Microsoft has finally given us some straight up gameplay of Halo Infinite today. During the Xbox Games Showcase the company showed off the ‘spiritual reboot’ of the hugely popular sci-fi franchise. And without a doubt, the biggest bomdshell developer 343 Industries dropped is the introduction of an open world! Here’s everything we know.
Halo Infinite goes open world
In the gameplay demo, we first see a sleek looking cut scene before seamlessly morphing into Master Chief. It’s then immediately clear that Halo Infinite is going to be something different. The Chief steps out of his aircraft and into a sprawling open world. Some wildlife dartles around while Grunts charge at our hero.
In said demo – supposedly several hours into the main story – Master Chief has to destroy three AA guns. How the player does that, is up to them. You simply set a waypoint on your map, step into a Warthog, and start driving towards an objective. 343 Industries writes:
With Halo Infinite, we’re now able to give players more freedom than ever before to explore a sprawling Halo ring. This demo shows off just a small section of the open and expansive world we’ve crafted to deliver an epic Master Chief experience. The scale of the environment accessible to players is several times larger than that of the last two Halo games combined with opportunities to discover hidden rewards and assault Banished fortifications in brand new ways.”
What’s new?
Equipment
Besides the open world, Halo Infinite introduces a few new gameplay mechanics to the popular series. For example, while traversing the open world, Master Chief can utilize a grappling hook. A good way to get around, but also quite nice on the offensive. For example, after destroying the shield of an Elite, you can grapple the weakened enemy and give them a good old melee finisher. It can even grapple objects in the environment. Like, say, an explosive canister you can lob at a group of bunched up Banished.
Additionally, we also see some type of one-way shield. While in a firefight, you can plop the shield down, blocking incoming fire, yet you still have the ability to shoot through it. Quite useful when taking on some of the stronger enemies, like Brutes and Elites.
Weapons
Lastly, the demo showcases a few classic and a few old weapons to play with. We’ve spotted anything ranging from a simple pistol to a plasma rifle called the Ravager, and from the classic Assault Rifle to the heavy hitting revolver-like Mangler. Halo Infinite will feature many different tools to kill aliens with. According to the blogpost, the game will feature ‘various new weapons’.
Halo Infinite Multiplayer
Apart from a gripping story, Halo Infinite is obviously also going to feature an extensive multiplayer mode. Both highlighted pieces of equipment will be available in the multiplayer, but as a pick-up rather than a standard piece of equipment.
Halo Infinite release date
Halo Infinite is set launch on Xbox One, PC, and Xbox Series X this holiday.