I realise 343 were in the unenviable position of needing to make a good Halo game, but given they did so, they needed to convince people to actually try it, and so we got this free-to-play deal. It's a real shame because the core game feels like classic Halo with a respectable bit of Reach and 4 thrown in, and I would love to be able to just buy it and avoid the horrible monetisation dreck we're left with.

The battle pass progression feels extremely predatory, and despite a welcome post-launch change to add experience for each played game, the fact that without going premium there are many levels where you get absolutely no reward feels completely ghoulish. Even a handful of armour customisation options available from the jump, or unlocked in-game would alleviate this problem, but Microsoft have clearly seen the whales on the horizon and that's now the focus.

All that being said, the core gameplay is fantastic, a real return to form for the series. Guns feel and sound great, the mechanics work how they ought to, and it's just downright fun. Jumping in a fire team with friends is a great time, and well worth the time. Some of the newer game types feel a bit off - what the heck is a power seed, anyway - but the gameplay itself is so solid that really doesn't matter too much.

Gamepad input is a bit weird, and I'm struggling to dial in the settings just how I like, I think there might be a bit of an aggressive deadzone making things feel pretty coarse.

I cannot believe with YEARS of hindsight, two failed attempts and an absurdly high budget from one of the biggest coorporations in the world, they still managed to fuck so many things up.

At the very least 4v4 game modes are pretty great, (other than skill based matchmaking) movement, weapon varitety and balancing and maps are all WAY better than 4 and 5. But what they really fucked up is the progression, yes everyones already said this but the only way to unlock customisation is a battle pass that you can only progress by completing challenges. This is obviously terrible and shockingly stupid, even fortnite, which this game has clearly copied with it's monitisation, gives you xp to progress just by playing.

Big team battle feels wrong, maybe it's the skill based matchmaking but unlike 4v4 it feels much more like hiding and shooting enemies from far away is the most effective tactic. Vehicles are so incredibly weak, you'd think that after adding a grappling hook (which is severly effective against vehicles) they would make the vehicles a bit stronger.

After thinking about it I wish they didn't go free to play, at least give bonuses to people who have bought the game. It felt less special when it came out, and i'm sure if it wasn't free the progression and customisation would have been better

Man I was so fucking amped when this dropped, I spent like 5 hours alone in the armory practicing the guns and really it was the most fun I've had on Halo since Reach (which is the perfect MP imo). But I played so much for like 1 month and then it just stopped clicking. I don't know why. Maybe there was nothing to work towards, even though I bought the battel pass. I wish I had the desire to play this more because it is so solid. Maybe once it's "Fully" released I'll check back in but man this just bums me out.

A lot of great stuff smothered by a bunch of bullcrap caused by cooperate executives at microsoft and 343's rush to get this game out in a playable state.

The gameplay of the campaign remains. This is one of the most fun to play videogames and I could play for hours. Punctuated by great map design and excellent weapon balance.

The problem is that due to the shit main menu, and the greedy battle pass, the game loses me and a lot of others with what exactly the goal of the multiplayer is. An issue that could have been lessened if forge was released alongside the game. But alas, 343 wanted to take advantage of the holiday season and get this game out as fast as they could. I would'e waited until forge was ready and then release it after the goodwill built up by the campaign.

I do expect the game to get better with time, potentially up to the seven I think the gameplay and maps earn, but right now, yeah it just seems unfinished.

Not a bad game, it's hard to say that with gameplay this good, but I can't justify giving it any higher than a mediocre score until they add the rest of the game back inside of it and fix the battlepass. c'mon guys it shouldn't be that hard.

Alright, so...

Halo Infinite multiplayer's gameplay is very addictive. I've found myself playing it a bunch with a group of friends and we always have a great time. The speed of the gameplay is refreshing.

However, the unlockable content is implemented very poorly. Why is customization locked behind microtransactions? Shit's gross.

"Not at Launch" is this game's mantra, and it's a real shame. The base game is entirely solid, and most of the issues surrounding Infinite's F2P multiplayer - Egregious MTX that are more "Macro" than "Micro" in pricing, weird weapon nerfs from the pre-release flights, and needlessly restrictive armor customization really leave an ugly mark on an otherwise excellent package. Once again a barebones MP launch after Halo 5's non-existent suite of game modes and community features even after a 1-Year delay is... Baffling.

Coming off of the promising sounding promo materials regarding monetization and customization as well, the trend continues - If a 343i Halo game sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

I loved playing this game, in gameplay side it is almost perfect. Gunplay is fun, levels are well designed, gear variety is satisfactory, graphics are good but there are some problems and if they don't fix it fast, they will lose their playerbase.

First, technical side is very bad atm. PC Optimization is just laughable. Thankfully I have a strong PC but not everyone is that lucky and for a multiplayer game (mostly), it is not acceptable to demand that much power. Vram usage of this game is just insane af.

And servers... I didn't see a lot of people having problems with servers but for me, they are really bad. I don't have the greatest internet connection but I can play Overwatch and other mp titles without any problems. But Halo Infinite servers just doesn't work right! And this game doesn't forgive you if you have lag...

Second, progression system. They actually made it better but with some cheap glue and tape. And it will go BOOM when the time comes. Making your only progression system Battle Pass is stupid. Even they said, BPs won't expire still it makes game feel so dull. And honestly, rewards are pretty bad.

Also challanges are really stupid and they don't count most of the time. When you say "want to have darker green skin? then kill 5 enemies with this gun. yeah, we know you can't use it but c'mon give it a try" you are just making game hard for everyone else. When your players are only playing the game to get "blu", they don't care about objectives and they make other's games shit.

And you are telling me nothing i do in games matter? If there is no real reward for my sick moves, i can just feed and still get rewards. This is not a good way to make your players rewarded.

Third, customization is just laughable. If you don't have any money, you can get the default blue skin for second time! Even if you have time money, you will still be the same to your teammate. I captured multiple photos of me and my teammates, and we all look the same! If I look like the beginner after pouring so many hours, it just doesn't matter. Y'all can shit on OW, but you can't deny how good customization system is. And you can get most of the skins by just playing the goddamn game, and not by trying to make some stupid challenges.

I really liked the game but, i won't play it very often until problems are fixes. Give it a try. It is fun.