Halo Infinite is finally available, bringing with it answers to a question we’ve been pondering ever since the initial 2018 SlipSpace engine reveal: can this game actually deliver a decent experience on last-gen Xbox hardware? And by extension, if it can, to what extent do you get additional scalability on the still brand-new Xbox Series consoles? The answers are intriguing – particularly when you consider Xbox Series S vs Xbox One X: a genuinely fascinating battle that pits the older, yet more powerful GPU in the Scorpio Engine against a more finely balanced machine in the form of the new junior Xbox.
The truth is, Halo Infinite serves up two distinct style of play that have very difficult implications in how the console hardware is put through its paces. The initial brace of missions – along with ‘dungeon’ style levels later on – is what you might call classic Halo. Interior-based in nature and more linear, albeit delivered with a profound improvement in graphical features and fidelity, these missions tend to be less of a stress test for the engine. That’s juxtaposed with Halo Infinite’s brand-new open world. It’s here we see the SlipSpace engine pushed hard on every Xbox console. Trees, mountain ranges, enemy bases are rendered to the far distance. There’s a rolling time of day, randomised cloud coverage, and even volumetric techniques to add depth to the scene. When it comes to assessing the base Xbox One, then – it’s this expansive part of Halo Infinite that poses the biggest challenge.
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