We’ve written these E3 Dreams pieces here for three years now at DualShockers, and I feel like every year I have a very underwhelming dream compared to some others on our staff. Back in 2017, the only thing I wanted to see was some gameplay for Marvel’s Spider-Man. Last year, I was just dreaming that Square Enix would give us a release date for Kingdom Hearts III. Meanwhile, others on our staff have been asking for everything from Mother 3 to remakes of Persona 3 and 4 on the PS4.
So now, in 2019, what is my dream above all other dreams for E3? Well, something that’s likely pretty underwhelming once again, in all honesty: I just want to see some Halo Infinite gameplay footage.
I’ll admit, I shouldn’t be as excited about Halo Infinite as I am at this point. It’s yet another entry in Microsoft’s most exhausted first-party franchise by far. From Halo 4 onward, Halo fatigue was really starting to set in with me. While I thought that each entry in the mainline series was still fun, Halo had stopped resonating with me like it used to.
Then 343 Industries and Microsoft showed the first trailer for Halo Infinite last year at E3 and I don’t think I’ve stopped thinking about it since then. Even though the trailer was simply a tone piece and a demonstration of the new Slipspace engine more than anything, it sent my head swimming with ideas of what a new, reimagined Halo experience could be like. I really can’t explain how many times I’ve watched that initial trailer for Halo Infinite over the past year, and now I’m just ready to see the game actually in action.
I think what has further made me even more excited is to hear how the team at 343 has talked about Halo Infinite since it was revealed last year. While none of these team members have given away vast details about what the game will contain, lots of them have stressed just how big of a change this entry will be from the previous ones purely because of Slipspace.
While a new engine might not seem like such a big change at first, for Halo, a series that has utilized a variation of the exact same engine all the way back to Combat Evolved, this is a huge deal. 343’s Bonnie Ross has described Slipspace as the biggest investment that the studio has ever made, and to be fair, it’s also likely the single biggest change that the Halo mainline saga has ever undergone. This is a nearly twenty-year-old gaming property that is just now receiving its first major facelift, which is definitely exciting.
Plus, because of this engine change, the wait from Halo 5 until Infinite has allowed the series to actually rest for a bit. Assuming Infinite launches in 2020 (which is rumored), this will be the longest span of time that the franchise has been idle since the shift from Bungie to 343 with the releases of Halo 3 to Halo 4. Not only has working on this new engine likely improved Halo as a whole, but as a byproduct, has allowed for legitimate desire of a new entry to grow naturally over time.
So yeah, after hearing all about Slipspace for the past year and how much it’s supposedly going to change Halo as I know it, I just want to see what that change looks like. Is it purely the visuals that are changing, or is Halo going to structurally change as well? That first trailer we saw sure made the game seem like it’ll be open-world.
Assuming gameplay footage does appear at E3 this year, I don’t need the ensuing demo to be anything drastic or over-the-top. All I really need to be sold on is what the biggest changes will be in Infinite and how Slipspace will improve the experience. Those are my two benchmarks, and I don’t think it’s too big of an ask.
While we’re dreaming though, I’d love it if the demo for Halo Infinite also ran on Microsoft’s new, rumored consoles, Anaconda and Lockhart. We’ve heard murmurings that Microsoft might opt to unveil both of the next-generation platforms at E3 next week, and assuming that’s true, there’s no better way to show what the platforms can do than by playing your flagship title on each. A simultaneous reveal of both the new consoles plus Halo Infinite gameplay would likely be one of the biggest talking points of the entire E3 week.
I think the biggest reason why I’m so excited about Halo Infinite is because I’ve spent the past few months slowly replaying through all the past entries in the series and y’all, those games are still excellent. Halo still stands as one of my favorite properties in the history of gaming, and knowing that it’s about to have its first major makeover has me beyond ecstatic. So stop making me wait around, Microsoft, and show me at E3 what Halo for a new generation will look like.
As we near E3, what do you want to see the most at this year’s show? What’s your dream scenario? Be sure to let us know in the comments. Lastly, be sure to check out some of the other hopes and dreams for E3 2019 from the rest of the DualShockers writers.
The post E3 2019 Dreams — I Demand to See Halo Infinite Gameplay, Phil Spencer by Logan Moore appeared first on DualShockers.