Fears about Halo Infinite's quality were not unfounded in the months leading up to its release. The game was in controversially rough shape when it was displayed for the first time last summer before it faced a year-long delay into 2021. However, now that players are able to dive into its free-to-play multiplayer Beta, fans have discovered that 343 Industries managed to make good on delivering a quality Halo game that lives up to the legacy of the series. The multiplayer hasn't been playable for long, but many fans are already saying that it's the best competitive experience in recent years.
One element of Halo Infinite, however, is doing a lot of the heavy lifting in making the multiplayer so much fun: The equipment items that players find strewn across the maps. Equpment are limited-use items that give players specific abilities and, so far, are balanced with precision; as some are meant for more offensive play while others are best utilized on the defense. At the end of the day, there are a lot of factors that make Halo Infinite's multiplayer feel so good to play, but its the game's equipment that elevates play into the masterpiece experience that some fans are calling it.
The Genius of Halo Infinite's Equipment
Equipment isn't a new feature for the Halo series. Introduced back in Halo 3, the items have seen a lot of different changes throughout the franchise. From the semi-useful bubble shields and regenerators in Halo 3, to the narratively essential pick ups in Halo: Reach, equipment has served as a way to introduce some new mechanics to the series without changing a lot of the gameplay staples behind the franchise. Halo Infinite's take on equipment, however, breathes a lot of life into the mechanics because they allow players to completely change their playstyle depending on their equipment loadout.
The more offensive equipment is usually the first to go as players can use things like Halo Infinite's grappleshot to hijack aerial vehicles and push back on enemies who are advancing towards objectives or closing in for kills. That said, the more defensive equipment has plenty of merit as well, with the drop wall allowing a single player to shut down an entire area thanks to its protection, or the threat sensor which can alert unsuspecting teammates to incoming enemies who were hoping to get the drop on them.
While not everything is as flashy as the grappleshot or repulsor, Halo Infinite's equipment allows players to completely retake control of a match if utilized properly. That said, the grappleshot and repulsor both open the door for new types of aggressive play that hasn't been seen before in a Halo game. With the repulsor, players can turn the tide in a firefight by essentially parrying an incoming attack that could have lead to an instant death, but instead, giving the player the ability to turn the tide by using an enemy's attacks against them.
Halo Infinite's equipment serves an important function in the multiplayer: Reminding fans that if they think that they can pull off a crazy stunt, they probably can. The equipment has essentially opened the doors to Halo Infinite's sandbox, and players are continuing to flex their Halo skills to pull off stunts resulting in some of the most over-the-top multiplayer gameplay in recent memory.
If 343 Industries continues to update the game by adding new equipment alongside the new weapons that it has promised to add, then Infinite could go down as one of the best entries in the series by simply giving players the keys to the proverbial multiplayer car, and allowing them to take it wherever they want.
Halo Infinite's multiplayer Beta is available now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, with the full game launching on December 8.