Halo Infinite is easily one of the best feeling shooters around right now. The locomotion and control on offer when running, sliding, and mantling across a multiplayer arena is unmatched, and the series’ leading sandbox gameplay pairs so well with it that I’m constantly hoping it’ll make a huge comeback. Yes, the launch was rocky to say the least, but what’s on offer after all this time is one of the best multiplayer FPS games around. It’s about to get even better, too, as a new game mode is coming to shake things up.
Called ‘S&D Extraction,’ this new tactical mode is coming to Halo Infinite later this year. Halo Studios (formerly 343 Industries) is taking inspiration from one-life FPS games like Valorant, Counter-Strike 2, and Rainbow Six Siege, injecting a new way to play into the series’ best sandbox yet. This best-of-11 round-based mode is all about having a more planned-out approach, but utilizes Infinite’s superb controls to help define the experience.
Just like in Counter-Strike, you’ll start a round on either the attacking or defending team. Attackers need to plant an extraction device on one of two objectives, while defenders must stop them or defuse it before the timer runs down to zero. You’re able to purchase weapons and equipment between rounds based on points you accumulate in combat. If you earn enough, you can even buy back into a round after death, but this will naturally be quite expensive.
While I think Halo Studios’ constant expansion of Halo Infinite is something to celebrate, I’m cautiously optimistic for what this will do to the game. Infinite hasn’t quite been the juggernaut Xbox wanted it to be, after a shaky launch filled with missteps turned plenty of players away. With no split-screen campaign co-op, Forge coming well after launch, and a release marred by no match XP, Infinite struggled at the start. Halo Studios did turn things around over time, but even head of Xbox Game Studios Matt Booty admitted the game ‘stumbled at the finish line.’
That said, Halo Studios has made it clear it will continue supporting Infinite well into the future, and this upcoming S&D mode proves it. I hope the new mode brings a lot of people back to the game when it does launch, because it’s the exact type of experience Infinite can thrive on.
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