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.
Starting with base Xbox One, let’s go straight for the jugular with performance and resolution stats. All four machines – Xbox One, One X, Series S and X – use a dynamic resolution, plus a temporal reconstruction method to boost image clarity within a frame. The vintage 2013 Xbox One and the 2016 Xbox One S refresh target 1080p at 30fps, with dynamic resolution scaling used to ensure the 30fps performance level, ranging from 720p to the target full HD. In fairness, 1080p is the norm roaming around the open world, but pitched battles will see noticeable drops to image quality. It’s as good as we could realistically hope for, but the 720p lower bounds gives a limited pixel count for Xbox One to resolve fine detail on trees, or even enemies at range. In common with prior multiplayer tests, the 30fps readout is fine overall but marred by inconsistent frame-pacing giving a level of stutter and judder that makes the game look as though it’s running at a lower performance level than it actually is. Performance is further blemished by hitches in fast traversal. Overall, Halo Infinite can be played on Xbox One. The graphics are fine and performance is OK on paper, but it feels rough in motion.
Xbox One X is an entirely different ball game. It has its issues but it’s a dramatic improvement over the base machine and even trades punches against Xbox Series S. Just like the more advanced consoles, there’s the choice of quality and performance modes. The former targets 4K at 30fps, but with DRS, resolution shifts between a range that drops to 2400×1440 at the lowest, depending on GPU load. Expect circa 1800p in open-world traversal. Similar to the base machine, its 30fps cap isn’t quite as good as it should be with frame-time stutter causing problems. Still, the increase in resolution pays off, while One X’s 9GB of useable memory is put to work: texture quality is boosted on Master Chief’s helmet during his initial jump while skin shaders and texturing on other characters all look much improved, while shadow quality gets a bump too. Geometry LODs for terrain also use higher-grade meshes nearer to the player, reducing pop-in. We also see details, like rocks, render at range. Tree draw in the far distance is also enhanced, though it’s worth stressing foliage to the near-to-mid range is identical between One and One X.