Halo Infinite: How the Flood may return

Awakening the Nightmare Source: Xbox Game Studios

The Flood, which was once ane of the 2 main antagonists of the Halo series as a whole, have non had much of a presence in the franchise since their defeat at the end of 2007's Halo three. They briefly threatened to render in full during the events of Halo Wars ii's Awakening the Nightmare DLC, but Banished forces managed to stop the outbreak before information technology got out of control. Since then, many have wondered when — or if — the Inundation volition appear in one case once more.

Warning: Spoilers for Halo Infinite'due south campaign follow, and then keep with caution!

A secret easter egg in Halo Infinite may hint at the answer. While the terrifying parasite didn't directly appear in the Halo Infinite campaign, players did observe that in the game'southward second level, Foundation, a Precursor cylix labelled with a Flood Infection Class symbol could exist found in a secret room (thanks, HiddenXperia). You can reach the room yourself by going down the hallway institute on the right side of the back of the room you fight Halo Infinite'south showtime boss, Tremonius, in.

Halo Infinite Source: HiddenXperia on YouTube

As players discover in the campaign, these cylixes were used by the Forerunners to store specimens of each species in the milky way so that they could reseed life throughout the stars once the Halo rings were fired to quell the threat of the Flood. It appears that as part of their plan to enquiry the Inundation to create a cure or some other type of countermeasure before resorting to using the Halo rings, the Forerunners also used these cylixes to safely contain Flood forms and make them easier to written report. This is supported past the fact that in-game, the cylix is being constantly scanned by some sort of automated Forerunner machine.

Unfortunately, containment measures can be breached, which is exactly what happened in Halo: Combat Evolved when the Covenant accidently let the Alluvion out, and again in Halo 2 when Sesa 'Refumee, the leader of a heretic faction, intentionally released the Inundation in an attempt to kill the Arbiter. The Forerunner cylixes on Zeta Halo thankfully tin't be opened without the bear on of a human "Reclaimer," but that doesn't guarantee that an outbreak couldn't happen — for instance, Halo Space audio logs reveal that Banished forces forced UNSC POW Lucas Browning to open the cylix that contained The Harbinger.

Source: Xbox Game Studios A Flood Combat Class in Halo Wars 2: Enkindling the Nightmare.

With the Halo Infinite ending and post-credits scene suggesting that a large conflict betwixt the UNSC and both the Banished and the Endless is going to happen soon, the threat of contained Inundation forms like this one breaking out is very real. Atriox and the Banished have witnessed how ruthless the parasite is. Will they endeavour to release the Alluvion to weaken humanity if the UNSC manages to successfully oppose them? Could the Countless? Could harm acquired past upcoming battles disable the systems keeping the Flood independent in cylixes, resulting in an outbreak?

Ultimately, there's no way to know how the Inundation will be a part of the future of Halo until we know more. But it's scary to think that as the Principal Master and his UNSC allies fix to stand against the Banished and the Countless on Zeta Halo, Alluvion forms housed in cylixes lie dormant beneath the band's surface ... just waiting for someone — or something — to release them.

The Halo Infinite campaign is available now for $60 on Xbox Series 10, Xbox Serial S, Xbox One, and Windows PCs. It's ane of the best Xbox shooters ever fabricated, and so you should definitely pick it upwards and requite it a shot.

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