Firstly, there’s the forged map 343 featured in the winter update trailer, Eternity from creator Paimon. This map features a beautiful paper-white tower floating in space on a bed of rocks. There’s an ethereal quality to this map that I love, but it’s also a great arena map for slayer matches. Its small size and tons of fall space make it an excellent arena for grapples as you zip around the structure. It wouldn’t be Forge without some convincing remakes of classic maps. DarkMaiming has created a take on Haven, an arena map from Halo 4. The layout is entirely accurate, and with enough lighting adjustments I’d be convinced this is a 343-developed map. Of course, Halo’s wacky physics have always been the star of the show, and Infinite’s Forge takes full advantage of that. Xbox user Maskedcrabgo created a mode that allows you to play Jenga with the flyable alien airships. A map called Avalanche Hill shoots giant snowballs down on you as you attempt to dodge them. In April, community members expressed their frustration at the lack of classic Halo modes like Infection, a mode that has the Flood zombies hunting down and turning other spartans into ugly parasitic monsters. That mode is still missing from Infinite in an official capacity, but players have edited the game’s rulesets to create their own version of Infection in Forge. I’m sure other fan favourite modes will see their return through Forge before 343 gets the chance to add them. The most crucial Forge news isn’t a community creation, but something 343 have included in Forge’s tools: the return of Craig. This deadpan brute was the face of countless memes when Infinite had its first gameplay debut in 2020, and he’s since been immortalised in campaign easter eggs. In Forge, players have found a way to project Craig’s face onto any surface using the various lighting objects. So you can now capture the flag with a Craig light watching over you. This is all just a glimpse at what Forge is capable of. The mode has been in closed beta for a while, so we’ve seen what players can do with the extra time. Creator Red Nomster, for example, created a replica of Andy’s room from Toy Story that looks like it was ripped straight out of the film. It’s fully equipped with custom wallpaper and assets for Mr. Potato Head and Slinky Dog. Red Nomster has also made an impressively accurate version of Kakariko Village from Zelda, and a fully playable 2D game on Infinite’s decorative arcade cabinets. I can’t wait to discover maps like this in the coming weeks and months.
