For over a decade, the Halo games have had a great sense of humor despite the incredibly dark and serious tones of the games’ actual plots. This series began in the age where secrets, cheats, and unlockables were the norm in most games, especially FPS titles. Since then, the series has become almost known as much for the funny dialogue, secret cutscenes and endings, and hidden skulls as it is for their tight shooting and arena-style multiplayer. After the first game became such a smash hit, the series would also start packing in plenty of Easter eggs and references for players to find, a tradition that 343 was not willing to let die for Halo Infinite.
Now set in an open world environment, Halo Infinite opened itself up for Easter egg hunters to go crazy scouring every corner of the map for Easter eggs. Since the game’s launch, a ton of secrets, both big and small, have been uncovered in the depths of Zeta Halo. Some are just tiny little jokes or references, while others are fourth-wall-breaking and self-referential, but almost all of them are hidden so well it would be unreasonable for one person to find them all. If you’re curious as to what the best Halo Infinite Easter eggs are you might have missed, here’s a rundown of our favorites.
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Craig’s big break
Where else could we start but with dear old Craig? This poor Brute soldier was memed into oblivion upon Halo Infinite‘s first gameplay debut. The screenshot of this unfortun ape’s face, looking extremely dopey and unpolished, was dubbed Craig and spread around the internet as a kind of flag to show off how unhappy the community was with how Halo Infinite looked. While we can’t say for sure it was because of Craig, the game was certainly delayed in part to improve the visuals, but 343 also were good sports about the joke.
In the final game, they decided to make Craig as much of a celebrity in-universe as he had become on the internet. On the mission, The Tower, you can discover a full-on concert setup at the very top of the structure, complete with a tour schedule and poster or LP of Craig’s best songs. Some of these songs include hits like, I Smile Inside, For the Craig, I Got Tears Last Summer, Your Words Hurt, But I Love It, and The Day I Become a Meme.
Plushies
Video game merchandise, including Halo’s, could arguably be more profitable than the games themselves. There are clothing, stickers, toys, and, of course, stuffed plushie versions of your favorite alien killing super-soldier. But Master Chief isn’t just an icon in our world. He’s a legendary hero in his own universe, too, only a real person. It only makes sense that someone, somewhere, would try and capitalize on that by selling stuffed versions of him and his crew, friend and foe alike.
Once you enter the open world, you can discover a Master Chief, Cortana, Arbiter, Weapon, Pilot, Grunt, and other enemies in stuffed form laying around different locations. You can’t do anything with them, unfortunately, but they’re a cute little surprise to see littered around Zeta Halo.
The OG
Halo is often considered the main reason the original Xbox console was even able to survive against PlayStation and Nintendo. It’s hard to understate just how big this first game was as an exclusive, but also as one of the first true FPS experiences that felt good to play on a home console. It’s not often that a launch game is held up as one of the best games in a system’s entire library, and yet Halo: Combat Evolved still tops many lists for the OG Xbox. Therefore, with Halo Infinite trying to reignite the series on the Xbox Series X and S, they also decided to pay homage to the series’ beginnings.
During one of the later missions in Halo Infinite, while shutting down several beacons, you can go off the beaten path of one beacon, grappling through some tricky and narrow caves, to a hidden cavern. Inside, someone has made a nice little gaming setup for themselves. Lit with green glow sticks, the same color as the Xbox, and littered with cans and packs of junk food, you can find a replica of the classic Xbox. The only thing missing is the big, fat old Duke controller, but we’ll settle for the more normal-sized one.
Wield a MAC cannon
MAC cannons are some of the largest ordnance weapons in the Halo universe. These things are basically giant space cannons meant to rip through enemy ships. Just like a tank turret, they’re obviously not something even a super soldier like Master Chief can carry around and are built onto ships. However, perhaps a reference to the Scarab gun secret weapon/ Easter egg in Halo 2, you can find and shoot the massive beams of the Covenant Scarab tanks.
While in the mission Outpost Tremonius, if you platform and grapple your way up and on top of the crashed ship and over to one of the mounted MAC cannons, press some secret buttons, tightrope-walk your way to the very tip of the cannon and hold the same button you would to pick up a gun, you will see your weapon disappear. You’re not unarmed, though, in fact far from it. You’re just holding an invisible cannon that can turn any enemy in your way into a pink (blue? Whatever color the alien’s blood is) mist.
The classic theme
Halo Infinite marketed itself in a lot of ways as a return to what made the original game so special. Most notably was how 343 wanted to recapture that sense of awe and wonder upon first arriving on the titular ring. Part of that feel, aside from the amazing vista, was drawn from the amazing score. While that original composer has long since left the series, there was no way a Halo game could come out without including that iconic chorus theme in some form.
It’s a little sad that it’s been relegated to an Easter egg, and a very hidden one at that, but the main theme can be triggered out in the open world, but only in a very specific location. If you climb and grapple up to the absolute highest point on the map and gaze out at the amazing view, you will be treated to those haunting, yet beautiful, chants that have become so entwined with the series for decades.
Mr. Meeseeks box
Whether you love it or hate it, Rick and Morty certainly has earned a ravenous fanbase over its runtime. The fans themselves give the show a worse reputation than it probably deserves, and have been memed-on after many ridiculous stunts captured on video, but thankfully 343 didn’t take its reference to this sci-fi adult cartoon to those levels. Instead, 343 just put a simple reference that isn’t obtrusive or in your face, and in fact is easily missed and ignored if you don’t happen to get the reference.
Again on The Tower mission, while you’re working your way up to the top you will pass by some metal grates along one of the sides of a big circular room you pass through. Inside is a suspicious-looking box with a big blue button on top. This is a replica of the Mr. Meeseeks box, which would summon a Meeseeks, a big, loud blue creature when pressed that only exists long enough to complete a single task asked of it. You can’t interact with it in any way, and it doesn’t call attention to itself by yelling “I’m Mr. Meeseeks, look at me!” like a less restrained Easter egg might. We’re glad it’s just a simple little nod tucked away not annoying anyone.
A giant sandwich
Master Chief is a larger-than-life character, and certainly, he works up a massive appetite by running, shooting, and jumping all around Zeta Halo. Yet, he never takes his helmet off to sit down for a nice lunch. Perhaps as a very obscure nod to this fact, or more likely we’re just looking too deep into it, the developers felt it necessary to hide not just a sandwich in Halo Infinite, but a giant one.
Located in a very hard-to-find cave south of the Spire, only found by grappling straight up into a nearly impossible-to-spot hole, is a … giant sandwich? That would be a weird enough sight, but it is also surrounded by Grunts who are frozen in poses, perhaps stunned by the brilliance of the meal.
That’s not the only sandwich you can find, either. This time on the multiplayer map Highpower, there’s a little opening just big enough for you to crouch inside on the top floor of the southern base. If you go in, you will be greeted by a much more realistic-sized sandwich. If you decide to ping this meal, it will show up as “SANDWICH” for your entire team to know about.
Obligatory Red vs. Blue references
Red vs. Blue is the most ambitious and well-known Machinima effort in history, let alone one that used Halo as its base. This comedy series was only loosely tied to Halo in the beginning, and over time has veered so far off in its own direction that, if they weren’t using Spartan character models, it would be a completely unique creation. With over 10 years of episodes and seasons, across many storylines, Red vs. Blue has featured prominently in most mainline Halo games as Easter eggs in one form or another.
For Halo Infinite, we get a nice slew of references, mostly from the show’s early days. Some examples are when you call in a Scorpion tank, the Pilot may remark that “her name is Sheila,” which comes up again in the Achievement called “Bring Sheila Home Safely.” Other nods are things like various marines referring to Warthogs as Pumas, or choosing your A.I. to be pink instead called “lightish red.” Finally, a loading screen tip asking “You ever wonder why we’re here?” is the first line of dialogue from episode one of the series all those years ago.
Master Chief is … Psycho Mantis?
Finally, a weird and random Easter egg comes from the chatty Grunts. If you’re lucky, you might overhear some of them talking on comms wondering why they are never able to take down Master Chief, claiming that “It’s like he’s psychic or something!” The answer one clever Grunt comes up with is that “We’ve just gotta plug the controller into player two! Well, what the hell do you mean there’s no plug?!?” This is a direct reference to how you’re supposed to beat the Psycho Mantis boss from the original Metal Gear Solid on the PS1, which is certainly one of the most influential games ever made, but an odd one to see referenced in an Xbox exclusive title.
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