343 Industries has had an interesting run with theHalofranchise. The developer has struggled to win over fans with its two original entries into the series, which some have criticized for both gameplay and plot reasons. And while343 Industries has attempted to takeHaloin its own direction, Bungie is still influencing the design of theHalofranchise, even a decade after moving on.
There are immediate parallels betweenDestiny 2andHalo Infinitethat 343 Industries won’t be able to shake. Fundamentally, Bungie’s DNA is still very much a part ofHalo,and withDestinybeing a testament to Bungie’s years of creating sci-fi shooters, the games are destined to feel similar to each other in tone and core mechanics, the difference being that Bungie freed itself from the slowed-down approachHalofans expect when the studio moved on to its new franchise.
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Because of that, it consistently feels like 343 Industries is chasingDestiny’ssuccess with newHaloentries, andInfiniteis no exception. Rather,Infiniteis the culmination of that influence, introducing live service elements to the game in an attempt to makeHalo Infinitelast for 10 years. That isn’t necessarily a bad thing – despite its flaws,Destinyis an experience unmatched by other games like it. Introducing another sci-fi shooter with live service elements to the mix may be enough to force both games to constantly improve.
WhereHalo Infinitemight begin to struggle is if the connections to Bungie begin to resemble imitation more than influence. To please fans,Halo Infiniteneeds, to some degree, to resemble the product of its competitor. After all, what the majority of fans are seeking withHalo Infiniteis a modernized version of Bungie’sHaloin tone and narrative, with fresh gameplay mechanics for a tighter experience.Destinyis that turned up to 11.
Just look at the host of alien baddies that players have to fight inDestiny.Most resemble a faction fromHaloin its own way,the Hivebeing the Flood, the Vex being Prometheans, the Fallen being Elites, and the Cabal resembling Brutes. Tonally, the enemies could be swapped in and out with little effect. The difference is that, with some exceptions,Destinyhas more enemies on screen, and they’re able to be dispatched far faster, with much quicker movement thanHaloallows for.
But this is another area where Bungie seems to be influencingHalo’sdesign. Sprint is no longer a new feature for the franchise, as it’s been around sinceReach,butHalo Infinite’snew grappling hookcould radically change how the game’s movement works, making it as fast, if not faster, thanDestiny’s.
What remains to be seen is howHalo Infinitewill handle an evolving narrative, if it will at all, though it does seem likely given 343’s goals.Halo Infiniteseems to be a semi-open world game, with players able to backtrack, and apparently being given some freedom while choosing which objectives to tackle. That formula is essentially dietDestiny,which doesn’t feature a proper open world, but a number of zones players can explore freely with objectives scattered around.Halo Infinite’sco-opmay resemble that structure when all is said and done.
It seems as though even Bungie’s financial modeled has shaped howHalo Infinitewill be handled by 343 Industries.Halo Infinitemultiplayer is free, and while it’s becoming an increasingly common practice to offer up a portion of a game for players without charge,Destiny 2’sfree-to-play content structure testing the waters for live service games hardly seems to be a coincidence. If it bolsters the player base, it makes sense that 343 Industries would want to give it a try. Multiplayer games live and die based on their player count, and there will undoubtedly be ways for free players to spend money in the game.
WithHalo Infinitepresumably launching in a few months, players will soon know just how influential Bungie’s design philosophy has been on the project, and that will likely be evidence of how influential the studio will be moving forward.
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