As part of its ongoing process to reveal more of Halo Infinite over the course of 2021, 343 Industries today released a substantial new update on the forthcoming shooter that gives us a better idea of what the studio is aiming for with the project. In this most recent dump of information, various developers at the company have talked specifically about the game’s campaign and what it will have in store.
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Detailed on the Halo website, the focus of this new blog was largely to explain the world of Halo Infinite that players will experience in its single-player portion. For those unaware, the game takes place on Zeta Halo this time around. When it comes to what 343 wanted to do with the design of this location, its two main goals were said to be “simplicity” and “legacy”. “For ‘Legacy’ we really want players to feel like they are experiencing a game that they remember fondly (Halo: Combat Evolved), but with modernized graphics of course,” explained 343’s art lead, Justin Dinges. “As far as ‘Simplicity’ is concerned, we wanted to ensure that we steer away from overly noisy designs and details which is a key takeaway for the team coming off Halo 5. With Halo Infinite, we wanted to take this new adventure back to its roots and create a visually pleasing experience that doesn’t overwhelm with unnecessary complexity where readability and clear artistic composition prevail.”
Speaking more to the design of Zeta Halo, Dinges went on to say that the team took a lot of inspiration from its own surroundings in Washington. As such, Halo Infinite boasts a number of mountains, rivers, and forests to explore.
This aim to make the world feel more akin to the Halo games of old extends to enemy designs, too. Once again, Dinges said that 343 tried to simplify the designs of longtime enemies like the Jackals and Grunts to make them closer in nature “to their appearance in Halo 3 and previous titles.”
And while this might just sound like 343 is purely trying to recreate the original games in the series with Halo Infinite, it’s also looking to bring in new ideas. One of those is with the Grappleshot, which was revealed in last year’s gameplay demo. When trying to craft these environments, 343 says it needs to not only decide how to build them out from an aesthetic standpoint, but also in regards to how players will traverse about. “The good news is that not only is the gameplay that much more fun because of it, but we can also expect players to get to some really awesome locations and vantage points that will further show off the beauty of the world we have created,” Dinges said of this new tool. “For me, the Grappleshot is an exciting example of a new gameplay feature that provides great wins for both players and devs alike.”
As a whole, it sounds like Halo Infinite is trying to strike a great balance of both old and new formats. Whether it proves to be a success remains to be seen, but considering how the first few entries in this franchise are still adored to this day, it sounds like 343 Industries has a good feeling of what fans want.
In case you weren’t already counting down the days, Halo Infinite is set to release later this year at an undetermined date in the fall. The game will be coming to Xbox One, Xbox Series X, and PC whenever it arrives.
Are you still looking forward to Halo Infinite? Be sure to let me know down in the comments or over on Twitter at @MooreMan12.
