could mistakenly believe that this grants the game a wealth of content that is spare in the previous entries. But, you’d be wrong for thinking that. Bungie titles, Halo Reach and 3 already featured unlockable armour pieces, unlocked through, say it with me, gameplay! Reach in particularly carved out a timeless artstyle which permeated every design of its armour customisation elements. Infinite is a game which has Samurai, flood, Banished and even cat-eared armour pieces. It’s all a bit inconsistent if you ask me. Christ even Halo 4, whose armour looked like the embodiment of a dubstep song had a consistent artstyle, albeit one of cybernetic vomit. Though, like a talentless aged celebrity, it just can’t stop finding elements of itself to change and trample upon. 

All of this finds a sardonic surmise in four words, it came too late. A problem I never have.I couldn’t help myself, it was there on a plate. Halo Infinite was primed to be a flagship title accompanying the launch of Xbox’s next generation console, the series X. Arriving a year late, it was evidently not that. I’m saddened by the state of Infinite, desperately scrambling around to pull itself back together like a desecrated sentient jigsaw puzzle. It’s all a bit disheartening to see. I can’t sit here with an honest heart and take aim at the devs for this mishandling. The post-launch support has been admirable, if not a bit of an ill-fated gesture. For me and so many others, this has arrived too late. Modern gaming seems to move faster than ever, and with a mounting backlog of my own, I just can’t find the time to sink into a game which has been limping onward ever since the lambasting it has received upon posthumous reappraisal.

Having been touted to be a 10 year game (there’s that dreary phrase again), Infinite shall inevitably fall short of that promise. The ending has teased a new adventure for Master Chief to embark on, leaving the prior narrative threads as ash and dust in the wake of Infinite’s desire to march onward. It’s a mistake to disown your own failings and, though flawed, those entries did pose some intriguing questions, which shall remain unaddressed. I bid you adieu Infinite.