Even though Halo Infinite multiplayer has a lot of issues, when you’re in the middle of a match and pulling off crazy plays, those flaws fade into the background. In my playthrough, I’ve lost count of the times I’ve been laughing out loud after accidentally splattering some poor guy with a Warthog or celebrating with my team after snatching victory from the jaws of defeat. There’s something about this game that makes it impossible to stay mad—even when things go in the wrong direction. No other free multiplayer shooter comes close to delivering this level of fun.
The fact that Halo Infinite multiplayer is free still blows my mind. It’s released on Xbox or PC, and first impressions are great. For a lot of people, this is their first taste of Halo since Halo 5: Guardians, which dropped six years ago. And I must say, Halo Infinite is off to a fantastic start. The classic sci-fi action is back with nail-biting 4v4 matches or the chaotic 12v12 big team battles. It is kind of like Halo stepped into the arena and said, “Alright, I’m here to win,” and everyone else shuffled to the side.
Halo Infinite multiplayer dropped to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Xbox, which is pretty fitting. But Halo has a tricky balancing act. On one hand, there are old-school fans (like me) who want to see the franchise stay true to its roots, and on the other side, a new generation of players expect to get something new and thrilling. That’s not easy to pull off. After Bungie handed the keys to 343 Industries, some fans weren’t thrilled with the direction the series was going. Many Halo people thought that this team had not done enough to honour the reputation of the Halo franchise. But Halo Infinite is the evidence that 343 Industries is starting to hit its stride.
Halo Infinite has its frustrating moments. The challenge-based progression system is not my favourite thing. But despite all that, the developers nailed the gameplay where it matters most. The shooting mechanics are tight and smooth, and moving around the battlefield with your Spartan hit the marks. The maps are not instant classics, but they’re versatile enough to keep things interesting across the seven different game modes. When I’m in the zone, I’m not thinking about the maps—I’m too busy outgunning the other team.
The graphical department of the game is something to praise. Every map has beautifully detailed environments that pull you into the action. There is a signature Halo vibe we used to know and love, but with a fresh coat of paint that is amazing, especially if you’re lucky enough to be playing on an Xbox Series X at 120 Hz. The only technical hiccups I ran into were a few server desyncs here and there—not a big deal, but they made some fights a little harder than they needed to be. Furthermore, there was one crash in my 20 hours of playtime. Not bad at all. Overall, I’ve been having a blast.
Whether you’re a longtime Halo fan or playing it for the first time, Halo Infinite has something to keep hooked everyone. Dropping the numbered title was a smart move—it gives the franchise a chance to have a fresh start. Hands down, this is the best-looking, most enjoyable Halo multiplayer experience yet. Sure, there are a few things I’d love to see improved, but the potential here is massive.
The multiplayer storyline is pretty simple—you’re in a Spartan training program, much like the setup in Halo 4 and Halo 5: Guardians. With Master Chief and the UNSC’s Infinity out of the picture, Spartan Commander Agryna is in charge of prepping you for battle. It’s time to roll up your sleeves and get to work if you want to become the next Spartan legend.
What I love about Halo Infinite multiplayer is how it blends the old-school Halo vibe with modern shooter mechanics. Longtime fans will recognize the classic Halo “dance”—that strategic back-and-forth combat—but the game’s pace has been cranked up with smoother motion and quick skills. The longer time-to-kill compared to other FPS games adds a unique strategy flavour. You can’t just spray and pray; you’ve got to be smart. Sure, you can drop enemies fast if you know what you’re doing, the rechargeable Spartan shield helps a lot in the fights. With the shield in hand, you can afford to take risks, but once it’s down, there is trouble—and that’s when the real scramble begins. Get the MA40 Assault Rifle and keep your head on a swivel.
The 4v4 Arena mode is a great chaos—in the best way possible. Once I started facing real opponents, I was hooked, queueing up match after match. You can’t pick specific modes like Slayer or Strongholds directly, which is a bit annoying, but the gameplay is so good that I didn’t mind much. You’ll cycle through One Flag Capture The Flag, Capture The Flag, Oddball, Strongholds, and Slayer. These modes may not be groundbreaking, but they’re the core of some of the best online shooters for a reason.
Slayer is a classic squad deathmatch, where it’s about “who can rack up the most kills.” Then there’s Strongholds, where you’re scrambling to control points around the map like a group of headless chickens trying to claim their territory. In Oddball, it depends on who can hold onto a skull the longest—it’s like a weird, violent game of hot potato, except you want to be the one not passing it.
But my personal favourite is Capture the Flag. There’s something about it that gets my blood pumping. Chasing down the jerk who grabbed your flag while your teammates yell in your ear? Pure adrenaline. Once you finally score a capture, you might feel like winning the lottery—if the lottery involved explosions, betrayal, and a lot of screaming. The beauty of Halo’s 4v4 modes is that no one is a dead weight on the field. With team sizes this small, everyone has a role to play. You can’t just sit back and relax but either help secure the win or singlehandedly blow it—there’s no in-between.
Halo Infinite’s movement and weapons add a new level of speed and aggression to the game. The sliding mechanic is amazing. Sprint into a corner, hit that slide, and zip around like auditioning for a Fast & Furious movie. Catching enemies off guard by popping up from a slide and blasting them in the face is my new favourite hobby. Sliding is good enough for dodging attacks and making sharp escapes when the situation get heated.
Halo’s always had some iconic guns, but Infinite takes it up a notch. There are now gadgets too, like the Grappleshot, which turns you into space Spider-Man to seize opponent Banshees. You can swing across the map, snatching enemy vehicles out of mid-air. Another gadget is the Repulsor. It can send enemies (or grenades) flying with a satisfying shockwave. Plus, you can use it to boost your jumps, which makes dodging grenades very easy.
The combat in Halo Infinite is the tightest it’s ever been. Each weapon looks been hand-crafted by someone who loves blowing stuff up. There are classics like the Assault Rifle—often overlooked but still deadly in the right hands—and then another inclusion is the new Sidekick pistol, which although small, but packs a punch. And let’s not forget the weirder guns, like the Needler and Plasma Pistol. The Needler, as always, is a thing of beauty—watching the needles explode inside an enemy is so satisfying it’s almost art.
The sound design is fantastic too. Even if you don’t see what your opponent is holding, you can usually tell by the noise. Hear that distinctive plasma crackle or the roar of an M41 SPNKR? You can know what’s coming, and it’s probably not going to be good for you. Halo’s grenade game is always on another level, and Infinite is no exception. There’s something deeply satisfying about landing a perfectly timed frag, bouncing it around a corner, and sending your enemy running straight into the explosion. Or better yet, when you stick someone with a Plasma Grenade and watch them frantically scramble before the inevitable kaboom—it’s an explosive game of tag, and it never gets old.
I won’t sugarcoat it—there are some annoying bits. The Battle Pass is a grind kinda like trying to walk through mud while wearing concrete boots. The matchmaking is also limited, and the starting content looked beefier to me. But despite all that, I’m having a good very good and intense time with the game. 343 Industries has done right to pull off with this release. Compared to the train wrecks we’ve seen from other big shooters such as Battlefield 2042, Halo Infinite has a smooth journey along the way.
When you combine Halo Infinite’s open maps, nice gameplay, smart map designs, and endless nostalgia, it’s hard not to love it. It’s been years since a game has taken up so much space in my brain. Even as I’m writing this review, I’m already planning my next session. My teammates are probably already getting ready to yell at me for trying (and failing) to grapple-jack a Banshee again.
Verdict
You can’t get much better than this when a game stays up to the hype. If you’ve been waiting for Halo Infinite for a long time, the wait was worth it. The multiplayer nails the classic Halo vibe while offering fresh enough elements to hang with modern FPS titles. The map designs are brilliant, the game modes are fun (even if you don’t get to pick them directly), and the weapons are chef’s kiss. No matter if you’re an old fan or a newbie, Halo Infinite brings the Spartan action in a big way. It’s the perfect mix of nostalgia and modern gameplay to make you want to keep queuing up for “just one more match” (and then suddenly it’s 3 a.m.).