Could Halo finally be good again?

I know the Zoomer-focused Halo of the past decade wasn't everyone's favorite, but with the success of the MCC in the past couple of years, and the "return to form" approach to Infinite's core loop and aesthetics, I wonder if Halo truly is making a comeback as a franchise.

I mean, look at that gorgeous helmet, and tanky-looking armor!

Dunno about y'all, but I'm digging the focus on sandbox this time instead of the Precision weapon fetish that the "Pro Team" had led the series towards.

And the best part is that all of the Multiplayer is free-to-play (with the entire game being included with Gamepass)!

You can read more on the MP here, and/or see it in action here (get your buzzword Bingo card ready, all your favorite zingers are here!):

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I know the Zoomer-focused Halo of the past decade wasn't everyone's favorite, but with the success of the MCC in the past couple of years, and the "return to form" approach to Infinite's core loop and aesthetics, I wonder if Halo truly is making a comeback as a franchise.

It would be an uphill battle.

A return to form is like a return to the past. Halo was so popular because it was so DIFFERENT from everything else at the time. But to chase that again… well it won't be that cool unique experience anymore. It will just feel familiar, but fail to really inspire.

It was 11 years from Super Mario bros to Mario 64. Huge leap right? It's been 14 years since Halo 3. And yet it all looks so much the same.

I'd be thrilled if it came back. But let's just say I'm not buying an Xbox for this one.

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I agree. I think the game needs to offer something new and unique in order to succeed in today’s market. Otherwise, it’s just More and Better Halo (TM), which is fine if it fits in your niche, but nothing to get excited about.

I’m holding out hope that there’s some super-secret game mode, or some aspect of campaign that they’re keeping hidden from us (open world?), which will satisfy the need for something new and unique.

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I think it looks genuinely good, but I’ve always enjoyed 343i’s Halo. Halo 5 has actually great multiplayer, as good as Halo has ever been.

I wish we had seen more of the campaign, as I never really had any concerns any the multiplayer.

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I know the Zoomer-focused Halo of the past decade wasn't everyone's favorite, but with the success of the MCC in the past couple of years, and the "return to form" approach to Infinite's core loop and aesthetics, I wonder if Halo truly is making a comeback as a franchise.

I hope so. It's probably not realistic to expect it to be the cultural juggernaut again, but I'd settle for just being excited to play. I won't be sleeping on this one like I did H5, for sure.

Dunno about y'all, but I'm digging the focus on sandbox this time instead of the Precision weapon fetish that the "Pro Team" had led the series towards.

Indeed.

And the best part is that all of the Multiplayer is free-to-play (with the entire game being included with Gamepass)!

In theory I don't know if F2P multiplayer is necessarily good, it makes me think of mobile games and lootboxes. But in practice I don't do competitive PvP anymore, so I don't actually care. And people seem to like Apex, so it's at least possible to do it well, I guess.

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They say no loot boxes or RNG, from what I read. That seems like a good way to do F2P, but that's also like saying a good version of an empirically bad system so, shrug? Cosmetic purchases only, though I think that's no surprise anymore. Battle passes will be sold, but without an expiration timer. These all seem like they know what the worst parts of the model are, but it makes me wonder why use the model at all. I guess the thinking is now that you can't have an online population that's high enough for good matchmaking without F2P.

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They say no loot boxes or RNG, from what I read. That seems like a good way to do F2P, but that's also like saying a good version of an empirically bad system so, shrug? Cosmetic purchases only, though I think that's no surprise anymore. Battle passes will be sold, but without an expiration timer. These all seem like they know what the worst parts of the model are, but it makes me wonder why use the model at all. I guess the thinking is now that you can't have an online population that's high enough for good matchmaking without F2P.

Most games are shifting to F2P multiplayer, so the numbers must be impressive.

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Maybe, but maybe it's a race to the bottom thing where nobody feels they can afford to be the one game that puts up barriers to new players the others don't.

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Honestly, F2P is a better fit for a multiplayer game. It synchs the incentives of players and the devs better than paying 60 bucks, buying a 10 dollar map pack every year and expecting years of content updates and server support. It's not perfect, but a model that inventiveses developers to make a MP game that continues to engage with players over a long time is going to be healthier for everyone.

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…but I've forgotten my password, apparently.

I just wanted to say that I really liked where 343i is coming from in the videos they released today, and for the first time in nearly a decade, I'm excited about where Halo is going. I think someone in charge (Joe?) has realized that going back to their roots is important. More Halo 3 vibes, please!

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…but I've forgotten my password, apparently.

Maybe you'll get lucky and Claude stores them all in plaintext.

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…but I've forgotten my password, apparently.

Maybe you'll get lucky and Claude stores them all in plaintext.

I can't recover passwords, but I can reset them.

Email already sent to Beorn.

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Now to go crawl back into my lair of lurking…

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I just made another account with a "2" on it, I assumed all our passwords were kept in a jar with a severed dog head...

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...but I could only figure out HBO last night. Why can't I just post using my Tik Tok??

Anyways, Korny is right, 343i's art direction is 100% nailing it!

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343i's art direction is 100% nailing it!

Definitely not 100%, but the things that they got right are great! Chief's armor is incredible (almost all of the armor actually), the BR looks really good. The Scorpion, SPNKR, and Sword are perfect. And the Environment Art looks to be flawless. Exciting progress!

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Why can't I just post using my Tik Tok??

Tik Tok is sooooooo 2010

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That Multiplayer trailer was def trying to channel the feeling of doing some crazy skill move stuff, dropping a grenade to grab a power weapon stuff like that. They def want to appeal to that specific set of the Halo fandom.

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Could Halo finally be good again? (Gaming)