Xbox's flagship franchise is looking to revitalize itself on this current generation of consoles. 343 Industries has been providing consistent updates on the development of Halo Infinite ever since the vocal feedback on the campaign reveal and the announcement of the game's delay. A year later, Halo Infinite's first technical test is finally out to select members of the Halo Insider Program, giving players a brief glimpse of what Infinite's multiplayer may be like. Other than the multiplayer reveal trailer, this is the first real glimpse at in-engine multiplayer gameplay for Halo Infinite, even if it is bots-only and players can only match with teammates.
Based on first impressions, 343 Industries is changing up a lot of the classic Halo multiplayer design, though not in an entirely divergent way. Halo 5: Guardians served to change the way Halo multiplayer was played significantly, but Halo Infinite appears to be reaching an interesting middle ground. Different Halo fans will argue what iteration of multiplayer was best; some will argue Halo 2 is the peak, others will say Halo 5 was a necessary overhaul, among other preferences. Judging from the Halo Infinite technical preview thus far, the gameplay balance that's been achieved in Halo Infinite seems to be a relatively satisfying middle ground for fans.
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Gameplay based on the Infinite tech test alone seems to suggest the gunplay is still very Halo 5-esque, albeit tweaked and influenced by Halo games of the past. At first glance, things like a longer time-to-kill, the ability to sprint and slide, among little things like largely universal aim-down-sights, are 343 Industries' efforts in modernizing Halo. Not all of these changes are widely positive, and some hardcore fans may believe that these features compromise the spirit of Halo. However, compared to some of the more controversial changes in Halo 5 like ground-pounding and dashing, Halo Infinite's multiplayer is shaping up to be a very promising midpoint for fans.
A longer TTK brings things more in line with the multiplayer experience of Halo 2/3, with quicker health regeneration encouraging aggressive plays. The gameplay pace is still pretty accelerated compared to examples like Halo 3, but it's nowhere close to the comparatively breakneck pace of Halo 5's multiplayer. Adding in a simple slide out of sprint allows for some miniscule movement options, but since sprint speed and strafe speed are so similar, these movement options aren't entirely necessary. This way, fans of Halo's strafing-encouraged movement aren't entirely discouraged to play the game that way, while others only get a slight boost from sprinting to cover space.
Altogether, the gameplay experience in Halo Infinite is a bit faster than the usually methodical, strafing-heavy approach from Halo games of old. That's not inherently a bad thing, as it does help make the game comparable to other modern competitive shooters. At least from the technical test, it seems Halo Infinite's also taking a similar approach to games like Valorant by introducing aim training and trials. Beyond the basic tutorial, Halo Infinite is including different weapon-specific trials, with customization options to adjust the challenge. Additionally, Halo Infinite's "Academy" can assist with some important Halo-specific fundamentals to improve play.
Franchises like Call of Duty, Battlefield, and Halo have been mainstay shooters in the FPS genre, mostly because these franchises helped form the genre. However, newer generations and new players in general are often at a disadvantage when they're not super familiar with previous Halo games. Halo games play very differently, not only from one another, but from other first-person shooters in general. Giving players more avenues to learn the fundamentals of Halo Infinite, as well as being able to consistently train to get better at aiming, equipment, specific weapons, and more. All of these features included in a free-to-play package makes Halo very accessible.
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That's potentially the best thing for Halo Infinite as the game's release approaches. While many will undoubtedly shell out for the full game to experience the campaign, the multiplayer being entirely free is definitely huge for Halo, especially during a time where it's been out of the FPS spotlight for a long time. For returning fans, the multiplayer gameplay available thus far in the technical preview shows what an interesting balance 343 Industries is going for with Halo Infinite. The game is rolling back some of the more experimental changes made in Halo 5, modernizing some of the old-school omissions, whilst also maintaining the game's classic spirit for the most part.
It'll be interesting to see what fan feedback will be like when a full multiplayer beta for Halo Infinite launches, where players are actually playing legitimate PvP, instead of bots. Granted the Halo Infinite technical preview was largely designed to test the effectiveness of the bot design, Halo Infinite's true multiplayer potential will shine in the first beta test. That being said, the reception of the technical test thus far has been largely positive, boding well for the next true test of the spiritual reboot. Halo's been gone a long time, but Halo Infinite may inspire an entirely new popularity and direction for the iconic sci-fi Xbox shooter.
Halo Infinite releases in fall 2021, for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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