Back when Bungie finally stepped away from theHalofranchise to work onDestiny, fans were curious how 343 Industries would helm the franchise moving forward.Halo 3andHalo: Reachwere perfect endpoints for the series, at least in that particular moment. That being said, it would never truly be the end ofHalo, as 343 industries made its debut withHalo 4just a couple years after. The fourth entry was when rifts truly started to form in theHalofanbase, further exacerbated byHalo 5: Guardians.
It was inevitable that fans would have issues with 343 Industries' interpretation of the series Bungie had once started. 343’s development team had a strong desire to do what Bungie did withHalo 3previously: revolutionize the franchise in big ways. As a result, a lot of the core concepts and mechanics began to shift far away from what fans were typically used to fromHalogames.Halo 4was controversial for sure, butHalo 5solidified a massive divide between 343’s version of theHalofranchise and the fans of traditionalHalo.
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Injecting High Sci-Fi Lore Into Halo Games
At face value, 343 Industries should be praised for attempting to tell a much more complicated and lore-heavyHalostory inHalo 5: Guardians. At the same time,Halo 5: Guardiansfalls into similarproblematic storytelling that a game likeFinal Fantasy 15does. Too much of the game’s plot relies heavily on deepHalolore established in many of the novels in the extended universe. WhileHalo 4had similar lore issues with injecting heavy aspects from theHaloextended universe, the game at least did so without doing away with too many core elements of previous games.
Master Chief was still the central protagonist, but many of the story elements and characters were adapted and changed to reflect a new narrative approach from 343 Industries.Halo 4, and subsequentlyHalo 5, introduced several concepts from the novels inHalo’s expanded universe that progressively moved the franchise towards a multi-faceted sci-fi experience.343 aimed to tell a more complex story withHalo 5, but ended up confusing fans of the original games with elements unfamiliar to everyone except the hardcore fan niche.
Halo 4introduced the Didact character from Forerunner lineage, and while the character’s importance wasn’t too understated in the game, there was still an air of mystery about him. Players only recognized him if they readHalo: Cryptumor any of the otherForerunnerSagabooks. Even so, it wasn’t untilHalo 5: Guardianswere this lore focus would become a more prominent issue. All of a sudden Master Chief was teamed up with Blue Team, a prominent crew of squadmates from Chief’s past that was never mentioned in the mainline games. Spartan Locke’s identity and his team was made a complete mystery in the lead up toHal0 5. Justifying Fireteam Osiris' massive screen time was nearly impossible, which was a big reason whyHalo 5’s story landed flat for so many who just didn’t have enough context.
Over-Complicating Traditional Halo Multiplayer
Outside of narrative disconnects, subsequentHalogames also started to make some seriously controversial mechanical changes. For other mainstream shooters, implementing mechanics like sprinting, tactical equipment, perks and special abilities were basically a requirement to differentiate from competitors.Halogames, as much as they were futuristic sci-fi, were fairly traditional shooters that didn’t have these features on purpose.Bungie got close to breaking that traditionwith the addition of equipment and armor abilities inHalo 3andReach, but they didn’t entirely detract fromHalo’s gameplay loop or multiplayer experience.
343’sHalogames emulated more of aCall of Duty-esque approach when it came to gameplay,tacking on different elements to shake upHalo’s formula.Hal0 4made some significant changes like permanent sprinting abilities, loadouts and armor abilities, new vehicles like Mechs among other things.Halo 5took gameplay several steps further in that direction, with inherent boosted dodges on every character, aiming down the sights for nearly all weapons, Spartans could even utilize a ground pound ability on foes.
While there certainly are fans who enjoy this new kind of multiplayer, traditional fans deemed thenewHalomultiplayer unrecognizable compared to traditionalHalogameplay. All these mechanics basically eliminated any elements of proper positioning and tactics, as players could dash away from any elements of danger. Any enemy encounters became far more hectic than they needed to be, and time-to-kill was sped up to presumably make up for the breakneck pace thatHalomultiplayer had now adopted.
Where Halo Infinite Falls on the Scale
As forHalo Infinite, at the moment it’s hard to say where it falls on the scale. 343 Industries is attempting to useInfiniteas an opportunity for a spiritual reboot to theHalofranchise, but that may not necessarily be the case in execution.Halo Infiniteis still introducing new movement mechanics like the grappling hook, even though it’s unclear if that equipment will be strictly for the campaign or also in multiplayer. Elements like sprinting and special equipment are also returning, which presumably be implemented across the board. Some of the dashing/dodging mechanics and ground pound fromHalo 5weren’t shown, soInfinitemay be striking some kind of middle ground.
HopefullyInfinitewill be able to find the right balance for allHalofans to enjoy. Most of the mechanics 343 Industries has implemented thus far have proved to be contentious. Of course the desire to revolutionize theHalofranchise is a righteous but tenuous task for 343, and so farHalo’s new developer has had a rocky go at it. ExpansiveHalolore is for the novels and animated side content, not in the mainline games. Fans have been pushing back becausethey don’t want aHalogame that chases after the frantic fast-paced natureof games likeCall of Duty. As long as 343 recognizes that moving forward,Haloshould be able to course correct for the next iteration.
Halo Infiniteis in development for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
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