Summary
The campaign ofHalo Infinitemay have not reached the same heights as the original trilogy, but there were still plenty of compelling story beats that set up the franchise’s future. One of the biggest plot points inHalo Infiniteis the introduction of Master Chief’s new companion, The Weapon.
Essentially a new version of Cortana, The Weapon assists Master Chief throughoutHalo Infinite’s story. After the original Cortana fell into Rampancy, Dr. Catherine Halsey created The Weapon with the sole purpose of finding Cortana, locking her down, and deleting her. After deleting Cortana, The Weapon waits patiently for six months on Zeta Halo until Master Chief finally finds her. After The Weapon transfers to Master Chief’s suit, the two are intertwined throughout the story. Now,the nextHalogamehas a difficult choice to make with its protagonist’s companion.
Halo Infinite’s Sequel At a Companion Crossroads
Setting Up a New Version of Cortana Has Its Pros and Cons
Near the end ofHalo Infinite’s campaign, Master Chief allows The Weapon to choose her own name. She remarks that she knows the perfect name for herself, and the two fly off with Fernando Esparza in the Pelican before players get a chance to learn her self-picked name. It seems like the obvious choice would be for her to name herself Cortana, repeating the cycle and presenting a reboot ofMaster Chief’s iconic companion.
Cortana’s death is a somber moment in theHalofranchise, but simply rebooting the character inHalo Infinite’s follow-upmay be too predictable. Recycling the character in a new light runs the risk of making Cortana’s sacrifice seem less meaningful.Halo Infinite’s sequel has a chance to rework the game’s formula, and branching out to a new companion may be the more rewarding move. Getting the chance to learn about an all-new character and seeing how Master Chief interacts with them could be quite compelling. It could even be a completely different AI apart from Cortana and The Weapon.
However, this also risks playing too loose withHalo’s Master Chief storyline. Since the beginning of the franchise, Cortana’s voice and input have been an important fixture within the series, and playing as Master Chief without her assistance could ultimately feel hollow. There has yet to be anannouncement forHalo Infinite’s sequel, but it feels inevitable. If this is the case, The Weapon may have to at least feel like Cortana, but not completely.
The Weapon Picking Up Cortana’s Mantle
IfHalo Infinite’s sequel introduced The Weapon as a rebranded Cortana, the familiarity of her voice and appearance would keep a companion change from feeling too jarring. However, on the other hand, a compelling route to go with The Weapon could be for her to share similarities with Cortana while showing her own unique differences that set her apart as a character.The nextHalostorycould make some exciting choices, and a remixed version of Cortana could offer the best of both worlds. Ditching The Weapon seems highly unlikely. Although this would eliminate the possibility of a new companion character, a familiar face with new personality traits could bring something new without being too drastic.
At the end of the day, a Master Chief-focused story without Cortana, original or new, feels wrong.Halohas plenty of compelling concepts,like Banished Spartans, that present a better source of inspiration for experimentation. A good blend of exciting new concepts and long-running franchise features could help the series feel fresh while keeping the heart ofHalo’s world intact. Cortana compliments Master Chief beautifully, and seeing that relationship blossom again through a new version of the AI could help unlock deeper parts of Master Chief that can help the franchise evolve in intriguing ways.
