Some things we liked (and disliked) about Halo Infinite’s gameplay demo
Source: 343 Industries
During the Xbox Series X July event, 343 Industries showed off Halo Infinite gameplay for the very first time. Many of Halo Infinite’s gameplay features, such as the usage of equipment pick-ups and a more open-world structure, were shown off. In addition, fans also got their first taste of new weapons, graphics, story hints, and more. After viewing the gameplay ourselves, we’ve developed some opinions about it — both positive and negative.
Here’s a list of what we liked and what we didn’t like about the Halo Infinite gameplay reveal.
The next adventure in the saga
Halo Infinite
A new great journey awaits
Halo Infinite is nearly upon us, and it’s sure to be an incredible game filled with wonder, adventure, and more.
Liked: The concept of open world Halo
Source: 343 Industries
An open world-style structure also has the potential to enhance Halo Infinite’s storytelling as well. A world full of interesting side secrets and hidden pieces of lore to discover can do a lot to flesh out the main story, and there may be smaller, self-contained stories to discover within the experience, too.
Disliked: Visual presentation
Source: 343 Industries
The graphical experts over at Digital Foundry made an excellent analysis video on the demo and concluded that a lot of the “flat-looking” details are a result of the fact that most of the gameplay demo takes place in indirect sunlight. Because of this, most of the detail in textures is hidden by the way global illumination works in shadowed areas. However, this doesn’t tell the whole story; even in direct sunlight, some textures still look rough and unrefined. On top of this, there’s quite a bit of texture pop-in present in the footage, there are no first-person shadows on guns, and the game seems to have low LODs at far distances.
While real-time ray tracing — a feature that is coming to Halo Infinite after its launch — will fix the lighting issues, it can’t fix the other problems mentioned in Digital Foundry’s analysis. There’s still time for 343 Industries to make improvements to the game, but we can’t help but feel nervous about how the final product will turn out.
Liked: The confirmation of sandbox-driven gameplay
Source: 343 Industries
More sandbox-driven systems like the pick-ups in Halo Infinite will allow Halo’s gunplay to shine more, while also providing players with interesting tools they can dynamically use to gain an advantage or turn the tables on a foe. In multiplayer matches specifically, pick-ups will give an edge to teams who control them. This will encourage players to strategize more and will reward players who play intelligently.
Disliked: The context behind the action
Source: 343 Industries
It would have been much cooler and much more satisfying for the gameplay demo to be focused around something meatier in terms of story relevance. While I understand that 343 Industries probably doesn’t want to give too much away about the narrative, we are only a few months out from the game’s launch. Aside from the mention of an entity called the Harbinger and a place called the Auditorium by War Chief Escharum at the end of the demo in a cutscene, we know nothing more about the story than we did already, which is unfortunate.
Liked: The flow of combat
Source: 343 Industries
We were also impressed by how balanced things looked. Obviously pre-release footage doesn’t tell the whole story, but neither the player nor the Banished ever seemed under or overpowered. The player always seemed like they had enough power and health to push forward, but the Banished were doing enough damage and using enough strategy that you could easily imagine the player dying due to overextension or other reckless mistakes. Overall, Halo Infinite looks like a shooter that has an excellent combat flow, and that gets us hyped to play it.
Disliked: Size of the gameplay space
Source: 343 Industries
We think fans would have been even more excited if Halo Infinite’s open world elements were more front-and-center. Show Master Chief traversing a massive canyon with a Warthog and the Pilot in back shooting at Covenant patrols. Show him entering a shipwreck off of the beaten path and walking away with supplies or a piece of lore to show for it. These are the kinds of things that players expect from expansive non-linear enviornments, and we think Halo Infinite would have benefitted strongly from leading with that rather than leading with something more traditional.
Your thoughts
What did you think of the Halo Infinite gameplay reveal? What are some things you liked, as well as some you didn’t? Let us know down below. Also, don’t miss our article on 5 gameplay details you may have missed from the gameplay reveal.
Halo Infinite is expected to launch during the Holiday 2020 season on the Xbox Series X, Xbox One, and Windows 10 PCs.
The next adventure in the saga
Halo Infinite
A new great journey awaits
Halo Infinite is nearly upon us, and it’s sure to be an incredible game filled with wonder, adventure, and more.
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