For many, Halo is the premier first-person shooter and the game that opened the door to the genre. The high-intensity gunfights, vicious alien creatures, the silent yet deadly protagonist, all add up to an amazing series. Halo Infinite continues the mastery of the series with an incredible campaign that unfortunately you’ll have to play alone until further notice.
Unlike previous sequels in the series, Halo Infinite does not pick up immediately where Halo 5: Guardians left off. In general, Halo isn’t a series that a newcomer could pick up midway and fully understand what’s happening, other than bad aliens want to kill all humans and the green armored guy is the Master Chief. While Halo Infinite is one of the best games of 2021, there are quite a few things that you’ll only understand if you’ve played the previous games in the series.
The following list contains entries that have major spoilers regarding the game's story. Only continue reading this post if you've finished Halo Infinite.
7/7 Commander Keyes And The First Halo
Throughout the game, Master Chief experiences strange echoes and memories of his former A.I. companion, Cortana. The last we saw of Cortana was at the end of Halo 5 when she was planning an assault on the universe. We learn through Halo Infinite that Cortana is now dead, but there’s very little explanation as to what exactly happened. One of the memories Chief experiences is of Commander Keyes and the first Halo.
When the Pillar of Autumn was attacked by the Covenant and stumbled upon the first Halo ring, Keyes ordered Master Chief to keep Cortana safe and out of the Covenant’s hands. She was the key to winning the war and contained immense knowledge of humanity. Players of the first game will remember that Keyes suffered a tragic death at the hands of the Flood.
6/7 Thomas Lasky
For better or worse, the Halo series is primarily Master Chief’s story and his character mainly remains in the spotlight. But there are a handful of side characters that deserve recognition and one of them is Thomas Lasky. Commander and Captain in the UNSC, Lasky was mostly a side character in Halo 4 but was featured in a live-action short leading up to the game called Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn.
Through one of the audio logs found on Zeta Halo, Master Chief learns that Lasky survived the assault on the Infinity and is hopefully somewhere on the ring with a group of UNSC soldiers. You never encounter Lasky or find his exact whereabouts, and fans are hoping that he’ll reappear sometime in the future.
5/7 No Dual-Wielding
Halo 2 is arguably one of the most revolutionary games in Xbox history, as it completely dominated the online gaming space with Xbox Live. It’s regarded by many as being the best game in the Halo series and one of the main reasons could be attributed to the introduction of dual-wielding. Bungie gave Master Chief the ability to double fist various weapons, allowing for interesting combinations like a Needler in one hand and an SMG in another.
Dual-wielding made a return in Halo 3 but was ultimately phased out when 343 Industries took over the series with Halo 4 and 5. The only way you could potentially dual-wield was during Capture the Flag online game modes, where you could carry the flag and still use a pistol at the same time. Now, Halo Infinite has completely gone away with dual-wielding and Chief is stuck with using only one weapon at a time to finish the fight.
4/7 Doctor Halsey And Her Spartans
The Halo novels go more in-depth with Doctor Catherine Halsey and the development of the Spartan program, but people who have simply played the games get the general gist. Halsey was tasked with creating super soldiers that would become the elite of the UNSC and give humanity an advantage in the war against the Covenant. The crown jewel of the Spartan program was Spartan-117, otherwise known as Master Chief.
Halsey took a fancy to John, not because he was the strongest or smartest of the Spartans, but because he had the “it” factor. He was a born leader, willing to make the tough decisions to ensure the mission was successful, even if that meant sacrificing himself. Halsey developed an advanced A.I. in her image called Cortana, who shared the same feelings toward John and that’s why Cortana chose him as her companion.
3/7 How Powerful The Grappling Hook Is
Veteran players will quickly come to adore the grappling hook. It’s without question one of the best additions to the Halo series and one that we hope becomes a staple moving forward. The grappling hook, quite frankly, is extremely powerful to the point where you almost question whether it’s too powerful.
Just by upgrading the first three levels, the grappling hook’s cooldown is reduced enough that you can spam the hook to ascend large mountains and the smooth ring structures on Zeta Halo. While the grappling hook can bring weapons and explosive containers to Master Chief, the main appeal is the electric shock it administers to enemies when you hook them. Not only can you get up close and personal, but the electric shock will temporarily immobilize Banished foes.
2/7 Cortana
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For the first time in the Halo series, Master Chief doesn’t have Cortana with him. Throughout Halo Infinite, it’s revealed that Cortana is dead and her voice that Chief hears is simply old echoes and memories of her. The last time we saw Cortana, she was amassing a large force to essentially control the universe before seemingly falling to Atriox. Once Master Chief lands on Zeta Halo, he tells Echo-216 that he’s looking for a weapon to turn the tide. The weapon turns out to be another A.I. who is strikingly similar to Cortana.
Much of Halo Infinite’s story is about finding out what exactly happened to Cortana. Master Chief seems to have an idea of what happened to her, but for him, it’s more about coming to terms with how he failed her. Players of the series will remember how instrumental Cortana was in fighting against the Covenant and Flood, so her demise off-screen and the trip down memory lane was surely a sad moment in the game.
1/7 Finish The Fight
Since Halo 3, Master Chief has been trying to finish the fight and save humanity. First, it was the Covenant, then the Flood, then the Forerunners, and now the Banished. With each enemy, Master Chief and the UNSC have had to adapt new techniques and strategies to survive, but despite the odds never being in their favor, Chief has never backed down from a fight and the same is true in Halo Infinite.
After coming online from drifting in space, Master Chief tells Echo-216 that they need to touch down on Zeta Halo. Understandably scared out his mind, the pilot begs Chief to reconsider and the war is lost after the Banished destroyed the Infinity. But just like Han Solo, Master Chief doesn’t care about the odds. He’s bound by his ultimate mission, to save humanity or die trying.
