Playable Brutes and Elites

Once players got over the initial shock, it was really fun to play as an Elite during Halo 2. If 343 really wants to turn up the fun factor, they should let gamers play as Brutes and Elites in the Halo Infinite campaign.

A major part of the fun is the potential for very different playstyles. That’s much more rewarding to players than simply making them play as a crappier version of Master Chief (we’re looking at you, Halo 5).

Back to Basics With Cortana

Cortana has been a major character from the very beginning. And her role has only become more prominent, culminating with her as a major antagonist to Master Chief.

While this is easier said than done, we’d love a return to basics for Cortana. She and Master Chief used to have a fun “buddy cop” vibe. Wouldn’t you like to return to that instead of dealing with more tedious Forerunner backstory stuff?

Return of Collectible Skulls

From the very beginning of the franchise, skulls have played a major part. Fans could find these hidden skulls and then use them to change or enhance gameplay.

Later games made the skulls available from the start, taking away the fun of hunting them down. If 343 really wants to add replay value to the game, they need to make the skulls collectible items once more.

Interactive and Destructible Environments

Halo games are often built around major action setpieces. If 343 wants to impress us with the new digital environments, then they need to make more of those environments interactive and destructible.

Just think of how cool it would be to drive a Ghost through glass or use a rocket launcher to open a new hole into an enemy base. These moments help power the “cool” factor that has kept the Halo franchise alive.

Dual-Wielding Needs a Comeback

A major part of Halo 2 was dual-wielding weapons. And it always felt awesome when you discovered a killer weapon combination that could lead your team to victory.

Since then, dual-wielding has largely fallen by the wayside. If Halo Infinite is really going to bring classic fans back on board, dual-wielding would be the simplest way to do it!

No Loot Boxes: Stick to Those Guns!

When 343 announced that Halo Infinite would have free-to-play multiplayer, many gamers had a simple question. Will this mean a bunch of loot boxes or microtransactions crammed down our throats?

Since then, 343 claimed the game would have no loot boxes or randomized reward systems. All we really want is for them to stick to their guns so it doesn’t fall down the loot box rabbit hole that Star Wars: Battlefront 2 originally fell into.

No Live Service Letdown

One of the things 343 said about Halo Infinite is that it would be a “live service.” And this is the point that many of us got very, very nervous.

In theory, “live service” is great because it means the developer is going to offer plenty of extra content in the next few years. But many developers use “live service” as an excuse to push out a half-finished game and then finish it later via DLC.

If Halo Infinite truly represents the next decade of the franchise, then they need to make sure their live service adds value and isn’t used for lazy shortcuts.

120 FPS? Believe It When We See It

How are game developers like politicians? Both groups make many promises and then fail to live up to them.

Early on, 343 promised that the multiplayer for Halo Infinite would be free-to-play and run at 120 FPS. That sounds great in theory, but we’re a little worried that the company that gave us such a disastrous launch for Master Chief Collection can successfully pull this off.

An Engaging, Self-Contained Story

For longtime fans of the series, things started going downhill around Halo 4. There are many reasons for this, but the biggest reason is the incomprehensible story.

Now, fans will argue against this and say that the story makes perfect sense to anyone who read the assorted novels and comics and watched the right Youtube videos. Simply put, who has the time for all that?

The players deserve a killer story that is also self-contained. Making players do homework to unpack a shoddy script is just downright lazy.

Live Up to the Open World Promise

Two words have been used to describe Halo Infinite: “open world.” And to that, we can only say this: we’ll believe it when we see it!

There is a lot of potential in a truly open-world Halo game. But will this title live up to that potential or just include a few slapdash open-world elements? If Halo Infinite drops this particular (odd) ball, then it will just drive franchise fans further away.

Sweet New Vehicles

Be honest with yourself: when was the last time you felt really excited about a new Halo vehicle?

In the original games, every vehicle had its own unique charms. From the improbably fun of steering a Warthog to the liberating feeling of speeding with a Ghost, each vehicle felt “just right.” Vehicles in later games lacked both the charm and fun of the original designs, and we’d love a return to classic vehicle design.

Killer Graphics

It may be too late for this next point. Nonetheless, what franchise fans really want are some killer graphics.

This is mostly an issue due to some lackluster early previews for the game. It basically looked like a latter-day Xbox One title instead of something truly “next-gen.” And now that we’ve seen how pretty next-gen games can be, it would be a shame if Halo Infinite felt like a regression.

Classic Gameplay

Love it or hate it, Halo has a certain “feel” to its gameplay. And while the franchise slowly added features like sprinting, most modern Halo games still retain the feel of the original games.

In previews for Halo Infinite, many players got nervous about the sight of a grappling hook. While there is nothing wrong with adding a few dashes of Metroidvania to the franchise, it is vitally important that the next Master Chief adventure doesn’t introduce too many radically-new elements.

Custom Maps

The stock multiplayer maps for various Halo games are often hit or miss. But it’s time to put the power of level design back in the hands of the players!

Halo Infinite needs community maps and the ability for PC players to share their Forge creations with console players. Instead of trying to figure out what players want, 343 can let innovative players pave the way to the future.

Bring Back Horror and Gore

Is Halo a very bloody franchise or not? Well, it depends on when you started playing!

While the franchise has never been overly gory, early games featured abundant blood and body horror elements (mostly courtesy of The Flood). Later games toned this down, but we’d love if Halo Infinite made the franchise weird and creepy once more.