Microsoft’s initial gameplay trailer for Halo: Infinite is getting mixed reactions from fans expecting higher graphical fidelity for the flagship Xbox title. Although simultaneously developed for Xbox Series X and Xbox One, the Halo series has always been known for pushing the boundaries of the system they’re played on. However, when compared to recent PS4 titles like The Last of Us 2 and Ghosts of Tsushima, the reveal of Halo: Infinite falls a bit flat.
The Xbox Series X GPU is based on AMD hardware and sports a massive 12 teraflops, compared to the PS5’s 10.28 teraflops. In terms of raw power, the Xbox Series X beats out the PS5 by a significant margin, so why is Halo: Infinite not reaching the same graphical level as recent PS4 hits? This could all come down to developer abilities, artistic choice, and the fact that the game still has a few months left in development time. The stream being live also affected the resolution, and a 4K version of the trailer has since been released, making it look a bit better than what was initially shown.
When looking at games like The Last of Us 2 it’s immediately noticeable the amount of expertly crafted work went into the textures and animations. Characters' facial reactions change during each conversation, grass blows in the wind as it subtly hides your character, and the weather patterns are the most advanced seen in any video game to date. Although Naughty Dog has its issues with crunch culture, it’s clear that the developers are passionate about making the game as awe-inspiring as possible. Twitter user Dyego Juan posted a video showing a side by side comparison of The Last of Us 2 and Halo: Infinite.
Halo Infinite vs The Last of Us 2
Comparing Halo: Infinite with Ghosts of Tsushima might be a more apt comparison as they are both open-world games, and The Last of Us series tends to be much more linear. In Ghosts of Tsushima, the character models aren’t as on par with The Last of Us: Part 2, but the graphics of the world and textures of the flora in the game are truly impressive. In the Halo: Infinite reveal, some of the grass, textures on terrain, and the sky look much blander when compared to the other titles.
In an interview with IGN, 343 Studios confirmed there will be a post-launch update that will bring ray tracing to Halo: Infinite, which could bring a lot of extra fidelity to the title. Additionally, this Halo will be the only title on the platform for a while, as the developers are looking to make Halo: Infinite “the start of our platform of the future.” This mindset implies that Halo: Infinite will receive many years of updates and downloadable content.
Something else to keep in mind with Halo: Infinite is the frame rate. While The Last Of Us 2 and Ghosts of Tsushima have some of the most ambitious graphics in any game, they run at a stable 30 frames per second. Halo, on the other hand, has a heavy multiplayer-focused fan base, and shooting for a solid 60 frames per second is a huge priority. Being an open-world game, keeping that stable 60 frames is actually quite impressive if Halo Infinite's map is as big as 343 Studios says.
343 Studios still has some time to beef up Halo: Infinite before it’s released this holiday season on Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC. With a ray-tracing update, some extra time for polish, and taking the feedback from fans, hopefully by the time Halo: Infinite comes out it will be able to wow fans of the series.
Source: Dyego Juan Twitter, IGN