Halo Infinite multiplayer review: A spectacular game by an industry veteran

Halo Infinite’s free-to-play multiplayer was officially released on November 15, 2021, as a surprise to commemorate the 20th anniversary of this beloved franchise.

As soon as the multiplayer was released, it took over the world by storm. Casuals, as well as professionals, flocked into the game in order to enjoy something that had been missing for a long time.

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Halo Infinite is a game that feels very good. It is a game that does not just dwell on nostalgia but puts in the effort to make everything regarding the game fun and rewarding. Therefore, without further adieu, it is better to dive into the key facets that make Halo Infinite’s multiplayer so enjoyable.

Halo Infinite sticks to its roots in the best possible way

Halo Infinite is one of the very few games in the current market that does not try anything outrageous. The game does very well to stick to the roots that made it special in the first place.

The game does not bring in new features to appease the overall player base. This is quite evident because the prime idea about Halo being an arena shooter is kept intact.

Halo Infinite sticks to its roots as an arena shooter (Image via Halo Infinite)

Being an arena shooter means that the players cannot have custom loadouts. It also means that the games are fast-paced and involve advanced movements like sliding. All of these features are kept intact within Halo Infinite.

However, it is crucial to remember that the game does a lot more than merely stick to the borderline idea of arena shooters. The game provides a very pleasant experience in relation to combat, weapon variety, and customization.

Combat

Halo Infinite’s combat is reminiscent of Halo games, especially for veteran players. Newer players, however, might take some time to get used to it as it is quite different from how games like Call of Duty play out.

Halo players always start with the same weapon across the board. However, other weapons are spread across the map that players can pick up and use in combat.

Halo Infinite provides a wide range of weapons for players to use (Image via Halo Infinite)

Every weapon is unique and requires a different playstyle to use it most efficiently. The Sniper, Skewer, and BR75 Battle Rifle are better in medium to long-range combat. However, a weapon such as the Gravity Hammer or the Energy Sword requires players to go up close and personal.

Weapons are not the only tools that are available to players. There are a variety of pickups such as Overshield and Grappleshot that players can use in order to obtain an advantage over their opponents.

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Finally, Halo Infinite provides players with a very powerful melee attack if everything fails. Players who love to rush around the map should use their melee as much as possible to finish off low-health enemies.

It is important to remember that combat in Halo Infinite works differently for different game modes. There are a total of 6 game modes, including Oddball, Slayer, Stronghold, Stockpile, Total Control, and Capture the Flag.

Game-modes like Oddball require strategic playmaking to ensure wins (Image via Halo Infinite)

While something like Slayer involves players just killing the opposition as fast as possible, Oddball requires strategic combat. So running head front into the enemy will never work as the team that plays strategically will always win.

Optimization

Halo Infinite is quite well optimized when it comes to performance. The game runs pretty smoothly and usually does not have any form of frame drops.

The game's graphics are also quite good, and it definitely looks shiny and polished. Currently, there aren’t a lot of bugs in the game that can hamper the gameplay in any possible way.

The only problem that the game probably has is related to CPU usage. There are times when the game will end up using 100% of the CPU, leading to lags in case players are trying to run other programs simultaneously.

Halo Infinite has good optimization, but the CPU usage can often rise to 100% (Image via Halo Infinite)

This will be especially problematic for players who always have Spotify or Youtube running in the background as the game will probably not let players use those programs peacefully. However, 343 Industries has commented on the same and is bringing out an update that should fix the issue.

Criticism

Halo Infinite is overall a very good game. However, there is one thing that the game does quite poorly. This is related to its monetization policies.

Halo Infinite pretty much puts every bit of customization behind a paywall. This involves major cosmetics for even smaller upgrades.

Halo Infinite's monetization policies are quite poor (Image via Halo Infinite)

As a result, the number of things that players can chase is definitely limited. This has made the entire player base disappointed, and it frankly needs to change.

The issue has aggravated to such a level where the subreddit of Halo Infinite had to lock the comment section to prevent the spread of toxicity. Players have been personally attacking the developers and lambasting them for their greedy policies.

Even basic armor and weapons skins are locked behind paywalls (Image via Halo Infinite)

Apart from that, the game currently has a massive cheater problem that is plaguing almost everyone. The game supports crossplay, and therefore, cheaters from the PC version are affecting the experience of the console version.

Concluding thoughts

In short, Halo Infinite’s multiplayer is a brilliant game to play. It provides opportunities for both new players as well as veterans to enjoy the game to its fullest. The free-to-play aspect of the game combined with the brilliant gunplay and combat makes it a complete package.

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Halo Infinite is a one-of-a-kind experience that is not present anywhere else in the market. The game caters to both casual as well as competitive players through a normal mode and a ranked game mode.

As mentioned, the monetization aspect and the cheater issues need to be solved. However, the game is still in the beta phase and will continue to receive support in the years to come.