Halo Infinite

Halo Infinite brought Master Chief back as the flagship title of the Xbox Series X|S generation, and also became the first entry in the series to abandon the tight corridor structure in favor of an open world. Zeta Halo is shattered into pieces, and the player moves freely across its surface: capturing Banished bases, freeing captured marines, taking out named commanders, and along the way passing through classic closed-off missions that harken back to earlier entries. The key new addition is the Grappleshot, a hook that changes the pace of firefights — letting you pull yourself onto a rocky ledge, rip a weapon from an enemy's hands, or literally latch onto a passing vehicle. The gunplay retained the series' trademark weight, where every shield hit has an audible and tactile response, and fights unfold in long improvised loops rather than quick exchanges.

Technically it was a showcase for the new hardware. The campaign runs at a high resolution with the option of a smoother mode, and multiplayer on Series X targets a very high frame rate, which is essential for a competitive arena shooter. The multiplayer component was also released for free as a standalone free-to-play title, making it accessible even to owners of the cheaper Series S. Visually the game bet on a clean, colorful, and slightly retro design close to the original trilogy, where the ring's lush greens meet the metallic structures of the Forerunners. The music returns to iconic choral themes, supplemented with more understated, atmospheric passages that play while traveling through the landscape.

Reception was mixed in both good and bad ways. The campaign and the multiplayer's core shooting mechanics earned praise as a return to form for the franchise, while the surrounding live-service model, the pace of content additions, and missing features drew criticism the developers kept responding to for many months after launch. Today Halo Infinite feels like a game that only gradually realized its potential: the moment-to-moment gameplay ranks among the best the franchise has offered, and the open ring gives Halo's old rituals a pleasantly loose breathing room.