Halo Infinite, despite its impeccable game feel, has been heavily under fire for its mediocre cosmetic offerings and utterly dreadful progression system—luckily, 343 Industries claim to be on the case after a short (and very well deserved) break.
Halo Infinite, in a truly galaxy brain move by Microsoft, launched a few weeks earlier than initially announced. That surprise launch, combined with its competition’s poor reception, has set Halo Infinite up for success. Many are heralding the game as a true return to form for the franchise, citing its phenomenal level design, fast but weighty movement, and incredible sandbox. But since launch, the one thing that keeps being flagged by players is the progression and cosmetics. Devs have previously stated that fixing progression is a major priority for the team and 343 Industries has released some patches to in-game progression.
Despite the tweaks, the game’s Battle Pass remains incredibly slow, initial customization options are incredibly limited, and the game’s first event—which began today and rewards a set of samurai themed armor—is extremely demanding of player’s time. The event is made up of 42 challenges for six weeks, seven per week, 30 of which are required to complete the event and receive all 16 cosmetic items—including the distinctive Yoroi armor core. This is a ridiculous time commitment.
Halo Infinite challenges are a bit slow, and the game’s standard progression is already a bit of a drag, so the decision to create a time limited event which requires dozens of completed challenges on a strict schedule is not going over well with the game’s community. The basic argument is that participating in a timed event should be open to more casual players as well, because right now the challenge structure is incredibly hostile to people who only check in with the game occasionally.
In a tweet, Halo Infinite community manager Brian Jarrard said that the team would be hard at work on fixing player progression complaints as soon as possible, but that the team was currently on a post-launch break. In an interview with Eurogamer, Joseph Staten, Head of Creative at 343 Industries, said that progression issues would be relatively easy to fix for the team as opposed to a more structural problem and reminded players that the game was firmly in beta.
Given the game’s surprise launch, growing pains are to be expected and I am, overall, excited for the future of the game. Once the progression woes are alleviated, Halo Infinite may be a very real Game of the Year contender. Until those fixes though, you can still unlock the Yoroi armor with the help of our guide on Kotaku Dot Com.
DISCUSSION
“Beta” for a game that releases in less than two weeks, and with 343 currently on Thanksgiving break...this isn’t a game in beta by any real measure other than to be a shield. This IS the game, as it is released.
Would love one day to get an in depth look at the development of Infinite, it must have been a wild ride. Remember that as late as August of 2020 this was supposed to release on November 10th, 2020. About 2.5 months before release it was delayed. Now, more than a full year later, we have campaign still incoming, co-op campaign delayed until mid 2022 along with forge, a multiplayer suite which lacks basic playlists like TDM, and a progression system that seems to have near universal criticism.
Can’t help but wonder what the heck they thought they were going to release last year. For the company’s flagship franchise, 343 has really messed this up repeatedly.
Still, the game FEELS good to play. Great even. Hopefully by May 2022 it will have the other parts in place as well. And in fact, the co-op delay might help reignite players who will have likely fallen off by then.