Halo Reach’s Forklift Looks Like It’ll Be Returning In Halo Infinite

An eagle-eyed Halo devotee has noticed Halo: Reach‘s forklift vehicle in the background of recently released Halo Infinite screenshots. This is the first sighting of a forklift in 343 Industries-era Halo, and those from outside the fandom may be confused as to why this innocuous cargo lifter would be a celebrated addition to the game.  A fan-favorite due to its utter ridiculousness, the forklift originally appeared as a background item in both Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST. Players expressed their disapproval that they couldn’t drive the civilian crate lifter onto the field of battle.

Despite many of those messages being jokes, Bungie took it to heart and ensured that it would be drivable alongside other civilian vehicles in its final Halo game, Halo: Reach. A drivable forklift was included in every Halo: Reach campaign level despite its precious few uses in combat against the Covenant. It’s a slow, plodding vehicle that leaves Spartans open to fire and provides no offensive capabilities. A dedicated player could run over an Elite at full speed, but the forklift is highly explosive on top of everything, making any forklift excursion a likely suicide mission. Bungie did consider allowing forklift drivers in Reach to lift the two forks up and down at one stage, but that functionality was taken out for being “crazy and pointless.”

In a series of screenshots shared in today’s Inside Infinite update, 343 Industries hid the forklift in the background parked next to a fleet of Warthogs. Redditor MonsterWer01 was the first to notice the easter egg on the official Halo subreddit, and commentators mostly praised the return of the best joke vehicle in the franchise. No one from the HaloInfinite‘s development team has commented as of yet on the vehicle’s possible inclusion, if it will once again be drivable, and if it will actually serve a purpose in gameplay this time around.

In Halo: Reach, the forklift was mostly a way to joke around with friends in campaign co-op, but it did see limited use when it was included in the game’s Forge mode for multiplayer when Reach hit the Master Chief Collection in late 2019. The vehicle can be used in that game’s race mode to hilarious effect, as one wrong turn can lead to a massive explosion.  Whether it is in races, open-world exploration, or some other format not yet considered by science, signs are looking good that there will be at least some forklift fun to be had in Master Chief’s latest adventure.

The Forklift’s possible inclusion in Halo Infinite may be a weight off some fan’s minds, and not just because of its meme status in the Halo community. Underneath the serious space marine storytelling and competitive multiplayer, Halo has always had a goofy undercurrent poking through the surface. Perhaps it’s due to the early popularity of Red vs. Blue equating Spartans with hapless nitwits. Maybe it’s Bungie’s pervasive sense of humor and its tendency to fill the games with insane imagery just off the beaten path. Whatever the reason, if 343 can capture that side of Halo alongside its more apparent qualities, perhaps more old school fans will be on board with what’s releasing this Fall.

Halo Infinite will be available for Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, and PC in 2021.

Source: Reddit

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