Microsoft kicked off its Xbox Games Showcase with an in-depth gameplay reveal of Halo Infinite – and it was filled with heaps of nostalgia and important modern-day flourishes that the series has been crying out for.
Running on Xbox Series X, Halo Infinite is a gorgeous, more open-world focused game, full of enemies, physics, vehicles and explosions. The covenant are back, but they’ve joined forces with The Banished, who were the main antagonists in Halo Wars 2.
In the gameplay reveal, which you can see below, we saw many Halo staples such as the Warthog, assault rifle and plasma grenades. However, everything looks so much more realistic than before, thanks to the game’s new Slipspace Engine. Halo Infinite will also run at 4K/60fps.
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The parallels to Halo: Combat Evolved are very apparent in the trailer, too. Master Chief crash lands onto what appears to be another Halo installation, and is free to roam the world – eradicating Covenant scum as he goes.
We see that sprint is indeed in the game, a controversial addition for some, along with a new map screen that allows players to choose and tackle objectives. Halo has always been a sandbox shooter, but it seems like things will be taken further in Halo Infinite.
Halo, old friend
While many of the classic series’ hallmarks are here, and thankfully so, we get a glimpse at Master Chief’s new weapon: the grappleshot. The grappleshot allows Master Chief to pull himself towards enemies, and drag objects towards him, too. It also provides more traversal options.
The game has left a positive first impression, then, and will be available for Xbox Game Pass subscribers day and date when it launches alongside the Xbox Series X in “holiday 2020”, which is between October and December. It’ll also be playable on Xbox One.