The new campaign overview for Halo Infinite has instead been met with a lot of positivity from fans and new players alike, as many noticed the improvements to the game’s visuals as well as its refreshing new take on Halo’s combat due to a more open level structure. The trailer also gave fans a look at the new enemy faction the Banished, who will be serving as the main antagonists of the game and the next big obstacle in Master Chief’s path. While fans of Halo Wars 2 or readers of the series’ novels may recognize the mercenaries, many Halo fans who have only played the mainline games are curious as to who exactly the Banished are as well as how they fit into the larger Halo universe.
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The Banished in Halo Infinite
The Banished are an army of mercenaries that is made up of Covenant separatists. It was created by a number of Jiralhanae, known more commonly as Brutes, who founded the group after becoming disgruntled with repeatedly being sacrificed as cannon fodder by the Covenant. Once the Covenant fell due to the Great Schism, the Banished were able to scavenge a majority of the equipment and resources that were abandoned in the process. The group eventually entered a conflict with the UNSC ship Spirit of Fire. The two groups engaged in a number of conflicts and battles, with the side of humanity suffering great losses, especially following Cortana’s actions at the end of Halo 5: Guardians.
The conflict also led to the Banished accidentally releasing the Flood and discovering a Proto-Gravemind that was beginning to grow into a full Gravemind, which would bring the Flood to full power. This led to the Banished war chiefs Pavium and Voridus eradicating the Flood despite having limited resources. From there, the Banished eventually came upon Installation 07, a new Halo Ring that serves as the setting of Halo Infinite. The Banished on the ring are led by the war chief Escharum, who has been allowed to expand his grip over the ring mostly uncontested.
It will be very interested to see where the story of Halo Infinite takes the series’ story, especially with Halo’s numerous iconic campaigns establishing so much lore. This puts a lot of pressure on Halo Infinite’s campaign, and, hopefully, the developers will be able to meet the hopes and expectations of series fans. The interesting history of the Banished, combined with the game’s new mechanics and structure, should lead to a solid story mode for fans to look forward to. It is always great to return to the world of Master Chief, and it seems as though Halo Infinite could be a return to form of sorts for the fanbase after the campaigns of Halo 4 and Halo 5 were viewed less favorably.
Halo Infinite releases on December 8 for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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