Halo Infinite: How the Flood may return
The Flood, which was once one of the two main antagonists of the Halo series as a whole, have not had much of a presence in the franchise since their defeat at the end of 2007’s Halo 3. They briefly threatened to return in full during the events of Halo Wars 2’s Awakening the Nightmare DLC, but Banished forces managed to stop the outbreak before it got out of control. Since then, many have wondered when — or if — the Flood will appear once again.
Warning: Spoilers for Halo Infinite’s campaign follow, so proceed with caution!
A secret easter egg in Halo Infinite may hint at the answer. While the terrifying parasite didn’t directly appear in the Halo Infinite campaign, players did notice that in the game’s second level, Foundation, a Forerunner cylix labelled with a Flood Infection Form symbol could be found in a secret room (thanks, HiddenXperia). You can reach the room yourself by going down the hallway found on the right side of the back of the room you fight Halo Infinite’s first boss, Tremonius, in.
Source: HiddenXperia on YouTube
Unfortunately, containment measures can be breached, which is exactly what happened in Halo: Combat Evolved when the Covenant accidently let the Flood out, and again in Halo 2 when Sesa ‘Refumee, the leader of a heretic faction, intentionally released the Flood in an effort to kill the Arbiter. The Forerunner cylixes on Zeta Halo thankfully can’t be opened without the touch of a human “Reclaimer,” but that doesn’t guarantee that an outbreak couldn’t happen — for example, Halo Infinite audio logs reveal that Banished forces forced UNSC POW Lucas Browning to open the cylix that contained The Harbinger.
Source: Xbox Game Studios A Flood Combat Form in Halo Wars 2: Awakening the Nightmare.
Ultimately, there’s no way to know how the Flood will be a part of the future of Halo until we know more. But it’s scary to think that as the Master Chief and his UNSC allies prepare to stand against the Banished and the Endless on Zeta Halo, Flood forms housed in cylixes lie dormant beneath the ring’s surface … just waiting for someone — or something — to release them.
The Halo Infinite campaign is available now for $60 on Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, Xbox One, and Windows PCs. It’s one of the best Xbox shooters ever made, so you should definitely pick it up and give it a shot.
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