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Halo multiplayer has always been a pillar of the competitive multiplayer and has helped create the standard for what online multiplayer should be. Halo Infinite has been growing and adapting to continue the lineage of the classic FPS multiplayer game, but in recent years, popularity has shifted from standard deathmatch and objective-based multiplayer modes to the battle royale game type. Many franchises have begun to include battle royale modes in an attempt to stay relevant in the ever-changing world of competitive multiplayer.
Halo Infinite has been attempting to recapture the classic feel of the original trilogy’s multiplayer while still keeping up-to-date with more modern features. Though many rumors speculated that this entry in the series would also include a battle royale, it seems that Halo Infinite has decided to go down a different path that still feels similar to new, more modern game modes while also staying true to Halo’s roots.
What is Last Spartan Standing?
Halo Infinite’s second multiplayer season introduced plenty of new content including new maps, battle pass rewards, and game modes that all centered around the title of the season, Lone Wolves. The most notable addition to Season 2 has been the Last Spartan Standing game mode, which is a variant of the already established free-for-all game type but includes some additional twists and features.
Last Spartan Standing pits 12 players against each other on any of the Big Team Battle maps, except these maps have been sectioned off to create a tight combat zone that begins to shrink as the game progresses and players get eliminated. In this sense, Last Spartan Standing is very similar to a battle royale because both game modes create a constant sense of urgency and panic as the map shrinks and fights become more intense.
However, there is an additional feature in Last Spartan Standing that changes the game even further. As opposed to classic Halo multiplayer or other battle royales where players must find weapons on the battlefield and every player essentially has an equal chance to claim a powerful weapon, Last Spartan Standing has adopted a feature from the popular Call of Duty game mode, Gun Game.
As players begin to get kills and progress through each game, they are rewarded with new weapons that vary in strength and utility on each map. Though this feature could be seen as a huge advantage for skilled players, fans of the series know that each weapon in Halo is unique and may not be effective in every scenario, which could give less skilled players an upper hand in combat and allow them to catch up. Additionally, each player is also given five lives, which helps keep them in the game for longer and eases some of the tension usually found in single-elimination game modes.
How Last Spartan Standing Stands Out Against Battle Royales
Though Last Spartan Standing can be seen as a version of a battle royale, it actually cleverly combines features from multiple different game modes. This new game type has definitely adopted features from battle royales, but it has adjusted them to better suit Halo without fully creating a battle royale, which is good. Modern competitive multiplayer games are constantly competing with one another to try and create the best unique experience. This constant drive to be the best has led multiple games to create similar experiences, like the rise in battle royales. Though there is nothing inherently bad about the popular game mode, with so many games attempting to one-up one another, it is easy for some to get lost in the crowd or lose touch with their roots.
Halo Infinite’s Last Spartan Standing has been able to create its own unique game mode that encompasses a few different, well-liked features from popular games while still maintaining the Halo multiplayer experience at its core. Though it is still possible that Halo could receive a battle royale in the future, this newest game mode shows that the classic multiplayer is still able to stay relevant and compete with other FPS titles.
Halo Infinite is available now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.