ThatHalofranchise is famous for its large open-air levels, but the series never did more than flirt with making a fully open world.Halo 3: ODSTfeatured a semi-open hub regionand let players go through the story missions in any order. However, unlikeHalo Infinite, no one went intoODSTexpecting an open-world experience.
Strictly speaking,343 never marketedHalo Infiniteas open-world either, merely drawing inspiration from open-world games. Story missions still occur in linear levels, and the developer littered the map with numerous invisible walls. In fact, the game’s barriers can often show up at unexpected times, as a recent Reddit post showcases.
RELATED:Halo Infinite Fan Proposes Infected Armor Core Based on the Flood
Reddit user therealoops recorded a segment ofHalo Infinitegameplay and uploaded it to theHalosubreddit. It shows therealoops attempting to jump a gap in a Razorback full of Marines. It even shows the player reversing away from the edge, so they have space to build up speed. The vehicle nearly makes it to the other side and probably would have if it hadn’t struck an invisible barrier and lost all forward momentum. The poster later added that that specific gap is entirely crossable in a flying vehicle, but the barrier prevents ground vehicles from doing the same.
Other commenters reported attempting that precise jump, and it’s easy to see why. One side is at a significantly higher altitude than the other and even has a rocky outcrop resembling a ramp. The wall on the other side even has a perfectly vehicle-sized gap that’s practically begging for someone to try making the jump. EvenHalo Infinite’sphysics engine seems to agree the gap should be possible to jump, and one commenter reported getting close enough to attempt a hook shot. Unfortunately, however, they encountered the same invisible barrier preventing everyone else from crossing the gap. This is also far from the only invisible barrier sectioning offHalo Infinite’sworld map.
Of course, 343 didn’t implement these barriers for no reason. They’re meant to prevent players from glitching their way into areas that the game isn’t ready for them to be in yet. However, one might hope the developers would remove the barriers once players unlock the area. The developer even did that indirectly, sinceHalo Infiniteis perfectly fine with players flying over the same chasm.
Alternatively, the developers could have not included invisible walls at all. Merely removing the ramp-like rise, removing the gap in the wall, and widening the chasm would have served the same purpose without writing in an exception to the laws of physics. Or even better, 343 could have committed fully tomaking Halo Infinite an actual open-world game.
Halo Infiniteis available now for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
