Halo 5: Guardians might not have had the best campaign in Halo's history, but its story seems to have been forgotten in Halo Infinite. Where is Spartan Locke... is he dead?
It's no bloody secret that Halo 5: Guardian's had a very disjointed campaign. Split between a number of relatively fun Master Chief missions and the utterly baffling Fire Team Osiris missions, we only spent maybe a quarter of the game with everyone's favorite super-soldier. The storytelling was messy at best, and utterly incomprehensible at worst, and the most baffling thing of all? Well, when playing Halo Infinite's fantastic campaign it's almost like Halo 5: Guardians didn't even happen at all. For starters: where the fork is Locke?
Let's be real, it could be that Halo Infinite's rumored story DLC will indeed feature members of Team Osiris, but for now, all we can do is speculate on their fate. It isn't even Spartan Locke that we give a flying fork about, it's more Buck – Nathan Fillion is a babe. Now, whilst Halo 5: Guardians wouldn't rank highly in the list of Halo Campaigns, it wasn't all bad, and did set up a few interesting things. What's going on, why is Locke missing all of a sudden, and does it have anything to do with Halo Infinite's troubled development?
It almost seems that, in Halo Infinite, the interesting things that got set up in its predecessors were ignored in favor of this big-boy Brute who has a voice sexier than Hugh Grant (seriously, though, could you imagine a British Brute? That'd be awesome.). There's a lot to discover in Halo Infinite, a lot of skulls to discover, and tons of weekly challenges in the game's multiplayer to dive into. This isn't necessarily what Halo Infinite is about, though, because we have to remember that Halo's lore and campaigns have been its foundation since Combat Evolved. So, all of that being said, where the bloody hell is Locke, and why the bloody hell is he missing?
Where Is Spartan Locke And Is He Still Alive?
Spartan Locke is almost completely missing from Halo Infinite, and there are very few signs to suggest that he's still alive. That doesn't mean that it isn't possible for Locke to have survived the war, but either way, it does seem a bit weird for such a vital character to have been almost entirely ignored in 343 Industries' latest effort. We are being a bit too vague here, though, as there are a few things that we can discuss.
Halo Infinite isn't entirely devoid of references to Spartan Locke. In the "Infinity's Approach #02 – Captain's Report" audio log, Spartan Locke is actually mentioned by Captain Lasky. This is what he said:
Spartan Locke is currently well underway with the next stages of BREAKER TRIP, but each time out I wonder if we pressed our luck too far.
The problem is that we're not really sure what Breaker Trip was, much less whether Spartan Locke was successful in the mission. This could certainly be future DLC.
Here's the deal: Spartan Locke was sent out on a mission, but nothing else is known. The only hint that we have to Locke's fate is the fact that a certain banished leader – Hyperius – has Spartan Locke's helmet welded into his shoulder plate. Now, this doesn't necessarily mean that he is dead. After all, Spartan's aren't reliant on their armor to survive, they aren't like the Quarians in Mass Effect or something. On top of that, this could have just been a little fan-service easter egg in the game, with no other meaning or intention other than "Hey cool, look what I found!".
One final clue, though, is a hidden line spoken by a Grunt in Halo Infinite. In the game, the Grunt says:
Man, that Spartan Locke sure did know how to get ahead — which is why Hyperius used his helmet as arm decoration!
That does certainly imply that Hyperius' shoulder piece was more than just fan service or an easter egg, but actually a critical piece of story. It suggests that Spartan Locke did actually get killed by Hyperius, perhaps during the aforementioned Breaker Trip Mission that he was sent on by Lasky. Nothing is certain, and this could certainly be something that 343 Industries explore in the future, but every clue points to an untimely demise for Locke. The rest of team Osiris? Well, we just hope that Nath... sorry, Buck is still alive!