If you tend to prefer a strategic, turn-based RPG over a fast-paced shooter, like me, you might not jive with Halo in the way you do something like Baldur’s Gate 3. Well, a member of the Halo Infinite Forge community is thinking of you and is working on a custom mod that turns 343’s competitive mode into a tactical RPG instead.
RedNomster, a Forge creator and Halo YouTuber previously featured on the Halo Waypoint community corner, is working on what they call “The Halo RPG,” which repurposes player characters, enemies, and environments into a tactical, turn-based combat system that can be navigated through either the series’ typical first-person perspective or in third-person as an omnipotent guiding hand of your various units. As you can see in the clip below, the Forge mod lets you move characters across the board, plan and execute attacks, and complete objectives on a grid-like map. (Thanks, VG24/7.)
As RedNomster explains on Twitter, the final version of The Halo RPG will include optional objectives to complete during fights, such as freeing prisoners and escorting them to safety. But the trade-off is that this could lead a crew into more dangerous areas. So it’s all about strategically going about these side missions while also handling a turn-based firefight.
For the moment, RedNomster says the custom map will hopefully be playable “in a couple weeks,” but is likely too experimental for matchmaking. At the very least, you’ll have something neat to play with your friends to shake up the usual competitive shooter romp.
More big franchises should try and go the turn-based tactical route to shake things up, but it’s not like Halo hasn’t delved into strategic, non-shooter genres before. The Halo Wars subseries is a divisive but underserved RTS spin-off I’d like to see Microsoft revisit someday.
Leave a Reply