Against all odds, Halo Infinite has the potential to deliver the most rewarding and satisfying gameplay of any FPS game releasing the year. It's the seventh first-person Halo game and isn't exactly reinventing the wheel, but that's precisely why it's such a thrill to play: Halo Infinite multiplayer takes the core fundamentals of Halo and uses them as a vehicle to introduce new mechanics that still align with that central vision.
The first Halo Infinite technical test was mostly Halo as fans know it, plus some expected tweaks and new additions, like the grappling hook. These small differences made the experience better, and it was clear the grappling hook would be a fun tool, but the community could only scratch the surface in the test's small time frame. The latest tests have begun to show what the game is really made of, seeing fans get really creative with the grappling hook and other new tools, such as the Repulsor.
The most recent flight included Halo Infinite's version of Big Team Battle, which scales its gameplay to appropriately fit the big maps, vehicles, and large player count; the Repulsor can be used to push back vehicles, the grappling hook can hijack Banshees in midair, and so on. The tools allow enough freedom that, if someone thinks of an interesting tactic, the game won't punish them for thinking outside of the box. For example, one Halo Infinite player pulled off a trick shot with the hook, using it to climb many feet above the action and no-scoping a player below them.
Halo Infinite's New Gadgets Make For Fun Multiplayer Moments
Grappling hooks are by no means new to games or even the FPS genre, but Halo Infinite allows for some particularly inventive uses of the tried and true gadget. It even spices up classic Halo strategies, such as boosting a Ghost off the map as a player is hijacking it, since the driver can now grapple away like Batman and save themselves at the last second, like streamer UberNick did. Some are even emulating the graceful movement of Spider-Man with Halo Infinite's grappling hook.
Reddit user Blazetobe discovered a more self-destructive strategy, throwing a plasma grenade at a wall, grappling hooked themselves toward it to make it stick to their body, then using the momentum of the grapple to launch themselves into a group of enemies.
A number of players have shared clips of themselves using the Repulsor to blast opponents back, deflect grenades, and more. Streamer Chris Covent blasted themselves into the air with the Repulsor to pull off an equally impressive, 360 no-scope play.
All of this is a breath of fresh air in a year with releases from two of the other biggest FPS franchises. Call of Duty: Vanguard is going back to WWII once again and is rehashing many of the mechanics from Modern Warfare, meaning it likely won't have a lot of substantially new content to offer. Battlefield 2042's beta is now live and features some new mechanics, but its big selling points seems to mainly be its return to a modern setting and its larger player counts.
When it comes down to it, gameplay is king in FPS games, and Halo Infinite seems to know this well. It still retains the Halo identity - something that's immediately obvious when picking up the controller - but it doesn't stay static as players learn its mechanics.
Halo Infinite will be released for Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC on December 8, 2021.
Source: UberNick/Twitter, Blazetobe/Reddit, Chris Covent/Twitter