A few months ago I was asked what my game of the year was most likely to be. At the time, I figured maybe RE: Village or Metroid Dread, or even possibly Forza Horizon 5 since I'm a huge fan of that series' bonkers fun. What's really funny now though is how I made a specific point to talk about how much I'd love for it to be Halo Infinite, to be swept off my feet by a Halo experience for the first time since I was a teenager playing Halo 3 on my 360. I didn't, nor did most others, think 343i had it in them.
Here I am devouring my words.
Halo Infinite has done something I no longer thought possible in re-cementing the iconic series as the undisputed king shit on dick mountain of console shooters. 343i takes the lessons and missteps learned from their prior two games to craft an addictive, kinetic, and absurdly fun title that brings the series up to par (and then some) with modern game standards while still retaining the grounded feeling from the Bungie-era games. It manages to blend the unique feel of Halo with the competitive energy of modern multiplayer shooters like Valorant or Apex and the mobility and physicality of the last two Doom titles.
The story relents on the lore-heavy exposition and reveals leading to an MCU-style clash that bogged down 4 and 5 and gives us something more akin to the mystery and sense of exploration found in CE. It makes some missteps, but it retains enough charm and throws enough curveballs to keep itself engaging. Exploring an open world clearly inspired by the like of Ubisoft-style games is immensely more fun here just because of how good the gameplay is.
The multiplayer absolutely rules, it's so goddamn fun and no I don't care about the storefront. Seeing as how I'm not a twitch streamer I don't care about pineapple grenades or cat charms, so the criticisms of that area mean nothing to me (also the multiplayer is free. It's free. Free.).
Infinite not only blows past 343i's last two titles, but Bungie's last two Halo outings to land squarely among the original trilogy of the series. Somehow, against all of my expectations, it's my favorite title of 2021, and will be added to my list of games I perpetually replay.
Here I am devouring my words.
Halo Infinite has done something I no longer thought possible in re-cementing the iconic series as the undisputed king shit on dick mountain of console shooters. 343i takes the lessons and missteps learned from their prior two games to craft an addictive, kinetic, and absurdly fun title that brings the series up to par (and then some) with modern game standards while still retaining the grounded feeling from the Bungie-era games. It manages to blend the unique feel of Halo with the competitive energy of modern multiplayer shooters like Valorant or Apex and the mobility and physicality of the last two Doom titles.
The story relents on the lore-heavy exposition and reveals leading to an MCU-style clash that bogged down 4 and 5 and gives us something more akin to the mystery and sense of exploration found in CE. It makes some missteps, but it retains enough charm and throws enough curveballs to keep itself engaging. Exploring an open world clearly inspired by the like of Ubisoft-style games is immensely more fun here just because of how good the gameplay is.
The multiplayer absolutely rules, it's so goddamn fun and no I don't care about the storefront. Seeing as how I'm not a twitch streamer I don't care about pineapple grenades or cat charms, so the criticisms of that area mean nothing to me (also the multiplayer is free. It's free. Free.).
Infinite not only blows past 343i's last two titles, but Bungie's last two Halo outings to land squarely among the original trilogy of the series. Somehow, against all of my expectations, it's my favorite title of 2021, and will be added to my list of games I perpetually replay.
GothamInGray
2 years ago