I’m an uncompromising, loud-mouthed Halo apologist, however even I fell off of Halo Infinite. Despite 343 Industries’ newest sport feeling simply pretty much as good as a Halo sport ought to, its unusual, staccato launch and lack of recent maps surrounded it with an air of perpetual stagnation for practically 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 type of forgot about it.
Then, in February of this 12 months, 343 cleverly referred to as on its unimaginable neighborhood to assist spice issues up, providing a number of new maps in official playlists that gamers might simply discover and luxuriate in (slightly than having to make use of the customized sport browser to seek out Forge-made maps). But it wasn’t till final month’s providing, a brand new playlist referred to as Squad Battle that mimics the Big Team Battle of yesteryear with maps that outdated Halo heads will know, that Infinite actually began to sing.
You can lead a horse to water, however you’ll be able to’t make them drink. Similarly, you’ll be able to inform me that I ought to get again into Halo Infinite, however you’ll be able to’t make me do it when Overwatch 2 and the new Nicki Minaj Call of Duty operator are proper there. But if you happen to’re my fiance and also you’re dogged sufficient, you’ll be able to 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least get me besides up Halo Infinite once more out of curiosity—particularly if you happen to inform me there’s “extra outdated maps.”
Halo Infinite Squad Battle acquired me again into the sport
The Squad Battle playlist debuted in July 2023 and affords a contented medium between the chaotic 12v12 Big Team 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, they usually’re all set on maps made by the Halo neighborhood. More importantly, the entire maps are from outdated Halo video games. Yes, which means Valhalla is again. Rejoice, Spartans.
I don’t even notice the legendary Halo 3 map is a part of the rotation till I queue up for a sport and see pictures of its evergreen timber, its ankle-deep water, and its hulking, futuristic buildings because the match masses up. Dazed, I stroll out onto the angled ramp on one finish of the large, sunlit valley and am hit with a violent wave of nostalgia, adopted instantly by the cockpit of a Banshee. Boom, splattered.
What follows is a match that’s the very best Halo Infinite has ever felt due to a mixture of its rock-solid gunplay and the near-faultless format of a basic 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 one in all them drops out of the sky and onto my head.
I spam grenades into the cave working alongside the facet of the valley wall, identical to I did again in 2007. I soar a Warthog by means 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. Once once more, there are autos galore, and nooks and crannies for enemies to cover in, rifles in hand. I soar 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 doable second. I’m grinning ear-to-ear all through the match, unaware of the rating, unbothered by dying. Why does this really feel so significantly better than anything in Halo Infinite?
Sure, there have been sprawling open maps with enclosed areas dotting the terrain and autos simply ready to be ridden because the sport launched. And positive, the weapons and motion mechanics, which expertly steadiness older Halo physics with extra fashionable FPS expectations, have all the time been nice. Maybe that is all one huge train within the energy of nostalgia, and I’m solely this gassed about Halo Infinite as a result of it gave me a bit of Rat’s Nest as a deal with.
But perhaps, simply perhaps, Halo Infinite has all the time been this good. It simply wanted a well-known conduit, a recognizable face, to remind you of that.
