Microsoft opened its Xbox Games Showcase with our first ever look at Halo Infinite campaign gameplay.
The reception to the footage has been mixed. Many lambasted the game’s flat visuals, and turned some of the enemies into memes, where others looked past the underwhelming presentation to see a promising a game.
One thing that was better received than Halo Infinite’s visuals has been the move to a bigger, more open world. Early on in the demo, the player briefly brings up the map before proceeding with the main mission. As you’d expect, fans have gone through this early look at the map to mine as much information as possible.
In the process, they discovered a number of varying mission types, which are likely some of what players will be able to tackle come launch. Outside of the AA main mission, the map appears to have several side missions.
Reddit user ChipDibbles listed all the different icons and mission types seen on the map. To the West, we see the name Okro Vagaduun marked with a reticle icon. This could be some sort of takedown or assassination-style mission where you go after a specific boss. As for the missions themselves, one other that pops up is Marine Rescue, which may end up being a repeatable activity that appears across the game’s map. It would make narrative sense, too, since UNSC forces are in disarray after the end of Halo 5. More interestingly, the map shows the names of several points of interest (The Tower, Conservatory, Green Spire), all marked in red. It’s possible we’ll be able to “liberate” those areas from enemies, or perhaps we’ll visit them over the course of the story. Then there are friendly outposts, of which there are two so far. It’s not clear if we’ll be able to visit those for vendors and upgrades and such, or if friendly bases are what replace enemy camps after UNSC takes it over. Hopefully, some of these questions will be answered in the lead up to Halo Infinite’s launch this holiday on PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X.
