Since taking control of the Halo franchise, 343 Industries has shipped Halo 4 and Halo 5, with its third Halo game, Halo Infinite, set to launch in December. With each new entry from 343 Industries, Halo has evolved significantly for better or worse. With Halo Infinite on the horizon, here’s how the campaign side of things has changed and what seems to be changing with the upcoming release.
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The Transition from Halo 3 to Halo 4 and Halo 5
From Halo 1 to 3, the series protagonist Master Chief plays an integral part in concluding the Human-Covenant war. Throughout Halo 1 to 3, Master Chief serves as the super-soldier on which humanity relies on getting the job done. In these entries, Master Chief’s unflinching attitude towards saving humanity takes center stage and makes antagonists like the Prophet of Regret feel inferior and less intimidating than the Chief himself. Accompanying Master Chief’s relentless pursuit of saving humanity is Martin O’ Donnell’s ancient, epic, and uplifting soundtrack that perfectly captures the feeling of being a hero.
In contrast, Halo 4 depicts a more humane side of Master Chief that faces a far more intimidating villain this time around. Despite being a threat to humanity, Didac’s story arc gets sidestepped to focus on Chief and Cortana’s dynamic. Halo 4’s shift in tone is further indicated by Neil Davidge’s epic yet sinister orchestral soundtrack that replaces Martin O’ Donnell’s optimistic one from the previous games.
343’s Halo 4 also steps away from the open-ended structure of Bungie’s Halo games in favor of a more linear level design. Furthermore, Chief doesn’t feel like the confident and silent super soldier many would remember from the past games. Rather, he’s relatively vocal this time around. The change of tone and balance in Halo 4 makes its way to the gameplay through its new and powerful enemy types, scarce ammo, and the fact that Chief can’t dual wield anymore. All these changes collectively make Master Chief far more vulnerable and human than fans are used to seeing him.
Halo 5’s campaign builds upon the foundation laid by Halo 4. Its plot delves deep into Halo’s expanded universe and introduces characters from Halo novels. It takes a page out of Halo 2 and introduces two playable characters: Master Chief and Jameson Locke. While Chief painstakingly lacks the screen time he rightfully deserves, his motives from Halo 4 remain the same: help Cortana. In Halo 5, 343 tries to strike a balance between depicting the personal conflicts of its two main protagonists and an inevitable large-scale threat that becomes deeply personal by the time credits roll.
How 343 is Handling Halo Infinite Campaign
It’s no surprise that Halo 4 and 5’s direction wasn’t well-received by a fraction of veteran Halo fans, and 343 wants to address those criticisms with Halo Infinite. The art style, environments, and soundtrack that precedes Master Chief in Zeta Halo are very reminiscent of Halo: Combat Evolved. In fact, The Silent Cartographer’s DNA is in the Halo Infinite campaign, which is undoubtedly one of the best missions ever in a Halo game.
While a complete tonal and directorial shift from Halo 5 to Halo Infinite seems to be taking place, the truth is, that’s not entirely the case. If anything, Halo Infinite is carrying the DNA of Halo 4 and Halo 5, the same way it’s carrying the DNA of Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 3. Halo Infinite may look like a soft reboot, though it’s a direct sequel to Halo 5.
Halo Infinite will focus on Chief and Cortana’s story, as the former seeks answers to the latter’s disappearance in Halo 5. It seems 343 Industries has doubled down on its attempt to depict a more human Halo storyline with Chief, his chirpy new AI companion, and the pilot as they venture together into the depths of Zeta Halo.
Despite this seeming like another personal adventure for Master Chief, Halo Infinite reintroduces the Banished as a major threat, with their leader Escharum looking far more intimidating than anyone Chief has faced before. Furthermore, there’s also a Spartan hunter named Jega ‘Rdomnai that aims to decimate Master Chief. Halo Infinite could be the best of both worlds if it strikes a balance between depicting a gruesome civil war between the Banished and the humans, much like in Halo 1-3, while retaining the more personal narrative beats that stood out in Halo 4 and 5. While it’s too early to predict whether Halo Infinite’s campaign experience will deliver on its promises, initial trailers seem to paint a picture of a game that could satisfy fans of both eras of Halo story campaigns.
Halo Infinite launches December 8, 2021, for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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