Halo Infinite Multiplayer Review
Credit to: 343 Industries, Xbox Game Studios, and MicrosoftSo, is it good?
Welcome back, y’all! This time around, we’re taking a look at the multiplayer for Halo Infinite. Now, if you’re unaware, you’re probably confused as to why I’m only talking about the multiplayer instead of the game as a whole. That’s because the whole game hasn’t fully launched yet. The multiplayer was just recently released, while we have to wait for the campaign to drop, which will be on December 8th, 2021. Not too far away, but it’s still odd. Anyways, this is going to be a fairly brief article, where we’ll have a pros section, a cons section, and my final thoughts. Without any further ado, let’s just jump right into it.
Pros
A couple of things here are things I already said in my article for the flight of the multiplayer, but they’re still worth bringing up. The first pro is definitely the fact that the art style is huuugely improved from the previous game, Halo 5: Guardians. The art style here is very reminiscent to the art style of Halo: Reach, while combining that with some fresh, new design choices. It really does look great, and I wish I could comment more on it since I’d need a proper look at the enemies and environments seen in the campaign, but from what I’ve seen during my multiplayer experience, I definitely see the improvement. The armors provided so far are almost all super good looking. I won’t talk about the uglier armors in the cons section, since I’ve commented on them in the flighting article, but I’ll reiterate the fact that I’m mostly impressed with these armors. It’s great seeing classic armor pieces return, like the EVA and ODST helmets, two of my favorite helmets (and armor sets) of all time. There are still many other classic armors that they’ve yet to implement, but I’m sure we’ll see them in time. Or at least, I really hope so.
The next pro is definitely the gameplay. I really enjoy the feel of this game. The weapons feel good, the movement feels much smoother since the flight, and the bugs with certain equipment items seem to have been ironed out. The drop shield still has a fairly long deploy time, but at least it works now, since I came across issues with it in the flight. The sprinting isn’t half bad in this game, even though it is pretty slow. I think the current speed for it is fine, since it should appeal to those who both enjoy sprint and those who wish sprint wasn’t a thing. I definitely enjoy the fact that climbing is here, since even in the older Halo games, I did find it annoying that I couldn’t get to areas that were just barely out of reach. The sliding is a lot smoother since the flight, and it doesn’t provide such a huge tactical advantage as one might think, so it’s implementation isn’t really broken or anything. I actually enjoy the slide. Another pro that I should throw in really quickly is the sound design. I really love the attention to detail put into each and every single weapon, and I enjoy how there’s different bits of audio that you’ll hear when performing the same animations. It makes the game feel more natural and realistic, which is something I genuinely enjoy.
Cons
I immediately have to start off by saying that the battle pass for this game is absolutely being mishandled. It’s already a bit pricey when it comes to in-game currency, but to get said currency, you need to spend actual money. I have yet to come across a single challenge that has awarded me with said currency, meaning I had to actually pay just to get the battle pass. Now, I will say that at least we don’t need to pay for REQ packs anymore, but still, this is still pretty bad. At this current moment, the Zvezda armor costs 1,000 credits in the store, which is about $20 out of your wallet. $20, for one armor set. Come on, now. The helmet itself is already lackluster, so to charge such a HUGE price point is honestly a slap in the face. My next con has to be the progression for the battle pass. At the current moment of writing this, 343 has just implemented a bit of a “fix” that has challenges award players with more XP, which is great, but we still need to talk about the fact that they released the multiplayer without giving us a better way at progressing in the first place. Without that fix, players had to play quite a few matches just to level up once, which on paper doesn’t sound so horrible, but in reality, it consumes a whooole lot of personal time just to level up one time. Thanks for the fix, but you guys should’ve thought about that from the get.
My next and final con is actually about the customization. I mentioned this in my past article, I know, but it still needs to be addressed. Armor coatings? Garbage. Hot garbage. This limits the player’s creative ideas so much, and it’s such a shame, because the customization in this game is actually pretty good. Unfortunately, this isn’t the only issue. To bring back attachments is great, to implement cybernetics for any limb is great, but why bring back utility attachments just to customize one forearm and one thigh? I thought we were aiming for more customization? I mean, to add salt to the wound, you guys brought back Jorge’s armor set from Halo: Reach, and didn’t even implement back customization. Why is that an issue, you might ask? Well, that’s because they implemented it into the Master Chief Collection, and they didn’t bring it into their mainline game, which is completely backwards of them. Another issue with the customization is that if you want a certain helmet on your Spartan, you need to make sure it’s for the right armor core. Why? Literally why? Why should it matter that I want a legendary helmet with my plain old Mark VII armor core? It makes literally no sense. For those of you who don’t know what I just said, it essentially means that you can’t mix and match armors if it’s not compatible to the suit you have equipped. So if you want to wear the samurai Spartan armor but you also want an EVA helmet on it, you can’t do that, because that’s not the armor core it goes with. Silly, right? Absolutely. Now, here it is, my last issue with customization. Guys, where are the playable Elites? It’s been years and years of players begging for these guys to come back, and you’ve yet again neglected them from returning. You fixed up their art style so well, and it’s almost like you’re teasing us by not letting us play as them. Seriously, your website Halo Waypoint has a massive, almost 1,000 page thread (at the time of this article’s release) that’s dedicated to bringing this species back. To be honest, it’s a little embarrassing that after all this time, you couldn’t pull it off. It’s honestly a shame, and it really brings down so many people knowing that they’re being ignored for the third time now. Not cool.
Final Thoughts
Alright, so I had plenty of things to say about the multiplayer. Is it amazing? No. Is it horrible? No. Is it, alright? Yeah, it’s alright. I mean, I’ve been having fun every once in a while. Some matches have been fun, others have been boring. This is just an okay experience. Things have been fixed, while other issues have been made apparent, and until those issues are ironed out, then I can’t really say I’m amazed by this multiplayer experience. 343 Industries did an alright job, and that’s me being fair. But, as always, I want to know what you all think. Did you enjoy this article? Are you enjoying the game? Let me know on my Instagram and Twitter, and make sure you’re following to stay up to date with the latest news and reviews on your favorite entertainment topics. That’s all from me, this has been The Wolf Den.
