HALO INFINITE
Hail To The Master Chief
RELEASED OUT NOW! Reviewed on Xbox Series X
Also on Xbox Series S, Xbox One, PC
Publisher Xbox Game Studios
Halo Infinite is a return to form for a series that has spent the better part of a decade adrift. The campaign, set across a wide-open hostile alien world, recaptures the sense of discovery that used to be at the heart of Halo and injects new life into its iconic physics-based sandbox combat. Meanwhile the multiplayer, a free-to-play live service that pulls players across three platforms into one shared arena, sees Halo reclaim the competitive spirit that made the series so beloved to begin with.
Whether you’ve been with Master Chief since Combat
Evolved or are coming in for your first adventure, Halo Infinite has appeal. The campaign walks a fine line between celebrating a 20-year legacy and laying the foundations for future expansion. And while elements of the story won’t make sense for those without pages of lore committed to memory, it’s basically big science fiction where every problem can be resolved with Halo’s holy trinity of guns, grenades and melee strikes.
Halo feels better than it has in a long time. There’s a quality to Infinite’s sprawling sandboxes, reactive artificial intelligence and tactile movement that is practically unrivalled in the modern era. Combat feels fantastic, regardless of whether you’re strafing hordes of Banished forces with a Battle Rifle, or closing the distance on real-world players with a grappling hook in one hand and Energy Sword in the other.
There was always a chance that Halo Infinite would be divisive. Thankfully, the decision to take Halo’s traditionally structured, heavily-scripted campaign and stretch it across what’s effectively a relatively small, totally manageable open world works in its favour. This is also true of the decision to open up the multiplayer, a truly entertaining and challenging experience that only has room to grow.
You’re free to explore and experiment in Halo Infinite. It’s a game that wants you to take each of the weapons and vehicles available and see what carnage you can create with different combinations, all in some of the best looking and sounding environments available on Xbox. As a result, it’s a hell of a good time. It’s Halo as you’ve always known it and it is Halo as you’ve never seen it before. Josh West
Our favourite Easter egg: a bin in an alley labelled “Oscar’s house” – a nod to the Grouch in Sesame Street.