Halo Infinite, the next installment of Microsoft’s long running series featuring the Master Chief, is set to release on December 8th, after a delay due in part to the pandemic and probably in part to some bad early feedback. All of that seems to be behind us, though, and excitement is growing for Halo: Infinite.
This week, Miranda Sanchez over at IGN was able to get about 4 hours hands on time with the new game, and posted an 11 minute first look at campaign gameplay. Gamers have had access to multiplayer betas, but this is the first time we’ve seen actual campaign gameplay. Take a look:
The campaign features a familiar enemy, the Banished, a group of former Covenants who have gone rogue, and were first seen in Halo Wars 2. While Cortana is still missing, and Sanchez is careful not to reveal any spoilers, she calls the few moments that dig deep into Master Chief and Cortana’s relationship “an emotional gut punch.”
Some more highlights from the IGN post accompanying the video:
- Halo Infinite isn’t “a great starting point for people new to the franchise.” You’ll be better off with some previous knowledge of the story
- The game is more open than ever, but still isn’t a fully “open world” game. “(Y)ou can only access certain parts of it (large sandboxes) at a time.”
- A new AI character, played by the voice of Cortana Jen Taylor and called “The Weapon.” “Folks don’t just get to give The Master Chief a fetch quest.”
- “Fighting enemies and destroying their things is always at the center of Halo Infinite’s gameplay.”
- “The campaign introduced me to other interesting weapons we’ve yet to see in multiplayer. “
- The five types of equipment, “Grappleshot, Shield Core, Threat Sensor, Drop Wall, and Thruster,” are upgradeable.
- “The Flood was alluded to, though I never saw them. The Prometheans weren’t present either.”
- “The real combat stars, though, are the boss fights. These are boss fights in the truest fashion.”
Sanchez concludes by saying she’s confident she’ll enjoy the exploration part of Halo Infinite, even though the map is far from being “as large as an Assassin’s Creed or Red Dead,” but says that 343 needs to “stick the landing in the plot department, especially with regard to giving us a satisfying resolution to the Chief and Cortana’s relationship. If they can do that, then they’ll have successfully and definitively made Halo their own.”
Anyway, take a look at the gameplay and let us know what you think in the comments below.
