Highly anticipated: Halo Infinite's multiplayer beta launched without a hitch, for the most part. At least, from a stability and gameplay perspective (the battle pass is another story). With a little luck, the singleplayer game might do the same when it hits store shelves next week on December 8. But you don't have to wait until then to get another dose of Infinite's story campaign: developer 343 Industries just dropped the game's official launch trailer.
45 seconds in, and it's already clear that 343 Industries have finally recaptured the essence of Halo, at least from a gameplay and visual standpoint. From what we've seen in previously-released gameplay clips and now this trailer, the combat is crunchier than ever but still possesses that old-school sandbox feel Halo is famous for. You can splatter enemies with a Warthog, pummel them with the all-powerful Gravity Hammer, or resort to series staples like the Battle Rifle or Plasma Pistol to wreak havoc.
You can even use some of the Chief's new toys, such as the grapple launcher, to inject a bit of excitement into your encounters. In the trailer, the player grapples onto some sort of plasma-filled explosive "barrel" (by alien standards), holds it aloft in their gauntlet-clad hands, and chucks it at an energy tower; detonating it in one fell swoop. Judging by some of the first impressions videos I've seen, I'm assuming this will be how players take out Halo Infinite's various Far Cry-like enemy outposts and encampments.
Enter a camp, kill all the bad guys, blow up the tower, and repeat; that seems to be the formula Infinite is sticking with for its open-world content. There's potential for that loop to get dull over time, as it arguably does in Far Cry games (for me, anyway), but we hope 343 will shake things up enough to keep the story flowing.
Speaking of story, Halo Infinite's premise is as follows: Master Chief must find a new AI called "The Weapon," and use her to locate his former AI buddy, Cortana, who has gone missing. Seems simple enough on the surface, but there will almost certainly be plenty of new and old threats to contend with along the way, and perhaps a few plot twists here and there.
If you want to play Halo Infinite's singleplayer campaign, you can pre-order it on Steam or the Microsoft Store for $60. Alternatively, you can subscribe to Xbox Game Pass for PC or the Series X/S and play it on day one at no additional cost.