The official Halo Twitter account thanked the gamers by posting a cheerful Thanksgiving message, along with a photo showing a holiday table with various Halo characters and creatures. The tweet quickly gained popularity as gamers started to respond with hilarious memes, inside jokes, and even discussions about the franchise’s legacy.
Thus,343 Industries surprised us with the Thanksgiving post, and the reaction was… well it was totally uncontrolled in the best possible way. At this festive table, the picture portrays Master Chief, Sergeant Johnson, an Engineer, and a Flood infection form all together as one big happy family. So, it is a little odd because the Flood would probably want to eat all the others but then it is the holiday season so I guess everyone would be friendly and nice about it.
The threads of conversation that were immediately started were nothing but pure madness. One gamer asked “Where’s the Red vs. Blue Turdunken clip when I need it?” and that was a clear reference to the well-known animation series that has become a massive part of Halo culture. Then, a user asked for a moa burger showcasing the audience’s keen interest in the wildlife of the Halo universe being digitally feasted on.
But, the most fun moment was when the Flood infection was really the one on the table. It was like someone was serving this disgusting parasite just like any other dish. “What’s the taste like though?” one person was wondering, and that really raises the question of Halo’s culinary adventure possibilities. Another user said, “you cannot eat that, that’s not food, that cannot be eaten, you cannot eat the Scarab” – this may actually be a sound piece of advice.
The whole thing went through many eerie turns and twists, like when one pointed out Sergeant Johnson’s hand movement and inquired if he was cool. And then the whole discussion about scarabs started and whether there would be more of them in Halo Infinite or not. One participant confided, “Not having the scarab as a level enemy in Infinite was a big miss,” while some even mentioned the Harvester from Halo 4’s Spartan Ops as a possible replacement.
Still, the most fascinating thing about this debacle is that this one Thanksgiving post has been exposing the contradictory feelings present in the Halo community. On one side of the spectrum were gamers that were extremely thrilled saying “Halo Infinite the best Videogame of this current Generation”, while on the other were the not so generous ones. One harsh reply read “No u ruined halo for life,” and thus indicated that not everyone is happy with 343’s handling of the saga.
The nostalgia factor was certainly at its peak. Many users were expressing their gratitude for the original Halo trilogy and one of the comments was “I am thankful for Bungie producing HALO 1-3 so that I can see how much better the franchise was before 343’s takeover.” Ouch! But then they ended with “But maybe 343 will create a great HALO game someday” so I guess there is still some hope?
In the midst of all the chaos acknowledged, there were also the moments of true gratitude that could not be overlooked. “Happy Thanksgiving guys,” was the casual comment of one user, while the other one shared “Same. Halo is special.” Another user mentioned how happy he was with the campaign of Halo Infinite, and there were lots of remarks praising Sergeant Johnson’s role in the image. It is a fact that irrespective of any argument about the franchise’s current state, the public still cares a lot about this universe.
The announcement also sparked some entertaining wishlist items from the crowd. One gamer asked “Please a Halo Horror Game” while dreaming of “a big Open World Halo Game with the whole Halo Ring as Open World for the future.” That indeed sounds pretty cool, I am not going to lie.
There was even some intermingling of fandoms going on, one person saw “Thought that was Joel from the Last of Us for a sec XD” when he stared at one of the characters. And of course, someone had to do the accustomed “Woort woort woort” Elite noise because you can’t have a Halo conversation without that.
What really strikes as remarkable is that this Thanksgiving post turned into a microcosm of the whole Halo community experience – the nostalgia, the laughter, the reviews, the dreams for the future, and the shared memories that draw people to this universe over and over again each year. Even when they are debating the reasonability of serving Flood infections as part of the festive dinner.
The artwork was indeed very cool, it was as if 343 had an artist who was so passionate about creating this crazy family portrait that he really put in his best effort. The central characters were all dressed up for the party, the table was nicely decorated, and the overall festive spirit was there when suddenly a parasitic horror creature was spotted sitting on a plate as if it was the most natural thing to do. Only in the Halo universe.
The Xbox community and PlayStation fans alike came together to appreciate this unique moment.
