Grab your Mountain Dew, Halo Infinite is getting nostalgic
Halo Infinite has quietly been rebuilding itself after a disappointing 2022, and while the game didn't get a nomination for "best ongoing game" at The Game Awards 2023, developer 343 just keeps adding and remixing content.
Its latest update, which dropped this week, adds a Halo 3-themed playlist that'll whisk players back to the halcyon days of Xbox Live, Enter Shikari, and Spider-Man 3 (or is that just me?).
Halo 3 Refueled Playlist is a dream addition
The Halo 3 Refueled Playlist, as the Halo Waypoint blogpost explains, is full of classic maps from that formative year in gaming which also saw the launch of the likes of CoD 4: Modern Warfare, Uncharted, and Super Mario Galaxy.
For those of us who remained glued to Halo throughout that period, though, you'll find that the community has painstakingly recreated old maps with new visual flair within Infinite's wildly ambitious Forge mode, and they look great in the current engine.
The following have all been recreated within Infinite:
- Sylvanus (Guardian)
- High Ground
- Domicile (Construct)
- Banished Narrows (Narrows Returns)
- Cliffside (Blackout)
- The Pit
- Isolation
A new map, Critical Dewpoint, is inspired by the Halo 3 Mountain Dew tie-in that's so legendary it's still referred to by gaming journos looking to relive the glory days of "Killing Frenzy!" announcements being made. Critical Dewpoint is actually a reimagined version of Athlon from the Master Chief Collection.
I'm still hopeful of a Halo comeback, but with reports of pro players being denied visas because of the game's declining status, and concerns about in-game pricing, it remains to be seen if Microsoft will keep pushing Chief - or if it'll turn to the other shooter in its lineup, Call of Duty, to rise up and take its place as a flagship release.
For more on Halo nostalgia, check out our feature on why the Squad Battle mode is so important.
