The well-known YouTuber and shooter expert SkillUp took a close look at the multiplayer of Halo Infinite during the playtest and shared his impressions. They are “very, very, very good” and he names 3 major reasons for it.
Who is he, anyway? SkillUp is a YouTuber and game critic. Currently, he mainly makes reviews and previews of all kinds of games.
He does not have a specific preference and covers pretty much all categories from AAA to relatively unknown indie games. His critiques are generally very balanced and detailed, going into depth. Hardly any of his videos is under 30 minutes long.
Once a week, he also publishes a news video about current events in the industry. Additionally, he is considered a shooter expert. He started his YouTube career mainly with guide videos for The Division 1, has been playing Destiny for years, and has played and analyzed many other shooters.
Which playtest are we talking about? At the beginning of October, a playtest for the multiplayer of Halo Infinite took place, in which SkillUp also participated. In a detailed video, he subsequently shared his experiences during this test.
What he had to say and why he believes Halo Infinite could be really good, we summarize here for you from MeinMMO.
“It feels like an authentic Halo”
Initially, SkillUp states: “Halo Infinite plays sharply, the balance is right, and it is well-designed.” Developer 343 Industries has threaded the needle and introduced balanced innovations without straying too far from previous Halo games.
Thus, 343 took a significant risk with some changes and new features such as gadgets or the sprint slide that could destroy the Halo feel and make Infinite feel like Destiny 2, Titanfall, CoD Warzone or “even worse: Overwatch“. However, he believes this is not the case.
This is how he evaluates the playtest: You can tell that the YouTuber is pretty excited. Especially three aspects convinced him:
- Map design
- Balance
- Gameplay
Maps offer variety and are balanced
This is what he says about the map design of Halo Infinite: For him, this is one of the most important parts of an arena shooter. If a shooter messes up the map design, he can do well in all other areas as he wants. Everything stands or falls with the maps.
The maps available in the playtest he describes as “impressive”. Each has its own individual style and a good mix of tight areas and open spaces. Every point on a map would support a specific play style, even the placement of pickable weapons is adapted to the map.
For example, you can find the battle rifle in one place, just before entering a high and open area. The weapon is ideal for this position as fights from a distance are on the agenda here. Such things are present on every map and would provide variety.
He himself could not pinpoint any location that was unbalanced or gave opponents an unfair advantage. Which brings us to the next point: balance.
Fair balance in all areas, only minor drawbacks with shotguns
This is what he says about balance: Overall, SkillUp praises the balance of Halo Infinite in several areas. The maps are fairly laid out and the distribution of pickable weapons is also balanced. The individual game modes work well.
Capture points are fairly distributed, and Capture-the-Flag works even outstandingly. Each mode is therefore well-balanced and tailored to the respective map.
The weapon balance is also very well achieved, but there are a few drawbacks. The shotgun and the new heatwave weapon are significantly too weak. SkillUp suspects that 343 Industries wanted to prevent a shotgun meta here, like in other shooters such as Destiny 2.
However, they have overshot the target. Other than that, Halo Infinite is consistently fair; he never felt that losses were caused by anything other than the simple failure of the team.
Perfect mix of Halo-typical gameplay and new features
This is what he says about gameplay: First, he highlights the gunplay, which feels great. Weapon switching, reloading, recoil, hit feedback – all these aspects Halo Infinite hits exactly on the point.
Even a major criticism from Halo 5 has apparently been resolved: aiming with iron sights or ADS (Aim Down Sight). What is standard in other shooters was consistently ignored in previous Halo installments. Halo 5 tried to incorporate it but received a lot of criticism for it.
Halo Infinite has now found a compromise for ADS. You still do not aim fully through iron sights, but you can at least zoom in a little. This is thus a kind of middle ground, which SkillUp describes as the perfect solution.
Other aspects like sprinting or sliding when sprinting have been toned down compared to Halo 5. They are still useful but not overpowering. This way, the gameplay still feels like classic Halo, but modernized in the right places.
The new gadgets, such as the grappling hook, are useful and not too powerful.
What are gadgets? In a match, you can pick up a gadget and use it in combat. For example, there is the grappling hook, which you can use to pull yourself towards targets (walls and enemies) or pull items like weapons and grenades towards you.
There is also a tactical shield that you can place in front of you, invisibility, or a supershield. Some of these gadgets may be familiar to veterans from earlier Halo games.
Thanks to the cooldowns, gadgets like the grappling hook do not feel too powerful, and SkillUp sees them as a sensible extension for combat.
Are there still stumbling blocks? The YouTuber mentions them right at the beginning of his video. The playtest only showed a part of the actual game.
- Not all game modes were included.
- Not all weapons and customization items were available.
- It is still unclear how monetization will be integrated into the game.
- Additionally, several issues may occur right at launch, such as with the servers.
- The performance on PC could also use some improvement
Nevertheless, SkillUp is very optimistic about the launch of Halo Infinite. Technically, he has already played “much worse betas”.
Unlike some other content creators like Dr Disrespect, he also does not believe that Halo Infinite will be dead without a battle royale mode after a few months. (via charlieintel.com)
You can check out his video in full length here:
When is the release? Halo Infinite will be released on December 8 for PC, Xbox Series X|S, and Xbox One. The multiplayer will be released for free, while the campaign will be released as a full-priced title.
Owners of Xbox Game Pass can of course also play these right at launch.
What do you think about it? Have you also been able to play Halo Infinite? Do you share the YouTuber’s opinion?
