I never played Halo 5 when it came out back in 2015. I felt burned by Halo 4, and once I saw the continuation of that art design in Halo 5, along with the lack of any LAN or split-screen play, I avoided the game completely.
Since Halo 5 is on Game Pass, though, I decided to try it out recently. I won't go into detail on the abysmal story, the continued use of this terrible art style and direction, or the Spartan abilities. Rather, I want to focus on another aspect that I feel 343 has utterly ruined - multiplayer map design.
Unique and highly memorable multiplayer map design has always been an integral part of the Halo franchise. It's part of the game's DNA. This is the franchise that gave use maps like Blood Gulch, Hang 'Em High, Chill Out, Sidewinder, Battle Creek, Lockout, Zanzibar, Ascension, Guardian, Narrows, etc. All of these are incredibly unique maps that look good, have good balance, flow, and/or are just plain unique. No, they're not all "competitively viable", but they're all absurdly fun. We don't see maps like Hang 'Em High or Lockout made anymore, because everything apparently has to be competitively balanced. All unique map design has been thrown out the window.
So even though I knew that going into Halo 5, I am still stunned at just how bad these maps are. It doesn't even feel like Halo. It's not just the art design, but the layout, flow, pacing of the maps are nothing short of terrible. I found myself getting turned around multiple times, trapped in a dead end with no way up and having to backtrack, or falling off something or having to stop and look at what was playable space vs something there just for aesthetics. This may be a mix of the over designed geometry and visual clutter of the art direction, along with just poorly structured maps.
Not only that, but why the hell does everything have a grimy warehouse theme? The Rig, Torque, Plaza, Overgrowth, Fathom, Empire, Eden, etc. All of these have this boring, mundane grimy city/warehouse theme that doesn't feel anything like Halo. There is nothing unique, noteworthy, or memorable about these maps. It's like they were design for 4v4 E-Sports Championships instead of fun. Not, the two aren't mutually exclusive, but with 343 it feels like they are.
Additionally, many of the maps are just reskins of each other - Empire and Eden are the same map, Plaza and Overgrowth are the same, The Rig and Molten are the same, etc. So there really aren't even that many to begin with. Every other map is either a Warzone map or something made with Forge. And that's another issue - vehicles. Every map with vehicles is some massive map for 24 player Warzone modes. What happened to smaller 4-12 player maps with a Ghost parked somewhere or a Warthog? Nothing like that exists unless it's something made in Forge.
It's just painful looking at what this franchise has become in many ways, but particularly in multiplayer design. This is a franchise which gave us the following -
It's just amazing that we don't see maps like this anymore. And it wasn't just the map layout, design, and aesthetics. These maps had so much character. Listen to this -
www.youtube.com
www.youtube.com
Even the ambient noises in these maps were mysterious, haunting, and hypnotic. It set the mood for the entire match and just gave each map even more character.
With Halo Infinite, I'm not even sure what we're going to get. 343 has stated Halo is going back to "its roots", but I have serious doubts about their ability to create new, unique maps that are, above all else, fun.
Since Halo 5 is on Game Pass, though, I decided to try it out recently. I won't go into detail on the abysmal story, the continued use of this terrible art style and direction, or the Spartan abilities. Rather, I want to focus on another aspect that I feel 343 has utterly ruined - multiplayer map design.
Unique and highly memorable multiplayer map design has always been an integral part of the Halo franchise. It's part of the game's DNA. This is the franchise that gave use maps like Blood Gulch, Hang 'Em High, Chill Out, Sidewinder, Battle Creek, Lockout, Zanzibar, Ascension, Guardian, Narrows, etc. All of these are incredibly unique maps that look good, have good balance, flow, and/or are just plain unique. No, they're not all "competitively viable", but they're all absurdly fun. We don't see maps like Hang 'Em High or Lockout made anymore, because everything apparently has to be competitively balanced. All unique map design has been thrown out the window.
So even though I knew that going into Halo 5, I am still stunned at just how bad these maps are. It doesn't even feel like Halo. It's not just the art design, but the layout, flow, pacing of the maps are nothing short of terrible. I found myself getting turned around multiple times, trapped in a dead end with no way up and having to backtrack, or falling off something or having to stop and look at what was playable space vs something there just for aesthetics. This may be a mix of the over designed geometry and visual clutter of the art direction, along with just poorly structured maps.
Not only that, but why the hell does everything have a grimy warehouse theme? The Rig, Torque, Plaza, Overgrowth, Fathom, Empire, Eden, etc. All of these have this boring, mundane grimy city/warehouse theme that doesn't feel anything like Halo. There is nothing unique, noteworthy, or memorable about these maps. It's like they were design for 4v4 E-Sports Championships instead of fun. Not, the two aren't mutually exclusive, but with 343 it feels like they are.
Additionally, many of the maps are just reskins of each other - Empire and Eden are the same map, Plaza and Overgrowth are the same, The Rig and Molten are the same, etc. So there really aren't even that many to begin with. Every other map is either a Warzone map or something made with Forge. And that's another issue - vehicles. Every map with vehicles is some massive map for 24 player Warzone modes. What happened to smaller 4-12 player maps with a Ghost parked somewhere or a Warthog? Nothing like that exists unless it's something made in Forge.
It's just painful looking at what this franchise has become in many ways, but particularly in multiplayer design. This is a franchise which gave us the following -
It's just amazing that we don't see maps like this anymore. And it wasn't just the map layout, design, and aesthetics. These maps had so much character. Listen to this -
Halo 1 Multiplayer Ambience: Hang 'Em High
Ambience audio from the iconic multiplayer map, Hang 'Em High, from Halo: Combat Evolved. This also plays during the '343 Guilty Spark' level in the Campaign...
www.youtube.com
Halo 1 Multiplayer Ambience: Sidewinder
Ambience audio from the multiplayer map, Sidewinder, from Halo: Combat Evolved.šµ 'Ambience Audio (Halo Series)' playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?l...
www.youtube.com
Even the ambient noises in these maps were mysterious, haunting, and hypnotic. It set the mood for the entire match and just gave each map even more character.
With Halo Infinite, I'm not even sure what we're going to get. 343 has stated Halo is going back to "its roots", but I have serious doubts about their ability to create new, unique maps that are, above all else, fun.
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